No joke. This comes straight from National Declassification Center at the National Archives. Blogger says “Air Force Project 1794, from what the records in this series (AERO SYS DIV, 1969: RG 342, UD-UP 138) document, was at least in the initial phases of research and development."

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Aero Sys Div, 1969 (RG 342 UD-UP 138; NND 63253; Boxes 35 and 58)
By Michael Rhodes

Recently declassified records from the Aeronautical Systems Division, USAF (RG 342 – Records of United States Air Force Commands, Activities, and Organizations) reveal some surprising, perhaps never-before-seen images.The above illustration was discovered in the pages of a document titled
“Project 1794, Final Development Summary Report” (d.1956) The caption reads “USAF Project 1794”. However, the Air Force had contracted the work out to a Canadian company, Avro Aircraft Limited in Ontario, to construct the disk-shaped craft. According to the same report, it was
designed to be a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) plane designed to reach a top speed of Mach 4, with a ceiling of over 100,000 feet, and a range of over 1,000 nautical miles.
http://blogs.archives.gov/ndc/?p=426


The program was estimated to cost $3,168,000 at the time -- $26.6 million today, according to a report on Wired.
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2012/10/08/us-air-force-declassifies-plans-for-flying-saucer/?intcmp=features



A page from the report





Cover page of report





Cutaway drawing





Cutaway