Over 270 UAPs, or UFOs, have been reported in the last 8 months, space origins being probed

The Department of Defense in the United States said in a Tuesday (Oct 17) report to Congress that more than 270 reports of unidentified anomalous phenomena, known as UAPs or UFOs, were made to the government in a recent eight-month period.

The unclassified report states that there was no evidence that any of the UAPs identified between Aug 30 of last year and Apr 30 of this year originated in space.

While none of the UAP reports have been confirmed to be of foreign origin, the possibility is being probed.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

The US-based reports mentioned that the officials said many of the reports by military witnesses "present potential safety of flight concerns, and there are some cases where reported UAP have potentially exhibited one more concerning performance characteristics such as high-speed travel or unusual manoeuvrability".

None of these reports suggestthe UAP manoeuvred to an unsafe proximity to civil or military aircraft. However, the report added that the mere presence of UAP in the airspace represents a potential hazard to flight safety.

Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, who is the Pentagon press secretary, said on Wednesday: "The safety of our service personnel, our bases and installations, and the protection of US operations security on land, in the skies, seas, and space are paramount."

"We take reports of incursions into our designated space, land, sea, or airspaces seriously and examine each one," Ryder added.

The agency is also probing 17 sightings that happened between 2019 and 2022 that hadn't been included in earlier reports.

NASA on alien probe

The US has taken the UFO and UAP phenomenon quote seriously, with NASA convening a group of experts in 2022 to review how data about UAPs is collected. The group in September said it found no evidence that UAPs are "extraterrestrial".

In September this year, NASA officially joined the search for UFOs, but reflecting the stigma attached to the field, the US space agency kept secret for hours the identity of the person heading a new programme tracking mystery flying objects.

The official's appointment is the result of a year-long NASA fact-finding report into UAP. "At NASA, it's in our DNA to explore - and to ask why things are the way they are," agency chief Bill Nelson said.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.