Editing Unidentified flying object (section)

==Investigations of reports==

UFOs have been subject to investigations over the years that varied widely in scope and scientific rigor. Governments or independent academics in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Peru, France, Belgium, Sweden, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Mexico, Spain, and the [[Soviet Union]] are known to have investigated UFO reports at various times. No official government investigation has ever publicly concluded that UFOs are indisputably real, physical objects, extraterrestrial in origin, or of concern to national defense.

Among the best known government studies are the ghost rockets investigation by the Swedish military (1946–1947), Project Blue Book, previously [[Project Sign]] and [[Project Grudge]], conducted by the USAF from 1947 until 1969, the secret U.S. Army/Air Force [[Green fireballs#Project Twinkle|Project Twinkle]] investigation into [[green fireballs]] (1948–1951), the secret USAF Project Blue Book Special Report No. 14<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/ProjectBlueBookSpecialReport14 |title=Project Blue Book Special Report #14 |website=[[Internet Archive]] |publisher=[[United States Air Force]] |access-date=September 7, 2013}}</ref> by the [[Battelle Memorial Institute]], and the [[Brazilian Air Force]]'s 1977 ''[[Operação Prato]]'' (Operation Saucer). France has had an ongoing investigation (GEPAN/SEPRA/[[GEIPAN]]) within its space agency [[CNES|Centre national d'études spatiales]] (CNES) since 1977; the [[Politics of Uruguay|government of Uruguay]] has had a similar investigation since 1989.

===Americas===

==== Brazil (1952–2016) ====

[[File:Registro de avistamento de Objeto Voador Não Identificado - OVNI ocorrido em dezembro de 1977, na Bahia.jpg|thumb|A document about a sighting of a UFO that occurred on December 16, 1977, in the state of [[Bahia]], [[Brazil]]]]

On October 31, 2008, the [[Brazilian National Archives|National Archives of Brazil]] began receiving from the Aeronautical Documentation and History Center part of the documentation of the [[Brazilian Air Force]] regarding the investigation of the appearance of UFOs in [[Brazil]]. Currently, this collection gathers cases between 1952 and 2016.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-10947856|title=Brazil to record UFO sightings|date=August 12, 2010|work=BBC News|access-date=April 1, 2018|archive-date=May 4, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180504151608/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-10947856|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Chile (c. 1968) ====

In 1968, the [[SEFAA]] (previously CEFAA) began receiving case reports of the general public, civil aviators and the [[Chilean Air Force]] regarding the sightings or the appearance of UFOs in [[Chile]], the initial work was an initiative of Sergio Bravo Flores who led the Chilean Committee for the Study of Unidentified Space Phenomena, supported even by the Chilean Scientific Society. Currently, the organization changed its denomination to SEFAA and its a department of the [[Directorate General of Civil Aviation (Chile)|DGAC]](Chile) which in turn depends on the [[Chilean Air Force]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sefaa.dgac.gob.cl/historia-del-cefaa/|title=Origen de la SEFAA|work=SEFAA|location=[[Santiago de Chile]]|access-date=July 3, 2022|archive-date=July 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704020202/https://sefaa.dgac.gob.cl/historia-del-cefaa/|url-status=live}}(in spanish)</ref>

====Canada (c. 1950)====

In Canada, the [[Department of National Defence (Canada)|Department of National Defence]] has dealt with reports, sightings and investigations of UFOs across Canada. In addition to conducting investigations into [[crop circle]]s in [[Duhamel, Alberta]], it still considers "unsolved" the [[Falcon Lake Incident|Falcon Lake incident]] in Manitoba and the [[Shag Harbour UFO incident]] in Nova Scotia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/ufo/ |title=Canada's UFOs: The Search for the Unknown |publisher=[[Library and Archives Canada]] |location=Ottawa |type=Virtual museum |access-date=September 8, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160116131034/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/ufo/ |archive-date=January 16, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Early Canadian studies included [[Project Magnet (UFO)|Project Magnet]] (1950–1954) and [[Project Second Storey]] (1952–1954), supported by the [[Defence Research and Development Canada|Defence Research Board]].

