Air Technical Intelligence Center
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🏢 Organization
Contents 6
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| Type | Organization |
|---|---|
| Also known as | ATIC |
| On the Timeline | 3 events, 1955–1958 |
The Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) was the U.S. Air Force's main centre for analysing foreign aircraft and weapons from 1951 to 1961, based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. It was also the home of the Air Force's UFO investigations, including Project Blue Book. It later became the Foreign Technology Division and is today the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC).[1][2]
Origins
The centre's roots go back to a foreign data section set up in 1917 at McCook Field in Dayton. During the Second World War the Army Air Forces evaluated captured enemy aircraft through a "T-2" intelligence department at Wright Field, and after the war Operation Lusty brought German aviation experts and equipment to the United States. ATIC was established on 21 May 1951 as a field activity under the Air Force's assistant chief of staff for intelligence.[1]
Foreign technology
ATIC studied Soviet aircraft obtained during the Cold War, first parts and the tail section of a MiG-15 and later a complete crashed MiG-15, as well as other Soviet types.[1]
UFO investigations
The intelligence staff at Wright-Patterson ran the Air Force's UFO projects from 1947, and ATIC carried on that work through Project Blue Book. Edward Ruppelt, who led Blue Book in the early 1950s, described ATIC preparing the 1948 "Estimate of the Situation" and defending it at the Pentagon. Historian Bruce Ashcroft has written about ATIC's place in 1950s national security policy.[2][3]
Later names
In 1961 ATIC became the Foreign Technology Division (FTD) of Air Force Systems Command; by 1968 FTD had an "aerial phenomenon office". The unit was renamed several times afterwards and has been the National Air and Space Intelligence Center since 2003.[1]
On the UAP Timeline
- Mrs. G and the Wright-Patterson catalogue (1955) — A Wright-Patterson worker reportedly said she catalogued about 1,000 incoming UAP items.
- Rudolf Lusar and the Nazi disc claims (1958) — An Air Force intelligence group analyzes a German author's claims about Nazi flying discs.
- McCormack subcommittee UFO briefing (1958) (13 August 1958) — The Air Force tells a House committee civilian UAP groups are its biggest UAP-related challenge.
References
- National Air and Space Intelligence Center — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Edward J. Ruppelt, The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects (1956), Project Gutenberg · gutenberg.org · archived copy
- Bruce Ashcroft, "Air Technical Intelligence Center, the 1950s, and National Security Policy", The Black Vault · documents2.theblackvault.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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