WASHINGTON — A Pentagon study released Friday that examined reported sightings of UFOs over nearly the past century found no evidence of extraterrestrials or extraterrestrial intelligence, a conclusion consistent with previous U.S. government efforts to assess the veracity of claims that have attracted public attention for decades.
The study by the Department of Defense’s All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office analyzed U.S. government investigations since 1945 into reported sightings of unidentified anomalous phenomena, known as UFOs. No evidence was found that these were signs of extraterrestrial life, or that the US government and private companies had alien technology and were hiding it.
“All research efforts, at all levels of classification, concluded that most sightings were common objects and phenomena and the result of misidentification,” said the report, which was commissioned by Congress. Another part of the report, focusing on more recent research, will appear later.
U.S. officials have tried to find answers to numerous reported UFO sightings over the years, but have yet to find any actual evidence of extraterrestrial life. A 2021 government report that reviewed 144 sightings of aircraft or other devices apparently flying at mysterious speeds or trajectories found no extraterrestrial connections but drew few other conclusions and called for better data collection.
The issue gained new attention last summer when a retired Air Force intelligence officer testified to Congress that the U.S. was hiding a long-standing program that retrieves and reverse-engineers unidentified flying objects. The Pentagon has denied his claims, saying in late 2022 that a new Pentagon office set up to track reports of unidentified flying objects — the same office that published Friday’s report — had received “several hundred” new reports but had no evidence found it. of extraterrestrial life so far.
The authors of Friday’s report said the goal was to apply rigorous scientific analysis to a topic that has long captured the imagination of the American public.
“AARO recognizes that many people sincerely hold versions of these beliefs based on their perceptions of past experiences, the experiences of others they trust, or media and online channels that they believe are sources of credible and verifiable information” , the report said. .
“The proliferation of television programs, books, films and the enormous amount of internet and social media content focused on UAP-related topics has most likely influenced public discussion of this topic and reinforced these beliefs within some segments of the population,” he says. it added.