The Pentagon’s latest report on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) has uncovered hundreds of new sightings, but there is no evidence to suggest an extraterrestrial origin. The review, which covers reports from May 2023 to June 2024, includes a variety of misidentified objects such as balloons, birds, drones, and satellites, along with some incidents that remain unexplained.
One of the more intriguing cases involved a near-miss between a commercial airliner and a mysterious object off the coast of New York, though the cause of the encounter remains under investigation. The report also noted an increase in sightings of the Starlink satellite chain, which has often been mistaken for UFOs by observers.
While the report addresses heightened public curiosity about UFOs, it reiterates the government’s focus on potential national security and air safety threats, not the possibility of extraterrestrial life. The Pentagon’s All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), created in 2022 to investigate UAPs, emphasized that no evidence of extraterrestrial activity or technology has been found.
The report covers a total of 757 UAP cases, including 272 that had not been previously reported. Most of the incidents occurred in airspace, though 49 were at altitudes of 62 miles or higher, which is considered space. Notably, there were no underwater sightings, and no injuries or crashes were reported from any of the incidents.
Despite providing explanations for nearly 300 cases, hundreds of others remain unresolved due to insufficient data. Investigators continue to explore a range of unexplained sightings, including military aircrews reporting unidentified aircraft shadowing them in three separate instances.
During a recent House hearing, lawmakers urged greater transparency in the government’s handling of UAPs, hearing testimony from experts who have spent years studying the phenomena.