====United States====
====Synopsis====
U.S. investigations into UFOs include:
* [[Project Sign]], by the [[Air Materiel Command]] (AMC) USAF, precursor to Project Grudge, 1948.
* [[Ghost rockets]] investigations by the Finnish, Swedish and British militaries, later the US and Greece, 1946–1947.
* [[Project Grudge]], USAF from February 1949, succeeded by Project Blue Book, from March 1952.
* Project Twinkle investigation into [[green fireballs]], by the U.S. Army/Air Force, briefly, from December 1949.
* The [[Central Intelligence Agency Directorate of Science & Technology]] (DS&T), study 1952–53.
* [[The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects]], by USAF Cpt (rtd.), later director of Project Blue Book, 1956.
* The [[Identification studies of UFOs#Project Blue Book Special Report No. 14|Project Blue Book Special Report No. 14]] by the Battelle Memorial Institute for USAF, 1951–1954
* The [[Aerial Phenomena Research Organization]] (APRO), a private research group, 1952–1988.
* The [[Robertson Panel]] was a scientific committee which met in January 1953 to review the Project Blue Book report January 1953
* The [[Brookings Report]], ''Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs'', in conjunction with NASA's Committee on Long-Range Studies, reported to Congress 1960
* The [[Condon Committee]], an informal University of Colorado UFO Project funded by the USAF, 1966 to 1968.
* The [[RAND Corporation]] study, a private and internal study, 1968.<ref>[[#Kocher|Kocher 1968]]</ref>
* The [[Mutual UFO Network]] (MUFON), is a US-based, civilian, non-profit, volunteer organization studying reported UFO sightings, May 1969 and continuing.
* The [[National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena]] (NICAP) is a UFO research group most active in the United States from the 1950s to the 1980 and remains as an informational depository on UFO phenomena.
* The [[Center for UFO Studies]] (CUFOS), a privately funded UFO research group, 1973 and continuing.
* The [[Peter A. Sturrock|Sturrock panel]], private investigation arising from the [[Society for Scientific Exploration]], 1982.
* The [[Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program]] which was funded from 2007 to 2012.<ref name="NYT-20171216"/><ref name="NYT-20200514"/>
* The [[All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office]], a continuing program within the United States [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] which was acknowledged in 2017.
* The ''Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group'', the Pentagon, to investigate unidentified objects that may compromise the airspace of the United States, from November 24, 2021, ongoing.<ref name="WP-20211124">{{cite news |last=Demirjian |first=Karoun |title=Pentagon will track unexplained airborne objects through new intelligence group |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2021/11/24/ufos-pentagon/ |date=November 24, 2021 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=November 24, 2021 |archive-date=November 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211125085817/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2021/11/24/ufos-pentagon/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In addition to these, thousands of documents released under [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|FOIA]] also indicate that many U.S. intelligence agencies collected (and still collect) information on UFOs. These agencies include the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] (DIA), [[FBI]],<ref name="AP-20130329">{{cite news|last=Contreras|first=Russell|title=FBI 'flying saucers' NM memo bureau's most viewed|url=http://apnews.excite.com/article/20130329/DA5AVRAG0.html|date=March 29, 2013|agency=[[Associated Press]]|access-date=April 1, 2013|archive-date=September 27, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927222146/http://apnews.excite.com/article/20130329/DA5AVRAG0.html|url-status=live}}</ref> CIA, [[National Security Agency]] (NSA), as well as military intelligence agencies of the Army and [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]], in addition to the Air Force.<ref group="note">Many of these documents are now online at the FOIA websites of these agencies such as the {{cite web |url=http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/ufo.htm |title=FBI FOIA site |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080524114748/http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/ufo.htm |archive-date=May 24, 2008 }}, as well as private websites such as [http://www.theblackvault.com/ The Black Vault] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110902090822/http://www.theblackvault.com/ |date=September 2, 2011 }}, which has an archive of several thousand U.S. government UFO-related documents from the USAF, Army, CIA, DIA, DOD, and NSA.</ref>

=====USAAF and FBI response to the 1947 sightings=====
{{Unbalanced section|date=November 2021}}
Following the large U.S. surge in sightings in June and early July 1947, on July 9, 1947, [[United States Army Air Forces]] (USAAF) intelligence, in cooperation with the FBI,<ref name="AP-20130329" /> began a formal investigation into selected sightings with characteristics that could not be immediately rationalized, such as Kenneth Arnold's. The USAAF used "all of its top scientists" to determine whether "such a phenomenon could, in fact, occur". The research was "being conducted with the thought that the flying objects might be a celestial phenomenon," or that "they might be a foreign body mechanically devised and controlled."<ref>{{cite web |title=Federal Bureau of Investigation FOIA Documents – Unidentified Flying Objects |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25706/25706.txt |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110121822/http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25706/25706.txt |archive-date=November 10, 2012 |access-date=September 7, 2013 |website=[[Project Gutenberg]]}} Internal FBI memo from E. G. Fitch to [[D. M. Ladd]] concerning a request by General George F. Schulgen, Chief of the Requirements Intelligence Branch of Army Air Corps Intelligence, for the FBI to help with their investigation of UFO reports.</ref> Three weeks later in a preliminary defense estimate, the air force investigation decided that, "This 'flying saucer' situation is not all imaginary or seeing too much in some natural phenomenon. Something is really flying around."<ref>[[#Hall & Connors|Hall & Connors 1998]], p. 83</ref>

