Project 1794

The news is: The United States government kept the existence of a flying saucer secret for 60 years. And you would be reading that news on the front page of every paper in existence, rather than this blog, except for the fact that the saucer was made by the US Air Force.

Documents declassified in 2012, tell the story of Project 1794, the $10 million development of a circular VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) fighter aircraft with lift and thrust from a single turborotor, top speed of between Mach 3 and Mach 4, and a ceiling of 100,000 feet. Then there would be the look on the Russian pilots' faces when they saw it.

All in all, an amazing concept. There was just one problem: It couldn't fly. The WS-606A, as the prototype was known, could do little more than hover.

Check out this video from 1958:

In 1961, unable to remedy the system's myriad problems, certainly not as easily as purchasing one of the new Harrier jump jets, the Air Force got out of the saucer business—at least officially. You can see the prototype at the National Museum of the USAF in Dayton, Ohio.