Congress holds historic public UFO hearing, as military struggles to understand ‘mystery’ flying phenomena
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A House Intelligence subcommittee Tuesday is holding the first congressional hearing on UFOs in 50 years, as building evidence on the sightings raises more questions than answers. There are many unexplained aerial phenomena. We don’t know their origins and they cannot be explained as weather phenomena, balloons, or any other type of phenomenon. It’s a mystery, so it’s quite mysterious,” Adam Schiff, D.Calif., Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, stated about the hearing.
“We will press them on some very grave issues,” Rep. Andre Carson, D.Ind., who chairs House Intelligence Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence and Counterproliferation Subcommittee, said.
UFO captured in a clip released by the Department of Defense After a series of UFO sightings over the past few years, a Pentagon watchdog launched an investigation into the Department of Defense’s actions.
(Department of Defense)
Carson said in a statement announcing the hearing that it’s crucial for the government to “seriously evaluate and respond to any potential national security risks – especially those we do not fully understand.” The hearing on what the U.S. government calls “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena”, (UAP) begins at 9 a.m. ET. It is the result of years of unexplained sightings of flying objects, primarily by U.S military personnel. These objects often had no “discernable propulsion systems” and unusual “movement patterns. “
A 2021 report – a redacted classified version of which was published by The Black Vault earlier this year – said the government recorded 144 reports from 2004 to 2021, including 80 that “involved observation with multiple sensors.” The report also contained information about “common shapes” UAPs, but the entire section is redacted.
There haven’t been hearings in the U.S. Congress on UFOs since the 1960s. The House Committee on Science and Astronautics, led by Chairman Rep. Edward Roush, D-Ind., held one hearing on the matter in 1968. Around that time, then-Rep. Gerald Ford, R-Mich., called for investigations into the Air Force’s Project Blue Book, which investigated UFOs and was shut down in 1969.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019. Tuesday’s hearing will be held by Schiff’s Intelligence Committee on UFOs. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
UFO REPORT REVEALS OFFICIALS CAN’T EXPLAIN THE MYSTERIOUS SIGHTINGS
Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security Ronald Moultrie and Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence Scott Bray will testify at the hearing Tuesday. It’s not clear what they will be able or willing to share in the public forum.
” “I think they’ll be comfortable telling people what we know and what is yet to be understood,” Schiff stated when asked what people can expect at the hearing. “But they won’t speculate that this is an extraterrestrial or that this is a foreign adversary with some…unknown technology. They will define the limits of what we know and what we don’t. “
The government stated that UAP “probably lacks a single explanation.” Space aliens have not been ruled out by classified or unclassified government reports. Other possible explanations include “airborne clutter” such as birds and balloons, or “natural atmospheric phenomena” such as ice crystals or highly classified U.S. government programmes.
“Let us assume that it’s… another nation, another group or country that’s operating something we don’t fully comprehend,” Brent Sadler, Heritage Foundation senior fellow for naval warfare & advanced technology, told Fox News Digital. “That’s definitely a security risk… that we can’t necessarily defend against because it’s something you don’t fully understand.” “
PENTAGON LAUNCHING NEW UFO INVESTIGATION UNIT, REPLACING NAVY GROUP: REPORT
Sadler added that the classified nature of the government’s UAP information could make it hard to learn much from the hearing. Foreign nations will likely watch Moultrie, Bray in order to possibly learn more about U.S. military capability. He said that lawmakers could ask general questions to determine how dangerous UAPs are.
” They don’t need to ask classified questions if they ask the general question: “Are any of these incidents… a national security risk for our defense?” Sadler stated. “I hope the answer is no. “
Sadler said that even though UAPs are not belonging to hostile powers, they pose a threat to military personnel, particularly pilots, if they are unable to detect them or don’t know what to do.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference about next week’s vote to codify Roe v. Wade, Thursday, May 5, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Gillibrand is a leader in Congress on UFO matters. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
If UAPs are from a foreign nation, Sadler said, they are most likely for intelligence purposes. If the hearing proves that, it could “galvanize” Americans to refocus science, such as the “Sputnik moment” when the Soviet Union launched the satellite. It scared everyone into action. “
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The push for more information on UFOs is one of the few bipartisan issues in Congress.
In 2021 a group of bipartisan Senators introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act calling for a new government office as a “central repository” for UFO information and their threat to the U.S. It would be a joint effort between the Defense Department (DNI) and the Defense Department.
Sen. Kirsten Gilbrand, D.N.Y., led this effort, along with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and other members of the aisle. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R.N.Y., who is a member the Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence and Counterproliferation Subcommittee, stated that she wanted the Tuesday hearing to be focused on protecting Americans.
” My hope is that this hearing focuses upon transparency for the public, and protecting our national security,” Stefanik said to Fox News.
Fox News’ Kelly Phares, Tanner LaCoste and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
I have been writing professionally for over 20 years and have a deep understanding of the psychological and emotional elements that affect people. I’m an experienced ghostwriter and editor, as well as an award-winning author of five novels.