A further review by the intelligence and technical divisions of the [[Air Force Logistics Command|Air Materiel Command]] at [[Wright-Patterson Air Force Base|Wright Field]] reached the same conclusion. It reported that "the phenomenon is something real and not visionary or fictitious," and there were disc-shaped objects, metallic in appearance, as big as man-made aircraft. They were characterized by "extreme rates of climb [and] maneuverability", general lack of noise, absence of a trail, occasional formation flying, and "evasive" behavior "when sighted or contacted by friendly aircraft and radar", suggesting a controlled craft. It was therefore recommended in late September 1947 that an official Air Force investigation be set up. It was also recommended that other government agencies should assist in the investigation.<ref group="note">The so-called [http://www.majesticdocuments.com/pdf/twiningopinionamc_23sept47.pdf Twining memo of September 23, 1947] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226081323/http://www.majesticdocuments.com/pdf/twiningopinionamc_23sept47.pdf |date=February 26, 2009 }}, by future USAF Chief of Staff, General [[Nathan Farragut Twining|Nathan Twining]], specifically recommended intelligence cooperation with the Army, Navy, [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|Atomic Energy Commission]], the Defense Department's Joint Research and Development Board, Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, [[National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics]] (NACA), Project [[RAND]], and the [[Nuclear aircraft|Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft]] (NEPA) project.</ref>

=====USAF=====

====== Projects Sign (1947–1949), Grudge (1948–1951), and Blue Book (1951–1970) ======
{{main|Project Sign|Project Grudge|Project Blue Book}}
Project Sign's final report, published in early 1949, stated that while some UFOs appeared to represent actual aircraft, there was not enough data to determine their origin.<ref name="Blum1990">Blum, Howard, Out There: The Government's Secret Quest for Extraterrestrials. Simon and Schuster, 1990</ref>

The Air Force's Project Sign was created at the end of 1947, and was one of the earliest government studies to come to a secret extraterrestrial conclusion. In August 1948, Sign investigators wrote a top-secret intelligence estimate to that effect, but the [[Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force|Air Force Chief of Staff]] [[Hoyt Vandenberg]] ordered it destroyed. The existence of this suppressed report was revealed by several insiders who had read it, such as astronomer and USAF consultant J. Allen Hynek and Capt. Edward J. Ruppelt, the first head of the USAF's Project Blue Book.<ref>[[#Ruppelt|Ruppelt 1956]], Chapter 3: [http://www.nicap.org/rufo/rufo-03.htm "The Classics"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070906190034/http://www.nicap.org/rufo/rufo-03.htm |date=September 6, 2007 }}</ref>

Another highly classified U.S. study was conducted by the CIA's Office of Scientific Investigation (OS/I) in the latter half of 1952 in response to orders from the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]] (NSC). This study concluded UFOs were real physical objects of potential threat to national security. One OS/I memo to the CIA Director (DCI) in December read that "the reports of incidents convince us that there is something going on that must have immediate attention&nbsp;... Sightings of unexplained objects at great altitudes and traveling at high speeds in the vicinity of major U.S. defense installations are of such a nature that they are not attributable to natural phenomena or any known types of aerial vehicles."<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/97unclass/ufo.html |title=CIA's Role in the Study of UFOs, 1947–90 |last=Haines |first=Gerald K. |date=1997 |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |oclc=713270503 |access-date=July 13, 2013 |archive-date=October 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001174318/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/97unclass/ufo.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The matter was considered so urgent that OS/I drafted a memorandum from the DCI to the NSC proposing that the NSC establish an investigation of UFOs as a priority project throughout the intelligence and the defense research and development community. It also urged the DCI to establish an external research project of top-level scientists, now known as the Robertson Panel to analyze the problem of UFOs. The OS/I investigation was called off after the Robertson Panel's negative conclusions in January 1953.<ref name="auto"/>

Project Sign was dismantled and became Project Grudge at the end of 1948. Angered by the low quality of investigations by Grudge, the Air Force Director of Intelligence reorganized it as Project Blue Book in late 1951, placing Ruppelt in charge. [[J. Allen Hynek]], a trained astronomer who served as a scientific advisor for Project Blue Book, was initially skeptical of UFO reports, but eventually came to the conclusion that many of them could not be satisfactorily explained and was highly critical of what he described as "the cavalier disregard by Project Blue Book of the principles of scientific investigation".<ref>[[#Hynek 1972|Hynek 1972]], p. 76</ref> Leaving government work, he founded the privately funded [[Center for UFO Studies|CUFOS]], to whose work he devoted the rest of his life. Other private groups studying the phenomenon include the [[Mutual UFO Network|MUFON]], a grassroots organization whose investigator's handbooks go into great detail on the documentation of alleged UFO sightings.

