A Senate hearing on the Pentagon’s Anomaly Resolution Office tracking UFOs included testimony that most of the hundreds of cases it tracks are based on “easily explainable” phenomena.
But dr. Sean Kirkpatrick of DOD’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office told the Senate Armed Services Committee that hundreds of sightings of spherical or odd-shaped objects spotted by military pilots are still under review.
“I should also state clearly for the record that AARO’s investigation to date has found no credible evidence of extraterrestrial activity, alien technology, or objects that defy the known laws of physics,” Kirkpatrick told the panel.
The rare hearing, the first since last year’s groundbreaking public event and the first since China’s spy balloon swept across the country early this year, included an account of the cases the new office is analyzing.
But dr. Sean Kirkpatrick of DOD’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office spoke about the challenges of prioritizing and identifying unidentified aerial phenomena
Kirkpatrick said his office is currently tracking 650 cases. But he pointed to the difficulty of sorting through the information coming in, prioritizing what American pilots or drones sometimes see at high altitudes.
He showed senators video of one such incident, identified by an MQ9 “Reaper” drone in the Middle East. It was from what appeared to be a metal sphere.
But he cautioned that “it will be virtually impossible to fully identify that from that video,” as his agency is coordinating with other civic agencies and academic sources.
“That’s an unsolved case that we’re still studying,” he said.
Then he showed another video, this one from South Asia, also from an MQ9.
This sighting turned out to be another aircraft.
Wednesday’s hearing included video of two events tracked by an agency that tracks UFOs
Kirkpatrick showed video of an ‘unsolved’ case in the Middle East where a drone picked up a ‘metal sphere’
Senate Armed Forces Committee Chair Kirsten Gillibrand presided over the hearing
According to a DOD analysis, more than half of the UAP is reported or spherical
What initially seemed abnormal was in fact “a shadow image” picked up by sensors.
“We can fix this one,” he said.
“This is a hunting mission for: What could someone be doing in our backyard that we don’t know about,” Fitzpatrick said of his office’s mission statement. He has dozens of scientists working on files.
He spoke before the Senate Armed Forces Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities about the office’s “mission, activities, oversight and budget.”
Panel chair Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (DN.Y.), spoke about the first tranche of government data revealed following pressure from the late Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.).
“We don’t know where they came from, who made them or how they work,” she said of some of the aerial events revealed, speeding through an opening statement.
She lamented that “because of the UFO stigma, the response was irresponsibly anemic and slow.”
Gillibrand complained that the agency was not getting the resources it needed, and that “it appears that the Pentagon leadership did not turn to the AARO agency to play a leading role” in the Chinese spy balloon incident .
She indicated that there had been a private hearing before the public hearing, which started more than half an hour late and was attended by only two senators, Gillibrand and Iowa GOP Sen. Johnny Ernst.
“Opponents like China and Russia are trying to endanger American interests, including our homeland,” Ernst warned.
Kirkpatrick acknowledged the “historical record” his agency seeks to analyze, including events from the “distant past to today.” He said it should prioritize those based on defense intelligence in areas of “national security importance.”
‘We can’t answer decades of questions about UAP in one go. But we have to start somewhere,’ he said.
“The majority of unidentified objects reported to ARO show everyday characteristics of balloons, unmanned aerial systems, debris, natural phenomena or other easily explained sources,” he testified.
Despite the frequency of observations coming in, “people are subject to deception and illusions, sensors to unexpected responses and malfunctions, and in some cases deliberate interference,” he said.
Asked about advanced technologies China and Russia might be using, he said there are “emerging capabilities.”
Kirkpatrick pointed to China in particular, without expressing certainty that its technology was responsible for unexplained sightings.
‘The opponent is not waiting. They are moving forward and they are moving forward quickly. They are less risk averse to technical progress than we are. They’re just willing to try things and see if it works,” he said.
The Pentagon and the US intelligence community are reviewing hundreds of UAP incidents. The president ordered the review after the US military shot down the spy balloon crossing the country in early February.
New Pentagon leaks that came to light last week revealed that US officials had knowledge of at least four other Chinese spy balloons.
A report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence from early January revealed the number of UFO reports increased, with agencies aware of 510 unidentified anomalous phenomena.
The Pentagon’s special office examined 366 of them and found that about half were inconspicuous, 26 most likely drones, 163 balloons and six junk, according to ABC News.