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A House subcommittee is scheduled to hold its first open congressional hearing on unidentified aircraft in more than half a century next week, in the words of two top defense intelligence officials.
The trial was held in a report published last June. report Requested by Congress for “unidentified weather events.” The National Intelligence Presidency’s nine-page “Preliminary Assessment” focused on 144 incidents dating back to 2004 and was able to explain only one.
The report refused to draw conclusions, saying that the available reports were “largely inadequate”, noting that limited and inconsistent data presented a challenge in assessing the phenomena. But he said most of the reported phenomena “represent physical objects.”
The assessment concluded that the objects were not secret US technology and that “we do not currently have data to suggest that any UAP is part of an alien acquisition program or is indicative of major technological advance by a potential adversary.”
The hearing, scheduled for next Tuesday, is intended to focus on the work of a group within the Pentagon that monitors the national security and flight safety questions raised by the report.
“Since this is a high public interest area, any excessive secrecy could be a barrier to solving the mystery or prevent us from finding solutions to potential security vulnerabilities,” said André Carson, Democratic Representative of Indiana. The House Intelligence Committee’s subcommittee on counterterrorism, counterintelligence and nonproliferation is holding the hearing. “This hearing is about examining steps the Pentagon can take to reduce the stigma surrounding reporting by military pilots and civilian pilots.”
Planned witnesses include Ronald S. Moultrie, secretary of defense for intelligence and security, and Scott W. Bray, deputy director of naval intelligence.
“The federal government and the intelligence community have a critical role in contextualizing and analyzing reports,” said California Democratic Representative Adam B. Schiff, chair of the House Intelligence Committee. He said the purpose of the trial was “to illuminate one of the greatest mysteries of our time and to break the cycle of extreme secrecy and speculation with truth and transparency”.
The report, presented to Congress last June, was made by the intelligence community in conjunction with the Pentagon’s Unidentified Weather Phenomenon Task Force, which the Pentagon replaced in November with a new office, the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group. The group’s mission is to “identify, identify and associate objects of interest in Special Use Airspace and to assess and mitigate any associated threats to flight safety and national security.”
Mr Moultrie leads this new group, which will be the focus of the upcoming hearings.
Last December, New York Democrat Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Arizona Democrat Representative Ruben Gallego managed to add a deal with bipartisan support. change The annual National Defense Authorization Act, which directs the Pentagon to work with the intelligence community on this issue and provide public reports on its findings. The amendment broadened the scope of research beyond what the Pentagon group is currently conducting.
Congress has not held a public hearing on UFOs since the Air Force closed a public investigation known as Project Blue Book in early 1970.
In 1966, Gerald R. Ford, then the Republican minority leader from Michigan, held a hearing in response to UFO reports of more than 40 people, 12 of whom were police. The Air Force described them as “swamp gas”, which Mr. Ford called “infinity”.
In a letter to two House committees on March 28, 1966, Mr. Ford said, “I believe the American people have a right to a more comprehensive explanation than has ever been given to them by the Air Force.” Air Force officials testified about what was seen. .
Two years later, Congress held a second session in which scientists from outside the Air Force presented papers on their own work on the phenomenon and called for continued study of unidentified flying objects.
The Air Force concluded in 1969 that no UFOs threatened national security; that the objects do not exhibit a technology beyond today’s knowledge; and said there was no evidence that the objects were extraterrestrial. The Air Force decided that no further investigation was necessary.
In recent years, intelligence reports and statements by officials have expressed concerns about the national security threat implied by UFOs through advanced technology. reports from pilots for example, vehicles moving at excessive speeds without visible means of propulsion. Authorities have expressed doubts that they may be linked to known enemies.
“I chuckled a little, but that’s something I’m passionate about and I think I can handle the fire,” said Mr Carson. “This may be what brings Democrats and Republicans together for at least an hour or two,” he said.
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