Avro Canada VZ-9AV Avrocar at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Air Force)
Government and military secrets can range from the shocking to the comical to the downright ridiculous, but most of them are truly intriguing stories. From the Air Force's secret program to develop supersonic aircraft, to the famous World War II research initiative that led to the first atomic bombs, to a plan to train pet cats to spy on the Soviet Union, here are 24 declassified military and CIA secrets.
Project 1794
Declassified plans show the US Air Force's efforts to create a flying saucer that can both hover and reach supersonic speeds.
In late 2012, the US Air Force released a trove of documents, including material from a secret program to create a flying saucer designed to intercept Soviet bombers. The ambitious project, called Project 1794, began in the 1950s, and tasked a group of engineers with creating a disc-shaped craft capable of flying at supersonic speeds at high altitudes.
Declassified documents reveal the design for a plane that would have reached a top speed of Mach 4 (four times the speed of sound) and an altitude of 100,000 feet (30,480 meters). The project was estimated to cost more than $3 million, equivalent to more than $26 million in today's money.
Project 1794 was cancelled in December 1961 after tests showed that the flying saucer design was aerodynamically unstable and would likely become uncontrollable at high speeds (let alone supersonic).
Project Iceworm
Sourse: www.livescience.com