====== USAF Regulation 200-2 (1953–1954) ======

[[s:Air Force Regulation 200-2, Unidentified Flying Objects Reporting|Air Force Regulation 200-2]],<ref name="AFD-070703-004">{{cite web |url=http://www.foia.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-070703-004.pdf |title=AFD-070703-004.pdf |work=Air Force Freedom of Information Act |publisher=United States Air Force |access-date=September 7, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120910051437/http://www.foia.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-070703-004.pdf |archive-date=September 10, 2012  }}</ref> issued in 1953 and 1954, defined an Unidentified Flying Object ("UFOB") as "any airborne object which by performance, aerodynamic characteristics, or unusual features, does not conform to any presently known aircraft or missile type, or which cannot be positively identified as a familiar object." The regulation also said UFOBs were to be investigated as a "possible threat to the security of the United States" and "to determine technical aspects involved." The regulation went on to say that "it is permissible to inform news media representatives on UFOB's when the object is positively identified as a familiar object" but added: "For those objects which are not explainable, only the fact that ATIC [Air Technical Intelligence Center] will analyze the data is worthy of release, due to many unknowns involved."<ref name="AFD-070703-004" />

===== Blue Book and the Condon Committee (1968–1970) =====
{{main|Condon Committee}}

A public research effort conducted by the Condon Committee for the USAF and published as the Condon Report arrived at a negative conclusion in 1968.<ref name="COMETA" /> Blue Book closed down in 1970, using the Condon Committee's negative conclusion as a rationale, thus ending official Air Force UFO investigations. However, a 1969 USAF document, known as the Bolender memo, along with later government documents, revealed that non-public [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. government]] UFO investigations continued after 1970. The Bolender memo first stated that "reports of unidentified flying objects that could affect national security&nbsp;... are not part of the Blue Book system," indicating that more serious UFO incidents already were handled outside the public Blue Book investigation. The memo then added, "reports of UFOs which could affect national security would continue to be handled through the standard Air Force procedures designed for this purpose."<ref group="note">For example, current USAF general reporting procedures are in [http://www.theblackvault.com/documents/ufos/AFI10-206.pdf Air Force Instruction (AFI)10-206] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080618065117/http://www.theblackvault.com/documents/ufos/AFI10-206.pdf |date=June 18, 2008 }}. Section 5.7.3 (p. 64) lists sightings of "unidentified flying objects" and "aircraft of unconventional design" as separate categories from potentially hostile but conventional, unidentified aircraft, missiles, surface vessels, or submarines. Additionally, "unidentified objects" detected by missile warning systems, creating a potential risk of nuclear war, are covered by Rule 5E (p.35).</ref>

In the late 1960s, a chapter on UFOs in the Space Sciences course at the [[United States Air Force Academy|U.S. Air Force Academy]] gave serious consideration to possible extraterrestrial origins. When word of the curriculum became public, in 1970, the Air Force issued a statement to the effect that the book was outdated and cadets instead were being informed of the [[Condon Committee|Condon Report]]'s negative conclusion.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cufon.org/cufon/afu.htm |title=Introductory Space Science |website=CUFON.org |publisher=Computer UFO Network (CUFON) |location=West Jacksonville, FL |access-date=May 16, 2013 |archive-date=May 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530172640/http://www.cufon.org/cufon/afu.htm |url-status=live }} Air Force Academy UFO material.</ref>

Controversy surrounded the report, both before and after its release. It has been observed that the report was "harshly criticized by numerous scientists, particularly at the powerful AIAA&nbsp;... [which] recommended moderate, but continuous scientific work on UFOs."<ref name="COMETA" /> In an address to the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences|AAAS]], [[James E. McDonald]] said he believed science had failed to mount adequate studies of the problem and criticized the Condon Report and earlier studies by the USAF as scientifically deficient. He also questioned the basis for Condon's conclusions<ref name="default">{{cite conference |first=James E. |last=McDonald |title=Science in Default: Twenty-Two Years of Inadequate UFO Investigations |conference=[[American Association for the Advancement of Science]], 134th Meeting |book-title=UFO's: A Scientific Debate |editor1-last=Sagan |editor1-first=Carl |editor1-link=Carl Sagan |editor2-last=Page |editor2-first=Thornton |url=https://archive.org/details/ufosascientificd0000unse_n5n6 |edition=Reprint |orig-year=Originally published 1972 |date=1974 |publisher=[[W. W. Norton & Company]] |location=New York |isbn=978-0-393-00739-8 |oclc=934695 |lccn=72004572 |access-date=March 30, 2011  |url-access=registration }}</ref> and argued that the reports of UFOs have been "laughed out of scientific court".<ref name="McDonald" /> J. Allen Hynek, an astronomer who worked as a USAF consultant from 1948, sharply criticized the Condon Committee Report and later wrote two nontechnical books that set forth the case for continuing to investigate UFO reports.

