The #USgovernment is receiving dozens of reports of unidentified anomalous phenomena (#UAPs, #UFOs)

The #USgovernment is receiving dozens of reports of unidentified anomalous phenomena (#UAPs, #UFOs) each month, according to the director of the office established to investigate the incidents. The office has received approximately 800 reports of unidentified objects to investigate as of this past April, up from 650 reports in August 2022, according to Sean Kirkpatrick, who heads the All-domain #Anomaly Resolution Office (#AARO) at the Pentagon. Nearly all of the new reports refer to objects observed in the air; only one comes from a maritime sighting.

The vast majority of the new reports are benign objects, such as #balloons or #drones, but some may be the result of #America's adversaries trying to spy on the US. There are some indicators that may be concerning that may be attributed to #foreignactivity, and the #Pentagon is investigating those very hard. The annual report on unidentified aerial phenomena, released on Wednesday, said the object sightings may represent an issue for flight safety. Most sightings and observations come from near restricted military airspace, likely a result from the additional sensors and radars around the facilities.

A portion of the increase in reports comes from the #Federal #Aviation Administration (FAA), which monitors airspace around US airports starting to provide information to the Pentagon. About half of the reports contain enough data that they can be ruled out as "mundane things," such as errant balloons or floating trash, but 2-4% are truly anomalous and require further investigation. Only a very small percentage of observations have "interesting" signatures, such as high-speed travel or "unknown #morphologies."

Kirkpatrick's office has transferred "a lot" of cases to #lawenforcement for further investigation and, if necessary, counterintelligence. Some sightings could potentially be foreign adversaries spying on the United States, like the Chinese spy balloon shot down off the coast of South Carolina in February. The annual report on UAPs, put together by the Defense Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said, "Although none of these UAP reports have been positively attributed to foreign activities, these cases continue to be investigated."

The #Pentagon is preparing for a flood of new #reports as it readies two new #portals for submissions: one for historical sightings from current or former #government employees and contractors and a second for public submissions of new reports. The portal for #historical #sightings is set to open sometime in the next month or so, with the opening of the public portal still several months away, which Kirkpatrick says could flood the system with "hundreds, if not thousands" of new reports to sort through.

Kirkpatrick has a plan for his office, which involves a system that will automatically match known objects to public reports, allowing the government to dismiss sightings of identified bodies. However, the reports of #unknownobjects could prove to be valuable, as it makes it really hard for the foreign adversary to do anything.