US: "UFOs Are a National Security Threat... Full Effort to Identify Them"

First Ever Congressional Hearing Held
U.S. Department of Defense Announces Plan to 'Mobilize All Means'

Photo of a UFO suspected by the CIA released

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The U.S. Department of Defense held a hearing for the first time in 50 years since the U.S. Air Force concluded the 'Project Blue Book' in 1970, which investigated the national security impact of unidentified flying objects (UFOs). Introducing over 400 cases of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), the Department of Defense announced that it will employ all possible means to track UFOs, whose existence and identity have not been confirmed until now.

Ronald Moultrie, U.S. Department of Defense Deputy Undersecretary for Intelligence and Security, appeared at a hearing held by the House Intelligence Committee on the 17th (local time) and explained, "So far, the investigation results have not suggested that UFOs are the work of extraterrestrial life," adding, "However, the theory that they are 'secretly developed U.S. aircraft' was confirmed to be false after checking with various U.S. military organizations and departments." He testified in a closed session about the debris of suspected UFO objects collected and underwater recovery operations, which were classified as secret, so detailed information was not disclosed. This hearing was the first held under the revised National Defense Authorization Act, which mandates the Department of Defense to establish a UAP investigation agency, submit an annual report, and hold two briefings per year.

At the hearing, Scott Bray, a Navy pilot who witnessed a UFO 20 years ago and currently the Deputy Director of the U.S. Navy Intelligence, attracted attention by revealing UFO sighting videos and some identified cases. Without disclosing the time and place, he showed a video about 2 seconds long filmed by a Navy pilot, capturing a small circular object moving rapidly over the sea. Deputy Director Bray explained, "Ordinary U.S. military aircraft are not this fast." On the other hand, he denied the video known as the cone-shaped UFO, stating, "The reason it appeared cone-shaped was due to light passing through night vision goggles being captured by the camera."

The U.S. government had not officially acknowledged the existence of UFOs or aliens despite continuous eyewitness reports. However, the situation changed when The New York Times (NYT) revealed in December 2017 that the Department of Defense secretly operated a UFO analysis unit and that Navy pilots had filmed three clear UFO videos since 2004. Since 2019, the Senate Armed Services Committee has consecutively amended the National Defense Authorization Act to mandate government investigations and reporting on UFOs. In 2021, the Department of Defense officially acknowledged in a report that "UFOs are objects" and stated that UAPs could pose a national security threat, committing to investigations and countermeasures.

Deputy Undersecretary Moultrie said, "We will make every effort to identify UFOs through the newly established dedicated unit," adding, "We plan to strengthen efforts to identify UAPs by utilizing all potential innovative technologies or platforms, both public and private, and by collaborating with allies and partners." Specifically, the plan is to mobilize civilian researchers in fields such as physics, optics, meteorology, and metallurgy, along with intelligence experts from U.S. government agencies and departments and Department of Defense specialists to uncover the reality of UFOs.