Ruppelt recounted his experiences with Project Blue Book, a USAF investigation that preceded Condon's.<ref>[[#Ruppelt|Ruppelt 1956]]</ref>

====FOIA release of documents in 1978====
According to a 1979 [[New York Times]] report, "records from the C.I.A., the F.B.I. and other Federal agencies" ("about 900 documents—nearly 900 pages of memos, reports and correspondence") obtained in 1978 through the Freedom of Information Act request, indicate that "despite official pronouncements for decades that U.F.O.'s were nothing more than misidentified aerial objects and as such were no cause for alarm ... the phenomenon has aroused much serious behind‐the‐scenes concern" in the US government. In particular, officials were concerned over the "approximately 10%" of UFO sightings which remained unexplained, and whether they might be Soviet aircraft and a threat to national security.<ref name="Huyghe-1979-NYT">{{cite news |last1=Huyghe |first1=Patrick |title=U.F.O. Files: The Untold Story  |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/10/14/archives/ufo-files-the-untold-story.html |access-date=November 9, 2021 |agency=New York Times |date=October 14, 1979 |archive-date=November 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109023957/https://www.nytimes.com/1979/10/14/archives/ufo-files-the-untold-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Officials were concerned about the "risk of false alerts", of "falsely identifying the real as phantom", and of mass hysteria caused by sightings. In 1947, Brigadier General George F. Schulgen of Army Air Corps Intelligence, warned "the first reported sightings might have been by individuals of Communist sympathies with the view to causing hysteria and fear of a secret Russian weapon."<ref name="Huyghe-1979-NYT"/>

===== White House statement of November 2011 =====
In November 2011, the [[White House]] released an official response to two petitions asking the U.S. government to acknowledge formally that aliens have visited this planet and to disclose any intentional withholding of government interactions with extraterrestrial beings. According to the response:
{{blockquote|The U.S. government has no evidence that any life exists outside our planet, or that an extraterrestrial presence has contacted or engaged any member of the human race...no credible information to suggest that any evidence is being hidden from the public's eye....|Statement by the White House<ref name="WhiteHouse">{{cite web|last=Larson|first=Phil|title=Searching for ET, But No Evidence Yet|url=https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/response/searching-et-no-evidence-yet|date=November 5, 2011|publisher=[[White House]]|access-date=2013-09-06|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111124052154/https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/Petitions#!/response/searching-et-no-evidence-yet|archive-date=November 24, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="Atkinson">{{cite news |first=Nancy |last=Atkinson |url=http://www.universetoday.com/90717/no-alien-visits-or-ufo-coverups-white-house-says/ |title=No Alien Visits or UFO Coverups, White House Says |date=November 5, 2011 |work=[[Universe Today]] |location=Courtenay, B.C. |access-date=November 6, 2011 |archive-date=January 18, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190118163408/https://www.universetoday.com/90717/no-alien-visits-or-ufo-coverups-white-house-says/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

The response further noted that efforts, like [[Search for extraterrestrial intelligence|SETI]] and NASA's ''[[Kepler (spacecraft)|Kepler]]'' space telescope and [[Mars Science Laboratory]], continue looking for [[life|signs of life]]. The response noted "odds are pretty high" that there may be life on other planets but "the odds of us making contact with any of them—especially any [[extraterrestrial intelligence|intelligent ones]]—are extremely small, given the distances involved."<ref name="WhiteHouse"/><ref name="Atkinson"/>

=====ODNI report 2021=====
On June 25, 2021, the [[Office of the Director of National Intelligence]] released a report on UAPs.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gabbatt |first1=Adam |title=It came out of the sky: US releases highly anticipated UFO report |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/25/ufos-us-government-report |work=The Guardian |date=June 25, 2021 |language=en |access-date=June 26, 2021 |archive-date=June 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210626025006/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/25/ufos-us-government-report |url-status=live }}</ref> The report found that the UAPTF was unable to identify 143 objects spotted between 2004 and 2021. The report said that 18 of these featured unusual movement patterns or flight characteristics, adding that more analysis was needed to determine if those sightings represented "breakthrough" technology. The report said that "some of these steps are resource-intensive and would require additional investment."<ref name="dni_Preliminary_Assessment">{{cite web |title=Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena |publisher=[[Office of the Director of National Intelligence]] |date=June 25, 2021 |access-date=June 25, 2021 |url=https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Prelimary-Assessment-UAP-20210625.pdf |archive-date=July 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726114054/https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Prelimary-Assessment-UAP-20210625.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The report did not link the sightings to extraterrestrial life.<ref name="APmerchant">{{cite news |last1=Merchant |first1=Nomaan |title=No ET, no answers: Intel report is inconclusive about UFOs |url=https://apnews.com/article/technology-government-and-politics-f5f24502d97072fd4bef34b6fe36c81d |website=apnews.com |date=June 25, 2021 |agency=Associated Press |access-date=June 25, 2021 |archive-date=June 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625210913/https://apnews.com/article/technology-government-and-politics-f5f24502d97072fd4bef34b6fe36c81d |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Kube |first1=Courtney |last2=Edelman |first2=Adam |title=UFO report: Government can't explain 143 of 144 mysterious flying objects, blames limited data |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/ufo-report-government-can-t-explain-143-144-mysterious-flying-n1272390 |work=NBC News |date=June 25, 2021 |language=en |access-date=June 26, 2021 |archive-date=June 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210626023614/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/ufo-report-government-can-t-explain-143-144-mysterious-flying-n1272390 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Uruguay (c. 1989)====

