Events

Air Force public statements covering U-2/OXCART flights (1950s–60s)

Documented · said Handling What these labels mean →

CIA historian Gerald Haines (1997) wrote that over half of late-1950s–60s UFO reports were manned reconnaissance flights (U-2, OXCART), and that the Air Force 'made misleading and deceptive statements to the public in order to allay public fears and to protect an extraordinarily sensitive national security project.' The CIA's full U-2/OXCART history was re-released in PURSUE R03.

Ties

To	Role	Years	Verdict	Source
Project Blue Book	reports explained away	1950s–60s	Documented · occurred
Suppression pattern	case: COVER STORY (documented by the CIA's own historian)	1955–1968	Documented · occurred Handling	sgp.fas.org
PURSUE Releases 02-04	CIA-UAP-003 U-2/OXCART history	2026	Documented · occurred

Tied from

From	Role	Years	Verdict	Source
Suppression pattern	case: COVER STORY	1955–1968	Documented · occurred Handling	sgp.fas.org

Links

Haines, CIA's Role in the Study of UFOs 1947–90 (FAS)

How it was handled

Method	What happened	Tag
COVER STORY	'Misleading and deceptive statements' to the public about sightings actually caused by U-2/OXCART	documented deception