Air Force Regulation 200-2: Unidentified Flying Objects Reporting

This document consists of Air Force Regulation 200-2, issued on August 26, 1953, by the Department of the Air Force, which outlines the official procedures for reporting Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). The regulation defines UFOs as any airborne object that does not conform to known aircraft or missile types. The primary objective of the Air Force in this regard is twofold: to assess potential threats to the security of the United States and to conduct technical analysis of the phenomena. The Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is designated as the primary agency responsible for this analysis. The regulation mandates that all reports be forwarded to ATIC, and it provides detailed instructions on the format of these reports, including descriptions of the object, flight paths, and any physical evidence. It also specifies that reports should be classified as 'Restricted' unless otherwise noted. A subsequent change, AFR 200-2A, dated November 2, 1953, updated the reporting format and procedures. Additionally, the document archive includes a contextual note regarding a 1953 incident involving a project engineer identified by the pseudonym 'Fritz Werner,' who claimed to have been assigned to investigate a crashed UAP near Kingman, Arizona, on May 21, 1953. Werner described the object as an oval, metallic craft containing a deceased occupant. This account, corroborated by diary entries reviewed by Ray Fowler, highlights the clandestine nature of early UAP investigations conducted under military authority.