4602d Air Intelligence Service Squadron
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🏢 Organization
Contents 5
| Type | Organization |
|---|---|
| Also known as | 4602d AISS, 4602d |
| On the Timeline | 2 events, 1953–1954 |
The 4602d Air Intelligence Service Squadron (4602d AISS) was a U.S. Air Force intelligence unit of the Air Defense Command, created in January 1953, which from 1954 carried out field investigations of UFO reports in the United States on behalf of Project Blue Book.[1][2]
Origins

Project Blue Book was run by the Air Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Its chief, Captain Edward Ruppelt, suggested that the 4602d, an Air Defense Command unit, should take on field investigations. The squadron was created in January 1953, about two weeks before the CIA-sponsored Robertson Panel met to review the UFO problem.[2][3]
UFO investigations
Under Air Force Regulation 200-2, issued on 12 August 1954, the 4602d was brought in to help the Air Technical Intelligence Center with preliminary and field investigations, and the Air Defense Command became responsible for investigating sightings inside the United States. The squadron's operations officer evaluated reports and supervised its investigators, whose findings were passed to Blue Book. Air Force histories from 1954 to 1956 contain statistics on the squadron's UFO work.[1][4]
Later changes
A February 1958 revision of the regulation returned responsibility for investigating sightings to local base commanders, with Blue Book keeping the job of analysis and evaluation.[5]
On the UAP Timeline
- Air Force Regulation 200-2 (26 August 1953) — Air Force Regulation 200-2 tightens UAP reporting and routes key reports away from Project Blue Book.
- 4602d AISS crashed-object claim (1954) (14 October 1954) — A Marine aviator says he was told an Air Force intelligence squadron ran a crashed-object program.
References
- "Air Force Regulation 200-2" (1954), Wikisource · en.wikisource.org · archived copy
- Project Blue Book — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- "UFOs, the AISS, & My Brush With the 1127th", NICAP · nicap.org · archived copy
- "4602d AISS Unit History Sampler", NICAP · nicap.org · archived copy
- Endnotes on Air Force UFO investigation regulations, Minot B-52 UFO · minotb52ufo.com · archived copy
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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