1960s disc hovercraft inquiry

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1960s disc hovercraft inquiry
Entrance plaza of the Lockheed Skunk Works, Palmdale, California
Entrance plaza of the Lockheed Skunk Works, Palmdale, California Photo: Alan Radecki · CC BY 2.5 · via Wikimedia Commons
Date5 Jan 2007
PeopleHarold Puthoff, Jacques Vallée, Eric W. Davis
TestimonyShellenberger testimony, p. 164
Year2007 in UFO history
Timeline2007 on the UAP Timeline
Sources7

1960s disc hovercraft inquiry — Puthoff and Davis look into a 1960s Lockheed hovercraft that looks like a disc.

According to Jacques Vallée's journals, in January 2007 Hal Puthoff said that he and Eric Davis were looking into a 1960s disc-shaped jet hovercraft concept, reportedly connected to Lockheed.

Several disc-shaped hover vehicles were designed and some built in that era. The best known is the Avro Canada VZ-9 Avrocar, funded by the U.S. Army and Air Force, which first flew in 1959 but could barely rise above ground effect and was cancelled in 1961.

Puthoff and Davis's interest suggests they were trying to work out whether known human-made discs could explain some sightings, or whether they hinted at more advanced work. The specific project isn't identified in the journals.

People and topics

Harold Puthoff: Hal Puthoff
Harold Puthoff: Hal Puthoff Photo: CIA · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons
  • Harold Puthoff — Physicist who co-founded the SRI remote-viewing research and later worked on AAWSAP and To The Stars Academy.
  • Lockheed Martin — The aerospace company whose Skunk Works built the U-2, SR-71 and F-117.
  • Jacques Vallée — Computer scientist and astronomer, author of the Forbidden Science journals and a central figure in UFO research.
  • Eric W. Davis — Physicist who worked on AAWSAP and has said the U.S. holds recovered craft.
  • Project Silver Bug and the Avrocar — Project Silver Bug and the Avrocar
  • U.S. Air Force — The U.S. military service that ran the official UFO projects from 1947 to 1969.

On the Timeline

Illustration of official papers and files
Illustration: official papers and files. An artist's impression drawn for this site, not a photograph of the event.

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References

Further reading

This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.

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