Overview
For decades, sightings of silver "flying saucers" were dismissed as hoaxes or alien visitors. However, declassified 2012 records from the National Archives confirmed that in the 1950s, the U.S. Air Force actually attempted to build one. Code-named "Project 1794," the contract was awarded to Avro Aircraft in Canada to create a circular craft capable of Mach 4 speeds.
Design and Expectations
The "Avrocar" utilized a central turbo-rotor to create a "ground effect" for hovering and was intended to reach altitudes of 100,000 feet with a range of over 1,000 nautical miles. Military planners hoped it would replace conventional fighter jets, as it required no runways and could hover and move in any direction instantaneously—matching many UFO eyewitness descriptions.
Failure and the "UFO" Link
The project was officially canceled in 1961 because the craft proved to be aerodynamically unstable. Instead of a supersonic saucer, the Avrocar acted more like a "flying Jeep," hovering only a few feet off the ground and becoming uncontrollable at higher speeds. Conspiracy theorists suggest that while this specific project failed, the declassification served as a limited hangout to hide more successful, "black budget" saucer programs that utilized reverse-engineered technology.