General Mills Aeronautical Research Laboratory

The General Mills Aeronautical Research Laboratory, established in the 1940s in the United States, was a civilian research division of General Mills, Inc., based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It specialized in high-altitude balloon development and tracking, including Skyhook balloons for the U.S. Navy and support for atmospheric research. Key activities involved launching and observing large plastic research balloons at sites like White Sands Proving Ground, contributing to Project Blue Book UFO investigations as consultants. Personnel, including engineers and aerologists like Charles B. Moore, reported multiple UFO sightings, such as the April 24, 1949, Arrey, New Mexico incident of a flat oval object tracked via theodolite, and a 1955 New York City sighting by three engineers of a silent, high-speed gray mass deemed unidentified. These experts distinguished UFOs from their own balloons, influencing early UFO discourse. The lab aided Air Force analyses alongside entities like Project Blue Book. It ceased operations in the 1960s as General Mills shifted focus.