Introduction (A Preliminary Study of Unidentified Targets Observed on Air Traffic Control Radars)

Closely related to a recent flood of visual reports of flying saucers, the sighting of scores of unidentified targets on the Washington Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTC) radar aroused much publicity and speculation regarding the origin, composition, and import of these objects. Concerned with the possible detrimental effects of this situation on the control of air traffic, the Air Navigation Development Board requested the Technical Development and Evaluation Center of the CAA to investigate the problem.

The specific objectives of this study were:

1. To find out as much as possible about the nature of the targets themselves.
2. To determine whether this problem is new and peculiar to the Washington area or whether it had occurred previously at Washington and at other CAA radar locations.
3. To determine the effect of this problem on the control of air traffic.
4. To determine what changes should be made in the radar development program in order to cope with the situation.