A US intelligence report on UFOs attributes many military sightings of unknown flying craft to foreign surveillance drones or airborne waste, a report said.
The latest revelations are contained in a classified update to a report released last year that probed 144 UFO sightings by US government personnel between 2004 and 2021, sources told The New York Times.
Several instances of unknown aerial phenomenon had actually been attributed to relatively mundane drone technology used by the Chinese government, the report said.
Sue Gough, a spokeswoman for the Department of Defense, said, however, that no one explanation described the majority of the UFO sightings investigated.
Most incidents could be attributed to foreign intelligence gathering or shreds of airborne trash such as balloons, the sources said.
The Pentagon said in May that a particular, declassified incident involved what looked like flying triangles but were actually ordinary drones distorted by night vision.
Monday’s report is an update of a now-public report on UFO sightings. DoD/AFP via Getty Images
While most sightings can be explained as foreign surveillance drones or airborne trash, no one explanation applies to the majority of sightings. DoD/AFP via Getty ImagesThe location of that footage has not been disclosed, but officials have said it likely depicts foreign surveillance on American military maneuvers.
The update is expected to be slightly more conclusive than last year’s report, which identified only one UFO “with high confidence” — as a “large, deflating balloon.”
That report was the work of a task force set up after a series of high-profile, unexplained events were recorded on US Navy ships.
The latest revelations are contained in a classified update to a report last year that investigated 144 UFO sightings by US government personnel between 2004 and 2021. Getty ImagesAt least four warships off the coast of San Diego reported sightings of unexplained objects in July 2019 that didn’t match aircraft currently known to exist, some of which appeared to harass the vessels and another that suddenly disappeared into the ocean.
In 2004, several Navy aviators reported encountering aircraft off the California coast that they said resembled large “Tic Tac” breath mints.
A version of the report was made public by the Office of Director of National Intelligence.
It’s unknown how much of this week’s update will be made public, but the number of sightings currently under investigation has reportedly grown — to over 400.
Some sightings — particularly older ones — are unlikely to ever be explained, according to the Pentagon.
“In many cases, observed phenomena are classified as ‘unidentified’ simply because sensors were not able to collect enough information to make a positive attribution,” Gough told the Times.
Annual updates to the report are required by law through 2026.
