Former US Defense Official: "UFO Information Management Was a Major Failure"

Photo by CNBC

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Christopher Mellon, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, called the U.S. government's handling of information related to unidentified flying objects (UFOs) a "major failure."

In an interview with U.S. economic media CNBC on the 18th (local time), he said, "We have spent hundreds of billions of dollars over the years believing our airspace was safe, but in reality, there have been many repeated and continuous restrictions on military airspace operations without any penalties."

He advised that what the federal government should do regarding UFOs is "to overcome ignorance and start collecting relevant data every time a UFO appears."

Earlier, the U.S. Department of Defense recently declassified three videos filmed by Navy pilots that captured UFOs, along with audio of the pilots expressing shock and astonishment.

Mellon added that the likelihood of the military sharing classified information about the true nature of UFOs with the general public is low, explaining that this is because details such as the Strategic Defense System (SDS) to prevent nuclear war could be disclosed, which would endanger U.S. security.

Last August, the U.S. Department of Defense launched a task force on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP?the term used by the military instead of UFO) to investigate related materials. The U.S. Navy stated in a release, "In recent years, there have been numerous reports of unidentified aircraft of unknown origin entering various military control zones and designated airspace."

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, demanded that the declassified report be submitted to Congress by next month.

Senator Rubio said that if UFOs are espionage technology from Russia or China, it is a matter of concern, adding, "Any object entering U.S. airspace should pose no threat, and for that, I want the process of analyzing data every time a UFO appears to be carried out."