The [[Uruguayan Air Force]] has conducted UFO investigations since 1989 and reportedly analyzed 2,100 cases of which they regard approximately 2% as lacking explanation.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hay aún 40 casos de ovnis sin explicación |first=Daniel |last=Isgleas |url=http://historico.elpais.com.uy/090607/pnacio-421863/nacional/Hay-aun-40-casos-de-ovnis-sin-explicacion/ |work=[[El País (Uruguay)|El País]] |publisher=[[Teledoce]] |location=Montevideo |date=June 7, 2009 |access-date=September 10, 2013 |language=es |archive-date=November 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131116102645/http://historico.elpais.com.uy/090607/pnacio-421863/nacional/Hay-aun-40-casos-de-ovnis-sin-explicacion/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Europe===

==== France (1977–2008) ====

In March 2007, the French space agency [[CNES]] published an archive of UFO sightings and other phenomena online.<ref name="geipan">{{cite web |url=http://www.cnes-geipan.fr/ |title=GEIPAN: Le GEIPAN |work=[[GEIPAN|Groupe d'Études et d'Informations sur les Phénomènes Aérospatiaux Non Identifiés]] (GEIPAN) |publisher=[[Centre national d'études spatiales]] (CNES) |location=Paris |access-date=May 16, 2013 |archive-date=February 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219094957/http://www.cnes-geipan.fr/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

French studies include GEPAN/SEPRA/[[GEIPAN]] within CNES (French space agency), the longest ongoing government-sponsored investigation. About 22% of the 6,000 cases studied remain unexplained.<ref name="GEIPAN statistics summary">{{cite web|url=http://www.cnes.fr/web/CNES-en/5039-a-history-of-uap-research-at-cnes.php|title=A history of UAP research at CNES|publisher=[[CNES]]|access-date=October 6, 2014|archive-date=October 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006155415/http://www.cnes.fr/web/CNES-en/5039-a-history-of-uap-research-at-cnes.php|url-status=live}}</ref> The official opinion of GEPAN/SEPRA/GEIPAN has been neutral, stating on their [[FAQ]] page that their mission is fact-finding for the scientific community, not rendering an opinion. They add they can neither prove nor disprove the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis (ETH), but their Steering Committee's clear position is that they cannot discard the possibility that some fraction of the very strange 22% of unexplained cases might be due to distant and advanced civilizations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.geipan.fr/fr/faq-page?_x_tr_sl=fr&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en#n58794|title=Autres Liens|access-date=October 6, 2014|archive-date=August 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804171011/https://www.geipan.fr/fr/faq-page?_x_tr_sl=fr&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en#n58794|url-status=live}}</ref>

