Pentagon Creates New Group To Investigate UFO Sightings

The Department of Defense has formed a new group for investigating and identifying flying objects after officials said earlier this year they were unable to explain more than 100 incidents of unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAP.

The newly launched Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group, or AOIMSG, will work with other federal departments and agencies “to detect, identify and attribute objects of interest” and “mitigate any associated threats to safety of flight and national security,” Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks said in a letter to senior leadership Tuesday.

Hicks had previously expressed concern about the findings of a UAP report released by the DOD in June. The report identified 143 UAP incidents that officials said were unable to be explained after being analyzed by a UAP task force overseen by the secretary of the Navy.

Hicks told senior leadership at the time that the report “confirmed that the scope of UAP activity expands significantly beyond the purview of the Secretary of the Navy,” requiring much broader support by other federal entities. By expanding those involved, the DOD should receive reports of UAP observations within two weeks of an occurrence, she said.

The DOD report cited “a handful” of unexplained sightings that suggested evidence of potential “breakthrough” technology. It examined incidents reported by U.S. government sources, mostly military aviators, over nearly two decades.

“Some UAP appeared to remain stationary in winds aloft, move against the wind, maneuver abruptly, or move at considerable speed, without discernible means of propulsion,” the DOD’s report said of the UAP. “In a small number of cases, military aircraft systems processed radio frequency (RF) energy associated with UAP sightings.”