Sightings of Flying Saucers or Unconventional Aircraft

This memorandum, addressed to the Director of Central Intelligence and authored by Herbert Scoville, Jr., Assistant Director of Scientific Intelligence, provides an assessment of reported sightings of unconventional aircraft. The document details the debriefing of four participants who observed two objects at 1910 hours. The witnesses described the objects as having a greenish-yellow light and noted that one object appeared to be rotating or whirling during a steep initial trajectory before transitioning to horizontal flight. One witness reported seeing a triangular object with three lights that appeared to have been ejected from a launching site. The report concludes that these observations are likely attributable to climbing aircraft or missiles. However, the author emphasizes that the current evidence is insufficient to confirm that the Soviet Union has developed or is operating a radically new type of aircraft, and suggests that further investigation is necessary to resolve the matter.