Published 19:58 IST, January 10th 2021
US agencies to share reports related to UFO sightings within 180 days
Classified UFO sightings documents, which are currently in possession of the US intelligence community, must be shared with the lawmakers within 180 days.
The classified documents related to UFO sightings, which are currently in possession of the US intelligence community, must be shared with the American lawmakers within 180 days. The provision is reportedly part of the Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA) for the Fiscal Year 2021, which was recently passed under the National Defense Authorization Act and COVID-19 relief package and was signed into law by President Donald Trump. The provision requires the US intelligence community to share all the available documents related to UFO sightings with Congress, within six months from the passage of the bill. According to the news website The Debrief, the IAA includes a provision titled "Advanced Aerial Threats", which apart from providing the relevant agencies with all the resources they need to counter the UFO threat, also requires the Pentagon to share a declassified report with the US Congress within six months.
"It is vital that our Intelligence Community has the necessary resources, authorities, and personnel to protect America’s national security, and the Senate Intelligence Committee’s strong, bipartisan legislation does just that. Our bill also increases government efficiency and represents comprehensive Congressional oversight to ensure that these tools are executed responsibly and cost-effectively," Democratic lawmaker Mark Warner, who is also the Vice-Chairman of Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said in a statement.
Last month, a never-seen-before picture of a suspected unidentified flying object (UFO) was leaked after the existence of two Pentagon reports on 'Unidentified Aerial Phenomena' (UAP) emerged. According to The Debrief, which talked to US military and intelligence officers, there are two classified reports on UAP that are being widely circulated in the US intelligence community. The content of the reports also included a picture, which after being leaked took the internet by storm.
UFO sightings by US military
Earlier in 2020, the US Department of Defence (DOD) released videos of its pilots encountering suspected 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. 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 kept secret by the DOD, were released "to clear misconceptions" surrounding already circulating clips on social media.
Updated 19:58 IST, January 10th 2021