Nearly 300 more UFO sightings reported in latest Department of Defense dossier

Far more mysterious aircraft have been roaming U.S. skies than first reported. According to the latest official U.S. government dossier, America’s airspace has been the venue of numerous Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) or, as they’re popularly known, Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). As noted following their first major report on the controversy, these mysterious aerial entities still appear to signify no harm.

The annual intelligence document, a riveting account handed over to Congress on Tuesday, records an intriguing tally of 291 new UAP encounters since 2019. These sightings, diligently compiled and investigated by the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), elevate the total number of cases under scrutiny to a staggering 800 as of April 30, 2023. 

Officials say that 274 new UFO sightings from the latest review period (August 31, 2022 to April 30, 20223) are included, as well as 17 from the prior period that hadn’t been previously noted.

The AARO, a relatively lesser-known arm of the U.S. Department of Defense, spearheads a mission right out of a science-fiction storyline: documenting and dissecting information related to these potential extraterrestrial rendezvous. Their findings so far? The majority of these unexplained phenomena have been witnessed in and around restricted military zones, with military personnel and high-precision sensors playing the roles of primary observers.

Interestingly, the plot thickens as commercial pilots contribute to the narrative, providing accounts that paint a broader geographic canvas of UAP sightings across the nation. Despite their elusive nature, these unidentified objects have maintained a track record of non-interference with commercial or military flight paths, ensuring no jeopardizing close calls or direct threats to aerial operations.

The report elaborates: “While the mere presence of UAP in the airspace represents a potential hazard to flight safety, none of these reports suggest the UAP maneuvered to an unsafe proximity to civil or military aircraft, positioned themselves in flight paths, or otherwise posed a direct threat to the flight safety of the observing aircraft.”

Addressing potential health concerns often associated with close UFO encounters, the AARO has clarified that none of the current UAP sightings coincide with any adverse health effects. Nevertheless, the report cautiously flags certain cases where the objects displayed advanced capabilities, such as exceptionally high-speed travel or atypical maneuverability, which continue to baffle investigators.

The response from the Pentagon echoes the complexity and seriousness with which the UFO sightings are regarded. “Analyzing and understanding the potential threats posed by UAP is an ongoing collaborative effort involving many departments and agencies, and the Department thanks the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and other contributing departments and agencies for their collaborative efforts to produce this report,” said Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder in a statement.

“The safety of our service personnel, our bases and installations, and the protection of U.S. operations security on land, in the skies, seas, and space are paramount,” he added. “We take reports of incursions into our designated space, land, sea, or airspaces seriously and examine each one.”

As the public digests the information from this report, it’s clear that the final chapter of these high-flying mysteries is yet to be written. With 291 new reports to review, the quest to understand who exactly is conspicuously soaring through U.S. skies – terrestrial or otherwise – continues.