A new government report is likely to fuel theories about unexplained aerial phenomena.
WASHINGTON
— The government still has no explanation for nearly all of the scores
of unidentified aerial phenomena reported over almost two decades and
investigated by a Pentagon task force, according to a report released on Friday, a result that is likely to fuel theories of otherworldly visitations.
A
total of 143 reports gathered since 2004 remain unexplained, the
document released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence
said. Of those, 21 reports of unknown phenomena, involving 18 episodes,
possibly demonstrate technological capabilities that are unknown to the
United States: objects moving without observable propulsion or with
rapid acceleration that is believed to be beyond the capabilities of
Russia, China or other terrestrial nations. But, the report said, more
rigorous analysis of those episodes is needed.
There
is no evidence that any of the episodes involve secret American weapons
programs, unknown technology from Russia or China or extraterrestrial
visitations. But the government report did not rule out those
explanations.
The nine-page document
essentially declines to draw conclusions, announcing that the available
reporting is “largely inconclusive” and noting that limited and
inconsistent data created a challenge in evaluating the phenomena.
The
report said the number of sightings was too limited for a detailed
pattern analysis. While they clustered around military training or
testing grounds, the report found that that could be the result of
collection bias or the presence of cutting-edge sensors in those areas.
Government
officials outlined a plan to develop, if additional funding is
available, a better program to observe and collect data on future
unexplained phenomena.
The failure to
reach a conclusion on the unexplained episodes raised questions about
how seriously the government has taken them until now and whether it had
assembled adequate scientific expertise to examine them.
Too
little data exists to draw a conclusion about many of the episodes,
officials said. But both scientific experts and enthusiastic amateurs
have advanced explanations ranging from the mundane to the otherworldly
and the report did little to substantiate or dismiss their theories.
There was no affirmative evidence that the unexplained phenomena are alien spacecraft in the report. But because the government has offered no
explanation for so many of the episodes, the new report is sure to fuel
the enthusiasm of those who believe they could be.
Among the unexplained incidents are three high-profile videos of aerial phenomena taken by the U.S. Navy and witnessed by pilots in recent years.
The
report released on Friday is an interim report, which is how former
officials involved in the Pentagon examination had predicted the
government would initially handle the requirement by Congress to submit
an unclassified report on what it knows about U.F.O.s.
The
government intends to update Congress within 90 days on efforts to
develop an improved collection strategy and what officials are calling a
technical road map to develop technology to better observe the
phenomena, senior government officials told reporters on Friday.
Officials said they would provide lawmakers with periodical updates
beyond that.
But
of the episodes examined by the task force, only one could be
identified and categorized: “a large, deflating balloon” that was
classified as airborne clutter.
Officials
do not have any indications that the unexplained incidents show objects
that are part of a foreign intelligence collection program or a major
technological advancement by a potential adversary, a senior government
official said. They are also unable to confirm that any of those
incidents are part of a U.S. government or defense industry program, a
senior official said.
Nevertheless, the report does not completely rule out a Russian or Chinese aircraft or an American classified program.
The
report was made public because of a provision inserted by Senator Marco
Rubio of Florida, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence
Committee, into a huge spending bill passed by Congress.
“The Defense Department and intelligence community have a lot of work
to do before we can actually understand whether these aerial threats
present a serious national security concern,” Mr. Rubio said.
Of
the incidents examined by the task force, there are “no clear
indications that there is any nonterrestrial explanation” for them, said
a senior official, adding that the government would “go wherever the
data takes us” as the inquiry continued.
The
report avoids any real discussion of the possibility that the
unexplained phenomena are extraterrestrial in nature. It was not the
purpose of the government’s task force to search for extraterrestrial
life, a responsibility that falls to NASA, said a senior governmental
official.
Perhaps
as a result, government officials said that going forward they would
only focus on making observations of the phenomena and had no plans to
try to communicate with the objects.
Most
of the episodes investigated by the government were reported by the
Navy. While the Air Force has in recent decades tried to distance itself
from the collection of U.F.O. reports, uncomfortable with its own history, it began a renewed data collection program in 2020.
Government
officials said that on further examination, the 21 reports that show
unusual acceleration or movement could prove to have normal
explanations. Government analysts have scrutinized the cameras and
sensors that recorded the phenomena for potential flaws, a senior
government official said.
The cameras
sensors that recorded some of the episodes were not “generally suited
for identifying” unknown phenomena, the report said.
There
are plausible, but dry, explanations for each of the Navy recordings
that are more likely than some sort of extraordinary technology, said
Mick West, a science writer who focuses on debunking conspiracy
theories.
In one video, a sharp
movement of the object could be attributable to a shift in the camera’s
movement. In another, an object that appears to be moving fast is shown
to be actually moving much more slowly when a relevant trigonometric
calculation is applied. An image of a rapidly spinning object skimming
over the clouds is caused by infrared glare, Mr. West said.
The
report appeared to give Mr. West’s explanations at least a partial vote
of confidence by noting that the vantage point of the sensors capturing
images or other data are important in determining whether an object
“demonstrates breakthrough aerospace capabilities.”
“They’re
not making any big claims; they’re saying some of the things they see
seem to show unusual behavior and more study is needed,” Mr. West said.
“Obviously, they’re not saying it’s aliens — they’re not going anywhere
near that.”
Later on Friday, the
Pentagon announced it would develop procedures to collect data and
analyze reports of unidentified phenomena, adding staffing and other
resources to examine the episodes.
The
effort may require some outside expertise, but scientists, who have
long avoided studying U.F.O.s, are likely going to need cajoling.
“Nobody
wants to risk being flamed by the true believers or ostracized by their
peers,” said Chris Impey, an astronomy professor at the University of
Arizona. “If the Pentagon or the government asks for scientific input
and gives them some data and a little resources, people would
participate.”