V-2 Rocket

The V-2 (Vergeltungswaffe 2) was the world's first long-range guided ballistic missile, developed by Nazi Germany during World War II. Post-war, captured V-2s were brought to the United States under Operation Paperclip and tested extensively at White Sands Proving Ground. These early rocket tests coincided with the post-war surge in UFO sightings, leading to theories that early UAP reports were misidentifications of classified missile tests.

Early US testing of captured V-2s at White Sands is historically intertwined with the late 1940s surge in UFO sightings in the American Southwest.