Could Pentagon-confirmed UFOs represent a National Security Threat?

There's a reason UFOs have been making headlines lately. In June, the Pentagon and the Director of National Intelligence are expected to present an unclassified report to Congress on the unusual sightings of UFOs—known as Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs)—by U.S. military personnel.

Reports of UAPs have surged in recent years, but the public has only recently become aware of them. For decades, the government strongly denied any encounters with flying saucers, until now. So, what has changed in recent times?

The U.S. Government Is Investigating Unexplained Aerial Phenomena

Back in 2007, the U.S. government initiated the Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), a covert operation concealed within the Pentagon. This secretive organization was tasked with gathering and analyzing data on unusual aerial objects reported by military personnel to the Department of Defense (DoD) over the years.

In 2008, Luis Elizondo, bringing with him two decades of military operational expertise, became part of this initiative. By 2010, he was appointed to lead the program, sharpening its emphasis on national security. He thoroughly vetted numerous reports of UAP sightings as part of his due diligence.

One particular report that piqued his interest involved a peculiar Tic-Tac-shaped object spotted over the Pacific Ocean in November 2004. Two former U.S. Navy pilots, Commander David Fravor and Lt. Commander Alex Dietrich, were conducting training exercises with the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group. Radar aboard a ship from the training group had detected "multiple anomalous aerial vehicles" plunging 80,000 feet (24,380 meters) in less than one second, as reported by "60 Minutes" earlier this month. Fravor and Dietrich were dispatched in separate aircraft to investigate, each with a weapons systems officer in tow.

As they drew closer, the pilots observed an area of disturbed water, roughly the size of a 737 aircraft. Suspended above it was the Tic-Tac-shaped object, exhibiting "no predictable movement, no predictable trajectory," according to Dietrich. The object had no visible markings, wings, or exhaust plumes. When Fravor attempted to get closer, the object darted away so swiftly it seemed to vanish, only to reappear moments later on radar, approximately 60 miles (96 kilometers) distant.

That was merely the beginning. Numerous reports followed from naval aviators who observed strange objects, like cubes or triangles, performing maneuvers that no known aircraft could accomplish — such as halting abruptly, changing direction in an instant, and accelerating to speeds exceeding 11,000 mph (17,700 kph). These events unfolded in restricted airspace, often near areas designated for fighter-jet exercises, such as off the coast of San Diego, or off Virginia and Jacksonville, Florida.

What Can UAPs Do?

In an email interview with Elizondo, he explained that the UAPs tracked and observed over the years exhibit what are now known as "The Five Observables." These are:

These characteristics leave national security specialists perplexed. "We have no technology in our arsenal that can perform like this, and we are confident that no known ally or adversary possesses such technology either," Elizondo asserts.

What Could They Be?

Pilots have speculated that the objects were either secret U.S. technology or adversary spy crafts, according to Elizondo on "60 Minutes."

"Remember, we've been observing these performance characteristics for many decades," Elizondo assures. "If a foreign adversary had developed these technologies 75 years ago, and we were still unaware they possessed it, it would be the most extraordinary intelligence failure in United States history."

Then does that mean they're from outer space? Rather than jumping to conclusions, Elizondo suggests we open our minds to the possibilities.

"These vehicles may originate from outer space, inner space, or even the space in between," he says. "We could be dealing with an advanced, self-replicating AI which communicates with itself instantaneously across vast distances using a quantum internet. Perhaps an advanced underwater civilization is native to our planet, and we're now advanced enough to be observing them moving through our oceans, airspace and upper atmosphere."

Do UAPs Pose a Threat to National Security?

Although there has been no direct hostile or aggressive action from these objects, Elizondo notes that "they're clearly powerful enough to cause damage if that was their intent." Any time an advanced vehicle is operating freely in restricted airspace, it raises the concern that they could pose a threat if they chose to, he adds.

"In order to truly understand what we're witnessing and share those findings with the public, we need a collaborative, transparent, whole-of-government approach," Elizondo states.

Is the U.S. Government Still Tracking UAPs?

Although AATIP's funding ended in 2012, Elizondo continued investigating UAP sightings until 2017, when he became frustrated with the Pentagon's skepticism and resigned. Before leaving, however, he declassified three Navy videos of UAPs and began to spread the word.

In the meantime, Christopher Mellon, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for intelligence under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, acting in a civilian capacity, released those declassified videos to The New York Times. He explained to "60 Minutes" that he had to do so to force the Defense Department to take this "national security issue" seriously.

The heightened public awareness led Congress to take action, and the Pentagon finally acknowledged the existence of AATIP. In August, the Pentagon reinstated the program, renaming it the UAP Task Force. Service members were at last authorized to report UAP sightings openly.

When Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, the then-chairman of the intelligence committee, was briefed on UAPs, he urged the Pentagon and the Director of National Intelligence to submit an unclassified report on the sightings to Congress by June 2021.

"Fortunately, both Congress and the DoD are now ready to take this issue seriously, and the remaining resistance to transparency is now limited to a small group of individuals whose control over secrecy is quickly diminishing," says Elizondo. "We're hearing enough demand from our service members and the American people, and we must take that seriously. ... Continuing to cover up these facts has become a liability for the Pentagon."

What Will the Report Say?

There is an overwhelming amount of data, including videos, photos, telemetry, signatures, and full electromagnetic spectrum analysis that will require thorough examination to generate a comprehensive report — "far too much to be adequately organized within the 180-day Congressional timeline," says Elizondo. He anticipates the report will serve as a mere preview, with far more information to come in the months that follow.

"I believe that this initial report will bring attention to the reality of UAP, the potential scientific and technological insights to be gained from understanding how they function, and the necessity for a permanent U.S. Government office to analyze the data we collect and present it to Congress and the American public."