Project Sign

Background

Project Sign was a classified United States Air Force study of unidentified flying objects established in 1948 by General Nathan Farragut Twining. It was initially named Project Saucer and served as a government program designed to collect, evaluate, and distribute information about UFO sightings as potential national security concerns.

• Managed by the Air Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio
• Investigated 243 reported sightings
• Active for most of 1948

UAP Involvement

Project Sign members analyzed UFO sightings but could not reach consensus on explanations. The program recommended continued investigation and did not rule out various possibilities for the sightings.

Key Contributions

Project Sign represented the initial formal U.S. government effort into UFO investigations and served as the precursor to later programs.

• Succeeded by Project Grudge in February 1949
• Followed by Project Blue Book, the Air Force's longer-running UFO investigation program from 1952 to 1969

Significance

The transition to Project Grudge marked a significant shift in approach. Project Grudge focused on explaining away sightings rather than investigating them objectively.