Pentagon UFO report can only explain one flying object sighting – a big, deflating balloon
THE Pentagon's highly-anticipated report on UFOs has only explained one single sighting - a deflating balloon.
In the nine-page document, 144 sighting of "unidentified aerial phenomenon" (UAP) were examined after being reported by pilots.
Yet, despite the vast array of unexplained flying objects captured over the years, the US government was only "able to identify one reported UAP with high confidence."
The report stated: "In that case, we identified the object as a large, deflating balloon."
That case was put down to "airborne clutter.";
The most high profile UFO sighting in history - dubbed the Roswell Incident - was also explained by the US government as a crashed weather balloon.
On July 8, 1947 the Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF) in New Mexico distributed a press release claiming they had recovered the remains of a “flying disc” which had crashed in the desert.
Unsurprisingly, the sensational news made headlines across the country yet the very next day the US Army backtracked and released a second statement claiming the recovered object was actually a weather balloon.
Yesterday, following the release of the report, Pentagon experts claim they lack sufficient data to explain the other 143 UFO sightings.
Importantly, the report said it didn't find any evidence that UAPs resulted from alien visitors or foreign countries - despite not knowing what they were.
"Of the 144 reports we are dealing with here, we have no clear indications that there is any non-terrestrial explanation for them — but we will go wherever the data takes us," a US official said.
"We don’t have any clear indications that any of these unidentified aerial phenomena are part of a foreign [intelligence] collection program, and we don’t have any clear data that is indicative of a major technological advancement by a potential adversary.
“We continue to put a lot of effort and energy into tracking those types of developments, and we watch that very carefully. Nothing in this data set clearly points us in that direction," the official continued.
The newly released report said the unexplained aerial sightings could be or Russia — or a "non-government" terror group.
Investigators were, however, convinced that the majority of the "unidentified aerial phenomenon" were physical objects, the official said.
"We absolutely do believe what we're seeing are not simply sensor artefacts. These are things that physically exist," they said, adding that 80 percent of the incidents included data from more than one sensor.
Eleven of the cases involved a "near miss" with US personnel, investigators said.
Lawmakers demanded the findings be released after some 120 incidents over the past 20 years were reported by US military.
US Navy pilots, for example, recorded objects , spinning and mysteriously disappearing.
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The sheer number of what the Pentagon terms Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) has made it a serious issue.
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It comes amid worries that US adversaries like China and Russia may be using unknown, highly advanced military and surveillance technologies.
"We take all incursions into our operating spaces seriously," Pentagon Spokesperson John Kirby said.