In 1956, the U.S. Air Force, along with the corporation Avro Canada, embarked on Project 1794, which was the development of a flying saucer which was intended to be used to intercept enemy bombers. The saucer would be able to take off vertically and turn on a dime. It would have a top speed of 2,300 to 3,000 miles per hour and would be able to function in altitudes up to 100,000 feet. Later on, the U.S. Army become involved with the expectation that a smaller version of the aircraft could replace the helicopter in transporting troops and equipment.
Avro actually built a functional prototype which looks suspiciously like many flying saucers spotted during the UFO craze. However, the government abandoned the project in 1961 due to its disappointment in the performance of the aircraft. Specifically, the government determined that the fact that the prototype became unstable and unflyable in altitudes higher than three feet and could achieve a top speed of only 35 MPH made it unsuitable either to replace helicopters or to shoot down Russian aircraft.
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