Person

Philip J. Corso

Who: Army lieutenant colonel (1942-63), Eisenhower-era NSC liaison, who ran the Army's Foreign Technology Division under Gen. Trudeau (1960-63).
What he says: he saw a body at Fort Riley in 1947 (sworn affidavit), held the 'Roswell file' and fed its technology to industry.
Best source: his own manuscript, Dawn of a New Age, longer than The Day After Roswell.

US Army lieutenant colonel who served on Eisenhower's National Security Council staff and ran the Foreign Technology desk of Army Research and Development under Gen. Arthur Trudeau (1961-63). In The Day After Roswell (1997, with William J. Birnes) he says he seeded Roswell debris to industry, naming integrated circuits, fibre optics, lasers, night vision and super-tenacity fibres.

Witness profile

Army lieutenant colonel on Eisenhower's NSC staff who later ran the Army's Foreign Technology desk under Gen. Trudeau. In 1997 he said he saw a body at Fort Riley in 1947 and fed Roswell technology to industry. He died in 1998.

Describes the witness from the record, their own retellings and how they come across. No score for the person; the factors at the end belong to the cases.

From the record service · posting · clearance · testimony

Service	US Army, 1942-63; lieutenant colonelArmy record	documented
NSC	Operations Coordinating Board, attached to the NSC, 1953-57His records; 1992 Senate POW/MIA report lists him as Eisenhower NSC staff	documented
Posting	Foreign Technology desk, Army Research and Development, under Lt. Gen. Arthur Trudeau, 1960-63Army record	documented
Background check	FBI background check for a House subcommittee job, 1964-65; no UFO contentFBI files released July 2024	documented
Roswell file	Inherited Trudeau's "Roswell file" in 1961His book and manuscript	own account

Retellings over time from the transcript library and records

Following: A body at Fort Riley (1947) and the Roswell file (1961-63)

1997 The Day After Roswell (with William J. Birnes) · first tellingFort Riley body; seeding integrated circuits, fibre optics, lasers and night vision to industry.
1998 Sworn affidavit · heldFort Riley under oath: crates in the veterinary section, a 4-ft grey body in fluid.
undated Dawn of a New Age (his own manuscript) · detail addedLonger than the book: autopsy reports using "EBE", fibre-like wires, a chip.
2026-10 Ross Coulthart, Reality Check Q&A · recordI'm a little skeptical about because I know he was unhappy with the final draft of the book▶ 18:09Coulthart is wary of the book because Corso was unhappy with the final draft; notes an acknowledged inconsistency.

first tellingheldclarifieddetail addeddetail shiftedrecord

On camera demeanour notes, timestamped

How they look and speak: hesitations, self-corrections, emotion. Dashed slots still need the video.

Interviews, 1997-98

Video from his book tour, if any survives.Needs the video on Igor's PC

Feeds case plausibility consistency · restraint · character

Current factor values from the case ratings. The arrow shows which part of this profile backs each one.

Roswell: the Army's 'flying disc'plausibility Very high

Character record2Trained professionals. ← The record table: NSC staff and the Foreign Technology desk are documented.

Profile updated 2026-10-23

Claims (11)

He seeded Roswell technology to US industry: integrated circuits, fibre optics, lasers, night vision, super-tenacity fibres.firsthandSourced, unconfirmedPhilip Corso, The Day After Roswell (1997)

At Fort Riley about 6 July 1947, as post duty officer, he saw crates in the veterinary section, one holding a 4 ft grey body in fluid; the guard said five trucks had come from a New Mexico airfield on the way to Wright Field.RoswellfirsthandSourced, unconfirmedPhilip Corso (sworn affidavit, 1998)

In 1961 he inherited Gen. Arthur Trudeau's 'Roswell file' and ran the Army's Foreign Technology Division under the Office of the Chief of R&D (1960-63), seeding items to industry as ordinary R&D.RoswellfirsthandSourced, unconfirmedPhilip Corso, Dawn of a New Age (manuscript, published 2003/2011)

At White Sands (Red Canyon) in 1957-58 he met a being in an abandoned mine who said radar was trapping its craft.Philip J. Corso - US Army UFO Technology Research & DevelopmentfirsthandLeadPhilip Corso (manuscript; told to Alexander, Vallée and Knapp)

The Army FTD 'was formed as Corso stated and then disappeared shortly after his retirement.'Philip J. Corso - US Army UFO Technology Research & DevelopmentfirsthandSourced, unconfirmedJohn B. Alexander

His records show him on the Operations Coordinating Board attached to the NSC (1953-57); the 1992 Senate POW/MIA report lists him as Eisenhower NSC staff.firsthandOn the recordCorso's FOIA'd service records; Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs (1992)

The FTD's budget was 'about $2 billion'.firsthandSourced, unconfirmedPhilip J. Corso

