The Pentagon has released a new report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs), often referred to as UFOs. While the report details hundreds of new cases, it offers no evidence of extraterrestrial origins. The report, compiled by the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), covers a wide range of incidents, from misidentified balloons and drones to more mysterious objects. One particularly intriguing case involved a near-miss between a commercial airliner and an unidentified object off the coast of New York.
Why Pentagon tracks UFOs and Aliens
Pentagon’s efforts to study and identify UAPs are reportedly focused on potential threats to national security or air safety and not their science fiction aspects. The All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office, or AARO, was created at the Pentagon in 2022 to look into the cases of unearthly origins.
This was after US lawmakers reportedly said that the many questions about UAPs show the need for the government to closely study the issue — and share those findings with Americans. “There is something out there,” said Republican Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee, as per a report by news agency AP. “The question is: Is it ours, is it someone else’s, or is it otherworldly?”
Key Findings of Pentagon’s new report on UFOs and Aliens
The Pentagon’s review reportedly covered 757 cases from around the world that were reported to US authorities from May 1, 2023, to June 1, 2024. The total includes 272 incidents that occurred before that time period but had not been previously reported.
* No under water incident: The great majority of the reported incidents occurred in airspace, but 49 occurred at altitudes estimated to be at least 100 kilometers (62 miles), which is considered space. None occurred underwater. Reporting witnesses are said to have included commercial and military pilots as well as ground-based observers.
* No extraterrestrial origin, but hundreds of cases remain unexplained: The report emphasizes that AARO has found no evidence to suggest extraterrestrial involvement in any of the cases examined. Hundreds of other cases remain unexplained, though the report’s authors stressed that is often because there isn’t enough information to draw firm conclusions.
* Most common explanations: Many of the incidents can be attributed to mundane objects like balloons, drones, or satellites, particularly those from Elon Musk‘s Starlink satellite constellation.
* What leaves sightings unresolved: The lack of sufficient data often hinders definitive conclusions, leaving many cases unsolved.