Ten facts from Pentagon’s UFO report

US Intelligence Agencies have published a report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) detected by the military between 2004 and 2021. During this period, 144 reports about UFOs were registered, and all except one remain unexplained. The report was prepared at the request of the US Congress.

Ten facts from the Pentagon’s UFO report

• 144 unidentified objects were detected in the sky during the period of 2004 to 2021. The intelligence agencies were able to confidently confirm the identity of a single UAP out of 144. One flying object was believed to be a deflating balloon.
• 80 UFOs were detected by sensors. In 18 incidents, observers reported “unusual UAP movement patterns or flight characteristics.”
• Some objects appeared to remain stationary in winds aloft, move against the wind, maneuver abruptly, or move at considerable speed, without discernable means of propulsion.
• In a small number of cases, military aircraft systems processed radio frequency (RF) energy associated with UAP sightings.

• Limited data and inconsistent reports about UFOs are the main obstacles to studying them.
• Described objects may turn out to be drones, debris or birds, ice crystals, new secret developments of American, Russian or Chinese organizations, or private individuals.
• In addition, the intelligence agencies say that UFOs may belong to the category of “Other” – objects “pending scientific advances” that would allow a better understanding of them.
• The report begins with a disclaimer: The limited amount of high-quality reporting on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) hampers our ability to draw firm conclusions about the nature or intent of UAP. At the same time, intelligence officials ruled out the possibility that the unidentified phenomena are objects of secret American technology.
• Unidentified phenomena threaten “flight safety and, possibly, national security.”

Congress demanded the report after the US military reported numerous incidents of objects moving randomly in the sky. Also, in 2020, the Pentagon created a task force to study the reports, Unknown Aerial Phenomena. The new report says the task force is now looking for new ways to expand report collection and gather information, and additional funding could help further the study.

In 2020, four UFO videos captured by cameras aboard Navy fighter aircraft in 2004, 2014, and 2015 were declassified and published. They show pill-shaped objects whizzing through the air. One of the UFOs is spinning in mid-flight and moving against the wind. In April 2021, the Pentagon confirmed that one of the UFO videos was real.

Previously, the US online archive of declassified government documents The Black Vault posted a collection of CIA documents on unidentified flying objects. The CIA also published some data on UFOs on its official website.