CIA-UAP-003, The CIA and Overhead Reconnaissance: The U-2 and OXCART Programs, 1954–1974
- Date
- 1954-1974
- Location
- Not applicable (agency history)
- Agency
- CIA
- Release
- Release 03 (June 12, 2026)
- Type
- document
Summary
A CIA History Staff study by Gregory W. Pedlow and Donald E. Welzenbach covering the U-2 and OXCART (A-12) reconnaissance programs from 1954 to 1974. It covers aircraft development, overflights, the 1960 downing of Francis Gary Powers and the transfer of operations to the Air Force. A section titled 'U-2s, UFOs, and Operation BLUE BOOK' (pp. 72-73) says high-altitude U-2 testing led to 'a tremendous increase in reports of unidentified flying objects,' that BLUE BOOK investigators checked sightings against U-2 flight logs, and that 'U-2 and later OXCART flights accounted for more than one-half of all UFO reports during the late 1950s and most of the 1960s.'
Note
A long agency history; the UFO material is a short section.