Watershed US UFO report does not rule out extraterrestrial origin | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Thursday
July 10, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
THURSDAY, JULY 10, 2025
Watershed US UFO report does not rule out extraterrestrial origin

USA

Reuters
26 June, 2021, 04:15 pm
Last modified: 26 June, 2021, 04:26 pm

Related News

  • US wants easier access for military equipment, LNG, wheat, cotton imports: Commerce secretary
  • US Congressman Joe Wilson introduces bill to sanction Polisario Front as terrorist organisation
  • White House wants deep cut in US funding for war crimes investigations, sources say
  • ‘Very dangerous’ if US enters war, says Tehran as Israel targets Iran commanders
  • US moving fighter jets to Middle East as Israel-Iran war rages

Watershed US UFO report does not rule out extraterrestrial origin

The unclassified nine-page report, released to Congress and the public, encompasses 144 observations - mostly from US Navy personnel - of what the government officially calls "unidentified aerial phenomenon," or UAP, dating back to 2004

Reuters
26 June, 2021, 04:15 pm
Last modified: 26 June, 2021, 04:26 pm
Pentagon. Photo: Reuters
Pentagon. Photo: Reuters

A US government report on UFOs issued on Friday said defense and intelligence analysts lack sufficient data to determine the nature of mysterious flying objects observed by American military pilots including whether they are advanced earthly technologies, atmospherics or of an extraterrestrial origin.

The unclassified nine-page report, released to Congress and the public, encompasses 144 observations - mostly from US Navy personnel - of what the government officially calls "unidentified aerial phenomenon," or UAP, dating back to 2004.

Labeled a preliminary assessment, it was compiled by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in conjunction with a Navy-led task force created by the Pentagon last year.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

"UAP clearly pose a safety of flight issue and may pose a challenge to US national security," the report stated, adding that the phenomena "probably lack a single explanation."

The report marked a turning point for the US government after the military spent decades deflecting, debunking and discrediting observations of unidentified flying objects and "flying saucers" dating back to the 1940s. read more

The report includes some UAP cases that previously came to light in the Pentagon's release of video from naval aviators showing enigmatic aircraft off the US East and West Coasts exhibiting speed and maneuverability exceeding known aviation technologies and lacking any visible means of propulsion or flight-control surfaces.

All but one of the listed sightings - an instance attributed to a large, deflating balloon - remain unexplained, subject to further analysis, the report said. For the other 143 cases, the report found that too little data exists to conclude whether they represent some exotic aerial system developed either by a US government or commercial entity, or by a foreign power such as China or Russia.

In some observations, UAP appeared to exhibit "unusual patterns or flight characteristics," but those may stem from sensor glitches or witness misperceptions and "require additional rigorous analysis," the report said.

Analysts have yet to rule out an extraterrestrial origin, senior US officials told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity. The report's language avoided explicit mentions of such possibilities.

Asked about potential alien explanations, one of the officials said: "That's not the purpose of the task force, to evaluate any sort of search for extraterrestrial life. ... That's not what we were charged with doing."

"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," the senior official added.

Near Misses

 

The study documented 11 UAP near-misses reported by pilots and a small number of cases in which military aircraft "processed radio frequency energy associated with UAP sightings." Most reports also described objects that interrupted training or other US military exercises, it stated.

The task force focused on phenomena witnessed first-hand by military aviators, with 80 reports involving detection by multiple sensors, the report said. Most were from the past few years.

The report established five potential explanatory categories: airborne clutter, natural atmospheric phenomena, US government or American industry developmental programs, foreign adversary systems and a catch-all "other" category.

The senior official said the findings did not provide any "clear indications" that the UAP are part of a foreign intelligence-collection program or a major technological advancement by a potential adversary.

The government in recent years has adopted UAP as its term for what commonly are known as "unidentified flying objects," or UFOs, long associated with the notion of alien spacecraft.

US Senator Marco Rubio was instrumental in commissioning the report, ordered by Congress six months ago as part of broader intelligence legislation.

