US government receives more than 500 UFO reports with hundreds unexplained

A new report revealed that the US government received over 500 reports of UFO sightings since 2021, with hundreds remaining unexplained.

US government receives over 500 UFO reports. Picture: US Department of Defence/AFP/Handout

The US government has received more than 500 reports of unidentified flying object (UFOs) sightings since 2021, with hundreds remaining unexplained.

According to a report from the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), 247 “unidentified aerial phenomenon” (UAPs) reports have been filed with it since June 2021.

The figure is an increase from the 144 sightings of suspicious aerial objects previously reported.

In addition, another 119 reports that had been buried in old records from the past 17 years had been unearthed, leaving it with 510 in total.

Of the 366 new reports, 26 were determined to be drones, 163 were balloons and six aerial objects were attributed to various objects and animals like birds, weather or debris.

Around 171 sightings still remain unexplained, being labelled as “uncharacterised and unattributed” – meaning not enough information was collected to effectively identify them.

“Some of these uncharacterised UAP appear to have demonstrated unusual flight characteristics or performance capabilities, and require further analysis,” the report said.

Want to stream your news? Flash lets you stream 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer available for a limited time only >

A grab from an authentic video taken by navy pilots of an encounter with an unidentified aerial phenomena. Picture: US Department of Defence/AFP/Handout

Most of the new reports come from US navy and air force pilots with many flying in sensitive military airspace, it said.

While there’s no evidence of extraterrestrial activity, the sightings still pose a threat, the government said.

The report states the Pentagon, US intelligence agencies and NASA have concerns the objects might be unknown spying capabilities of rival countries.

“UAP continue to represent a hazard to flight safety and pose a possible adversary collection threat,” the report said, referring to intelligence gathering.

“Some of these uncharacterised UAP appear to have demonstrated unusual flight characteristics or performance capabilities, and require further analysis,” it said.

The report said many of those still unexplained reports could stem from weather phenomena, faulty sensors or erroneous analysis by humans.

“Many reports lack enough detailed data to enable attribution of UAP with high certainty,” it said.

Of the 366 new reports, 26 were determined to be drones. Picture: Getty Images

The report came after years of pressure from Congress for the military and intelligence community to take seriously what were formerly called UFOs, or unidentified flying objects.

The US military is worried some of the UAPs spotted by military pilots in the past may represent technologies of strategic rivals unknown to US scientists.

The Pentagon previously called them unidentified aerial phenomena, but has now changed it to unidentified anomalous phenomena to include air, space and maritime domains.

In 2020, the Pentagon released a still inexplicable video taken by navy pilots of objects moving at incredible speeds, spinning and mysteriously disappearing.

“We take reports of incursions into our designated space, land, sea, or airspaces seriously and examine each one,” said Pentagon Spokesman Pat Ryder in a statement.