According to the report, Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system is an increasingly common source as people confuse satellite chains with UFOs.
The latest report from the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) on unidentified flying objects (UFOs) revealed hundreds of new reports of phenomena, but no indications that suggest an extraterrestrial origin.
The analysis included hundreds of cases of misidentified balloons, birds and satellites, as well as some that defy easy explanation, such as a near-miss between a commercial airliner and a mysterious object off the coast of New York, the Associated Press reported Thursday. Press (AP).
The latest report reflected increased public interest in the existence of alien life and government efforts to provide some answers.
Its publication occurred one day after congressmen in the House of Representatives (lower house of the US Congress) asked for greater transparency from the government during a hearing on unidentified anomalous phenomena.
Federal efforts to study and identify these phenomena have focused on potential threats to national security or aviation safety rather than their science fiction aspects.
Elements of the Pentagon office created in 2022 to track these phenomena have reported that there is no indication that any of the cases they investigated have supernatural origins.
The Pentagon analysis covered 757 cases from around the world that were reported to US authorities between May 1, 2023 and June 1, 2024.
The total includes 272 incidents that occurred before this period but had not previously been reported.
The vast majority of reported incidents occurred in airspace, but 49 occurred at altitudes estimated to be at least 100 kilometers, which is considered space. None occurred underwater.
Witnesses who reported included commercial and military pilots, as well as ground observers.
Investigators found explanations for nearly 300 of the incidents. In many cases, the unknown objects were balloons, birds, aircraft, drones or satellites.
According to the report, Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system is an increasingly common source as people mistake satellite chains for UFOs.
Hundreds of other cases remain unexplained, although the report’s authors emphasized that this is often because there is not enough information to draw firm conclusions.
No injuries or accidents were reported in any of the incidents, although a commercial flight crew reported a near miss with a “cylindrical object” while flying over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New York. This incident remains under investigation.
In three other cases, military aircrews reported being followed or pursued by unidentified aircraft, although investigators were unable to find evidence linking the activity to a foreign power.