Possibly their bias may be indicated by their use of the terms "PAN" (French) or "UAP" (English equivalent) for "Unidentified ''Aerospace'' Phenomenon" (whereas "UAP" is normally used by English organizations stands for "Unidentified ''Aerial'' Phenomenon", a more neutral term). In addition, the three heads of the studies have gone on record in stating that UFOs were real physical flying machines beyond our knowledge or that the best explanation for the most inexplicable cases was an extraterrestrial one.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ufoevidence.org/documents/doc2008.htm |title=Official French Gov't UFO study project to resume with new director |date=October 2005 |publisher=ufoevidence.org |location=Seattle |access-date=July 13, 2013 |archive-date=May 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502192445/http://ufoevidence.org/documents/doc2008.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ufoevidence.org/documents/doc1627.htm |title='Yes, UFOs exist': Position statement by SEPRA head, Jean-Jacques Velasco |orig-year=Originally published in ''[[La Dépêche du Midi]]'' |date=April 18, 2004 |publisher=ufoevidence.org |location=Seattle |access-date=July 13, 2013 |archive-date=April 8, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408232437/http://www.ufoevidence.org/documents/doc1627.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ufoevidence.org/documents/doc1626.htm |title=Assessment of the UFO phenomenon by GEPAN (1978) |publisher=ufoevidence.org |location=Seattle |access-date=July 13, 2013 |archive-date=April 8, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408232427/http://www.ufoevidence.org/documents/doc1626.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2007, the CNES's own report stated that, at that time, 28% of sightings remained unidentified.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://cnes.fr/en/web/CNES-en/5866-geipan-uap-investigation-unit-opens-its-files.php |title=CNES report, March 26, 2007 |date=April 23, 2015 |access-date=January 8, 2023 |archive-date=January 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230108170520/https://cnes.fr/en/web/CNES-en/5866-geipan-uap-investigation-unit-opens-its-files.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2008, Michel Scheller, president of the [[Association Aéronautique et Astronautique de France]] (3AF), created the Sigma Commission. Its purpose was to investigate UFO phenomena worldwide.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x98y3k_ovni-nouvelle-commission-denquete-3_tech |title=Ovni-nouvelle-commission-denquete-3AF-PAN (Partie 1) |website=[[Dailymotion]] |date=May 11, 2009 |publisher=[[Orange (telecommunications)|Orange]] |location=Paris |access-date=January 11, 2014 |archive-date=January 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106220709/http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x98y3k_ovni-nouvelle-commission-denquete-3_tech |url-status=live }}</ref> A progress report published in May 2010 stated that the central hypothesis proposed by the [[COMETA report]] is perfectly credible.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.openminds.tv/wp-content/uploads/Rapport_Etape_Com.SIGMA_Juin2010.pdf |title=Rapport d'étape de la Commission Sigma/3AF |date=May 31, 2010 |publisher=[[Association Aéronautique et Astronautique de France]] |location=Paris |access-date=January 11, 2014 |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924061130/http://www.openminds.tv/wp-content/uploads/Rapport_Etape_Com.SIGMA_Juin2010.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> In December 2012, the final report of the Sigma Commission was submitted to Scheller. Following the submission of the final report, the Sigma2 Commission is to be formed with a mandate to continue the scientific investigation of UFO phenomena.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.3af.fr/article/en-direct-de-3af/sigma-2 |title=Sigma 2 |last=Dini |first=Luc |date=January 10, 2013 |website=3AF |publisher=Association Aéronautique et Astronautique de France |location=Paris |access-date=January 11, 2014 |archive-date=February 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140213092211/http://www.3af.fr/article/en-direct-de-3af/sigma-2 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite interview |last=Boudier |first=Alain |interviewer=Alexandre |title=Alexandre – Alain Boudier – Sygma & 3AF |url=http://rim951.fr/?p=2537 |work=RimLive.com |location=Paris |date=June 20, 2013 |access-date=January 11, 2014 |archive-date=July 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702074819/http://rim951.fr/?p=2537 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==== Italy (1933–2005) ====

Alleged UFO sightings gradually increased since the war, peaking in 1978 and 2005. The total number of sightings since 1947 are 18,500, of which 90% are identifiable.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ufo.it/ufo1bis.htm?l-l=en|title=And Ufology UFO Italy UFO sightings, not Flying Saucers, Aliens or Extraterrestrials|publisher=Ufo.it|access-date=October 6, 2014|archive-date=October 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006163047/http://www.ufo.it/ufo1bis.htm?l-l=en|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== United Kingdom (1951–2009) ====
{{Update section|date=December 2020}}
The UK's [[Flying Saucer Working Party]] published its final report in June 1951, which remained secret for over fifty years. The Working Party concluded that all UFO sightings could be explained as misidentifications of ordinary objects or phenomena, optical illusions, psychological misperceptions/aberrations, or hoaxes. The report stated: "We accordingly recommend very strongly that no further investigation of reported mysterious aerial phenomena be undertaken, unless and until some material evidence becomes available."<ref name="FSWP">{{cite web |url=http://www.theblackvault.com/documents/ufos/UK/DEFE44-119.pdf |title=Unidentified Flying Objects |date=June 1951 |website=The Black Vault |publisher=John Greenewald |id=DSI/JTIC Report No. 7 |location=Northridge, CA |access-date=September 16, 2013 |archive-date=June 1, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120601042337/http://www.theblackvault.com/documents/ufos/UK/DEFE44-119.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Eight file collections on UFO sightings, dating from 1978 to 1987, were first released on May 14, 2008, to [[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]] by the [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]] (MoD).<ref name="nationalarchivesUFO">{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ufos/ |title=UFO files |publisher=[[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]] |location=Kew |access-date=September 10, 2013 |archive-date=February 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224203714/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ufos/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Although kept secret from the public for many years, most of the files have low levels of classification and none are classified Top Secret. 200 files are set to be made public by 2012. The files are correspondence from the public sent to the British government and officials, such as the MoD and [[Margaret Thatcher]]. The MoD released the files under the [[Freedom of information in the United Kingdom|Freedom of Information Act]] due to requests from researchers.<ref>{{cite news |title=Files released on UFO sightings |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7398108.stm |work=[[BBC News]] |publisher=BBC |location=London |date=May 14, 2008 |access-date=May 16, 2013 |archive-date=July 20, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720115509/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7398108.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> These files include, but are not limited to, UFOs over [[Liverpool]] and [[Waterloo Bridge]] in London.<ref>{{cite news |title=The truth is out there: Britons 'spotted' UFOs, records say |url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j0OnawpQKsmDXbJAce-OI5EiUgHQ |agency=[[Agence France-Presse|AFP]] |location=London |date=May 13, 2008 |access-date=May 16, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605221509/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j0OnawpQKsmDXbJAce-OI5EiUgHQ |archive-date=June 5, 2013  }}</ref>