A DIA 'UFO Working Group' chaired by Col. Harold E. Phillips met from Feb 1987, with 17 members (Army and Air Force generals, DIA scientists, NSA, CIA domestic collection and a DS&T team), funded via INSCOM under Maj. Gen. Albert Stubblebine.anonymousLeadPhilip J. Corso

Trudeau briefed George H. W. Bush around the 1968 Rivers hearings, and Corso's planned testimony about alien hardware sent to industrial labs was squashed.Philip J. Corso - US Army UFO Technology Research & DevelopmentsecondhandSourced, unconfirmedGeorge H. W. Bush

FBI files released in July 2024 cover a 1964-65 background check for a House subcommittee job; they hold cross-references only and no UFO content.firsthandOn the recordFBI files via The Black Vault (July 2024)

In 1993 a KGB general's contacts gave him a list of Soviet-held materials, including a silvery tube found in the US in 1975.Philip J. Corso - US Army UFO Technology Research & DevelopmentsecondhandLeadPhilip J. Corso

What Philip J. Corso said (14 claims)

On the record 2Witness testimony 9Alleged 3

“Corso's list of back-engineered tech: integrated circuit, laser, fiber optics, night vision.”AllegedAztec 1948 with Scott and Suzanne Ramsey

Corso's own claims.

“Roswell debris gave us integrated circuits, lasers and fibre optics, exactly what a data centre needs.”AllegedDeep Prasad returns: AI, quantum, Roswell tech and his 2019 encounter

Corso's book does name them. But the IC came from Kilby and Noyce (1958-59), the laser from Maiman (1960), fibre bundles from 1953-54. The strongest point is the one they dropped: Bell Labs' transistor came five months after Roswell.

“Corso served in the US Army from 1942 to 1963, including CIC chief in Rome and special projects in MacArthur's Far East Command intelligence division.”On the recordPhilip J. Corso - US Army UFO Technology Research & Development

His service record.

“Corso sat on the Operations Coordinating Board attached to the NSC from 1953 to 1957.”On the recordPhilip J. Corso - US Army UFO Technology Research & Development

FOIA'd records; the Eisenhower Library says he was a liaison, not an NSC member, and both can be true.

“In July 1947 at Fort Riley Corso saw a roughly four-foot grey body in fluid inside a crate trucked from a New Mexico airfield toward Wright Field.”Witness testimonyPhilip J. Corso - US Army UFO Technology Research & Development

Sworn affidavit, 1998.

“In 1961 Corso inherited from Gen. Trudeau a "Roswell file" of field reports, Walter Reed autopsy reports and debris including fiber-like wires and paper-thin strong metal.”Witness testimonyPhilip J. Corso - US Army UFO Technology Research & Development

Corso's own account; the file itself has not surfaced.

“The Army FTD fed recovered items to industry as ordinary R&D proposals, letting firms keep the patents in return for an edge for the Army.”Witness testimonyPhilip J. Corso - US Army UFO Technology Research & Development

Corso's account of his own work; budget given as about $2 billion.

“Night vision, fiber optics, super-tenacity fibers, lasers and integrated circuits were advanced by this seeding.”Witness testimonyPhilip J. Corso - US Army UFO Technology Research & Development

Corso's claim; historical precedence for several of these is disputed.

“The autopsy reports described a large heart and lungs, and the craft carried no food, water or toilet, so it was judged a scout returning to a mothership.”Witness testimonyPhilip J. Corso - US Army UFO Technology Research & Development

Documents Corso says he read.

“Twice Corso saw radar tracks of objects at over 3,000 mph at missile sites and was ordered to destroy the tapes.”Witness testimonyPhilip J. Corso - US Army UFO Technology Research & Development

Corso's own account.

“At Red Canyon, White Sands, in 1957-58, Corso met a being in an abandoned mine who said radar was trapping its craft.”Witness testimonyPhilip J. Corso - US Army UFO Technology Research & Development

Single-source; told to Alexander, Vallee and Knapp. Gerb notes it is absent from the affidavit.

“A DIA UFO Working Group chaired by Col. Harold E. Phillips met from February 1987 with 17 members, funded through INSCOM.”AllegedPhilip J. Corso - US Army UFO Technology Research & Development

Corso's unnamed source.

“A KGB general's contacts gave Corso a list of Soviet-held materials in 1993.”Witness testimonyPhilip J. Corso - US Army UFO Technology Research & Development

Gerb flags possible disinformation.

“Army Foreign Technology work under Trudeau seeded Roswell technology to industry, with files marked as coming from Roswell.”Witness testimonyThe MITRE Corporation - UFO Reverse Engineering, USO Tracking, & Legacy Programs

Corso's manuscript and interview, which Gerb prefers to the book.

Cases (1)

1947Roswell: the Army's 'flying disc'

Connected

Army Foreign Technology Division (OCRD, 1960-63) org The MITRE Corporation org Arthur Trudeau person Deep Prasad person Eric W. Davis person