Summary
Over two consecutive weekends, multiple radar stations tracked unidentified targets over the capital, with pilots making visual confirmation. The Air Force then held its largest press conference since World War II in response.
Detail
In July 1952, multiple radar installations around Washington National Airport tracked unidentified targets over the capital across two consecutive weekends. Some targets moved at unusual speeds, and fighter jets were scrambled to intercept. After extensive media coverage, the Air Force held a press conference explaining most cases as radar anomalies caused by temperature inversion. It was one of the most prominent UAP events of the Cold War and pushed the government toward more systematic investigation of unidentified aerial phenomena.
