Pentagon launches task force to investigate UFO sightings by service members

The United States Department of Defence on August 14 said that it is establishing a task force to study Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO) sightings. The Deputy defence secretary David Norquist approved the establishment of an Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) Task Force (UAPTF) on August 4 and the mission of the task force is to detect, analyze and catalogue UAPs that could potentially pose a threat to US national security. According to DOD, the task force will be led by the Department of the Navy, under the cognizance of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security.

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"The Department of Defense established the UAPTF to improve its understanding of and gain insight into, the nature and origins of UAPs. As DOD has stated previously, the safety of our personnel and the security of our operations are of paramount concern. The Department of Defense and the military departments take any incursions by unauthorized aircraft into our training ranges or designated airspace very seriously and examine each report. This includes examinations of incursions that are initially reported as UAP when the observer cannot immediately identify what he or she is observing," DED said in a statement issued on its website on Friday.

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Pentagon released videos

The department of defence in April released videos of its pilots encountering UAPs, noting that the explanation for the flying objects remains unclear. The Pentagon released three US Navy videos captured by its pilots showing interactions with presumptive UFO. As per reports, one of the videos shared by the DOD showed the interaction was from 2004 and the other two were from 2015. The videos, which were earlier classified by the DOD, were released "to clear misconceptions" surrounding already circulating videos. 

"The Department of Defense has authorized the release of three unclassified Navy videos, one taken in November 2004 and the other two in January 2015, which have been circulating in the public domain after unauthorized releases in 2007 and 2017," DOD said in a statement in April. 

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