On October 20, 2008, more UFO files were released. One case released detailed that in 1991 an Alitalia passenger aircraft was approaching [[London Heathrow Airport]] when the pilots saw what they described as a "[[cruise missile]]" fly extremely close to the cockpit. The pilots believed a collision was imminent. UFO expert David Clarke says this is one of the most convincing cases for a UFO he has come across.<ref>{{cite news |title=Airliner had near miss with UFO |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7679145.stm |work=BBC News |publisher=BBC |location=London |date=October 20, 2008 |access-date=May 16, 2013 |archive-date=October 23, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081023152515/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7679145.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

A secret study of UFOs was undertaken for the Ministry of Defence between 1996 and 2000 and was code-named Project Condign. The resulting report, titled "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena in the UK Defence Region", was publicly released in 2006, but the identity and credentials of whoever constituted Project Condign remains classified. The report confirmed earlier findings that the main causes of UFO sightings are misidentification of man-made and natural objects. The report noted: "No artefacts of unknown or unexplained origin have been reported or handed to the UK authorities, despite thousands of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena reports. There are no [[Signals intelligence|SIGINT]], [[Signals intelligence|ELINT]] or radiation measurements and little useful video or still [[Imagery intelligence|IMINT]]."<ref name="auto1">{{cite web |url=http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/BA0DA42F-2C56-431E-98F6-19CD45EE7D43/0/uap_vol3_executive_summary_pg2_paras4_and_7.pdf |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121026065214/http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/BA0DA42F-2C56-431E-98F6-19CD45EE7D43/0/uap_vol3_executive_summary_pg2_paras4_and_7.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 26, 2012 |title=Unidentified Aerial Phenomena in the UK Air Defence Region |volume=3 |author=Defence Intelligence Staff |author-link=Defence Intelligence |date=December 2000 |publisher=The National Archives |location=Kew |page=2 |id=55/2/00 |access-date=September 10, 2013}} See also The National Archives site: [http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121026065214/http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FreedomOfInformation/PublicationScheme/SearchPublicationScheme/UapInTheUkAirDefenceRegionVolume3.htm "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) in the UK Air Defence Region"] for archived documents.</ref>

It concluded: "There is no evidence that any UAP, seen in the UKADR [UK Air Defence Region], are incursions by air-objects of any intelligent (extraterrestrial or foreign) origin, or that they represent any hostile intent." A little-discussed conclusion of the report was that novel meteorological plasma phenomenon akin to [[ball lightning]] are responsible for "the majority, if not all" of otherwise inexplicable sightings, especially reports of [[Black triangle (UFO)|black triangle UFOs]].<ref name="auto1"/>

On December 1, 2009, the Ministry of Defence quietly closed down its UFO investigations unit. The unit's hotline and email address were suspended by the MoD on that date. The MoD said there was no value in continuing to receive and investigate sightings in a release, stating that "in over fifty years, no UFO report has revealed any evidence of a potential threat to the United Kingdom. The MoD has no specific capability for identifying the nature of such sightings. There is no Defence benefit in such investigation and it would be an inappropriate use of defence resources. Furthermore, responding to reported UFO sightings diverts MoD resources from tasks that are relevant to Defence." ''[[The Guardian]]'' reported that the MoD claimed the closure would save the Ministry around £50,000 a year. The MoD said it would continue to release UFO files to the public through The National Archives.<ref>{{cite news |title=Cost-cutting causes British gov't to shut down UFO investigations |first=Stephanie |last=Dearing |url=http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/283265 |work=Digital Journal |location=Toronto |date=December 5, 2009 |access-date=May 16, 2013 |archive-date=May 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515062510/http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/283265 |url-status=live }}</ref>

UFO reports, Parliamentary questions, and letters from members of the public were released on August 5, 2010, to the UK National Archives. "In one letter included in the files, a man alleges Churchill ordered a coverup of a WW II-era UFO encounter involving the Royal Air Force".<ref name="CBS1">{{cite web |last1=Binlot |first1=Ann |title=Winston Churchill Ordered UFO Coverup? |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/winston-churchill-ordered-ufo-coverup/ |website=cbsnews.com |date=August 5, 2010 |publisher=[[CBS news]] |access-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110142708/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/winston-churchill-ordered-ufo-coverup/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="nationalarchivesUFO"/>

Reports of UFO sightings continue. According to ''[[The Independent]],'' there were 957 reported UFO sightings across the UK between January 2021 and May 2023, with [[Manchester]], [[London]], [[Liverpool]], and [[Glasgow]] being hotspots.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-24 |title=UFO hotspots revealed as ex Ministry of Defence expert calls for action |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/ufo-hotspots-revealed-aliens-b2434354.html |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=The Independent |language=en |archive-date=November 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231104103628/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/ufo-hotspots-revealed-aliens-b2434354.html |url-status=live }}</ref>