US Government Releases Long-Awaited UFO Report: Here’s What We Know

Those hoping that the U.S. government’s much-anticipated release on Friday of a comprehensive report on unidentified flying objects (UFOs) would offer answers about extraterrestrial visitors were likely disappointed by the tentative and inconclusive nature of the report, as the report offered far more questions than answers.

The report, which has been hyped up by the press for several months prior to its release, was labeled “preliminary” and prepared by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) which worked alongside the Pentagon to report on what the U.S. military calls Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs).

The main takeaway from the report, however, was simply that we don’t have enough information on what these UFOs actually are. In short, the nine-page report can be summed up with the classic tagline from The X-Files: “The truth is out there.”

The report certainly does not contain any bombshell information linking unidentified aerial phenomena to aliens.

Instead, the government admits that it still has no idea about 143 of the 144 UAP sightings military planes made between 2004 and 2021. The UAPs were detected “across multiple sensors, to include radar, infrared, electro-optical, weapon seekers, and visual observation.” And in the case of the one UAP they could identify, NBC reports that it was merely a large, deflated balloon.

However, the report did point out what the five categories of UAP sightings consist of, at the moment: “[A]irborne clutter, natural atmospheric phenomena, [U.S. government] or U.S. industry developmental programs, foreign adversary systems, and a catchall ‘other’ bin.”

The report also notes that it’s premature to speculate about what they are, noting that the gravity-defying and downright ridiculous speeds of some of the objects may have been the product of  “sensor errors, spoofing, or observer misperception and require additional rigorous analysis.”

The report also notes that eighty of the 144 encounters were recorded using multiple devices, which means the sightings were not in error: “Most of the UAP reported probably do represent physical objects, given that a majority of UAP were registered across multiple sensors, to include radar, infrared, electro-optical, weapon seekers and visual observation.”

Officials hardly seem concerned that “little green men” or aliens of any sort might be behind the UAPs, and instead are more concerned that the mysterious flying objects could be the result of private performing risky experiments – or even major military technology advances by a foreign adversary like China or Russia.

“UAP clearly pose a safety of flight issue and may pose a challenge to U.S. national security,” the report notes. “Safety concerns primarily center on aviators contending with an increasingly cluttered air domain. UAP would also represent a national security challenge if they are foreign adversary collection platforms or provide evidence a potential adversary has developed either a breakthrough or disruptive technology.”