"For years, the men and women we trust to defend our country reported encounters with unidentified aircraft that had superior capabilities, and for years their concerns were often ignored and ridiculed," Rubio said. "This report is an important first step in cataloging these incidents, but it is just a first step."

After the report's release, the Pentagon announced plans to "formalize" its UAP investigation mission currently handled by the task force.

Mick West, a UFO skeptic and researcher, said the "report points largely at boring explanations, even including birds and balloons, and identified some areas where we need to improve our data gathering."

It is not the first official US report on UFOs. The US Air Force conducted a previous investigation called Project Blue Book, ended in 1969, that compiled a list of 12,618 sightings, 701 of which involved objects that officially remained "unidentified."

In 1994, the Air Force said it completed a study to locate records relating to the 1947 "Roswell incident" in New Mexico. It said materials recovered near Roswell were consistent with a crashed balloon, the military's long-standing explanation, and that no records indicated that there had been the recovery of alien bodies or extraterrestrial materials.

World+Biz

Watershed / US / UFO report / Extraterrestrial Life

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Representational image. Photo: Collected
    35% tariff: Bangladesh, US 'agree on most issues' as first day of talks ends
  • File photo of containers at Chattogram port/TBS
    US buyers push Bangladeshi exporters to share extra tariff costs
  • CA orders law enforcers to complete all election preparations by December
    CA orders law enforcers to complete all election preparations by December

MOST VIEWED

  • File Photo: Rajib Dhar/TBS
    Bangladesh faces economic impact as US introduces 35% tariff on exports
  • None saw it coming: What went wrong in Bangladesh’s tariff negotiation with US 
    None saw it coming: What went wrong in Bangladesh’s tariff negotiation with US 
  • Clashes took place between police and protesters in Sylhet on 2 August. Photo: TBS
    Hasina authorised deadly crackdown on protesters during 2024 July uprising, BBC verifies leaked audio
  • Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur. TBS Sketch
    BB governor asks banks to create forced loans for unpaid import LCs
  • Representational image. Photo: TBS
    35% US tariff to be disastrous for Bangladesh's exports, say economists and exporters
  • Trump's 35% tariff zaps Bangladesh's $8.4 billion export lifeline
    Trump's 35% tariff zaps Bangladesh's $8.4 billion export lifeline

Related News

  • US wants easier access for military equipment, LNG, wheat, cotton imports: Commerce secretary
  • US Congressman Joe Wilson introduces bill to sanction Polisario Front as terrorist organisation
  • White House wants deep cut in US funding for war crimes investigations, sources say
  • ‘Very dangerous’ if US enters war, says Tehran as Israel targets Iran commanders
  • US moving fighter jets to Middle East as Israel-Iran war rages

Features

Women are forced to fish in saline waters every day, risking their health to provide for their families. Photo: TBS

How Mongla’s women are bearing the brunt of rising salinity

13h | Panorama
Dr Mostafa Abid Khan. Sketch: TBS

Actual impact will depend on how US retailers respond: Mostafa Abid Khan

1d | Economy
Thousands gather to form Bangla Blockade in mass show of support. Photo: TBS

Rebranding rebellion: Why ‘Bangla Blockade’ struck a chord

2d | Panorama
The Mitsubishi Xpander is built with families in mind, ready to handle the daily carpool, grocery runs, weekend getaways, and everything in between. PHOTO: Akif Hamid

Now made-in-Bangladesh: 2025 Mitsubishi Xpander

3d | Wheels

More Videos from TBS

Leaked audio: Jinping thought Trump was crazy

Leaked audio: Jinping thought Trump was crazy

10h | TBS World
What can be done to counter the impact of US tariffs?

What can be done to counter the impact of US tariffs?

11h | Podcast
Elections can be held before Ramadan if preparations are complete: Press Secretary

Elections can be held before Ramadan if preparations are complete: Press Secretary

11h | TBS Today
What Elon Musk Gets Wrong About Our Broken Political System

What Elon Musk Gets Wrong About Our Broken Political System

48m | Others
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net