Pentagon's UFO-Tracking Office Head Faces Lawmakers Amid Increased Sightings

US legislators on Wednesday questioned the Pentagon's UFO office chief in an unprecedented open session.

In a recent Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities hearing, Sean M. Kirkpatrick, the director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), testified about his office's mission and budget.

Some senators raised concerns regarding the Pentagon's funding for this effort.

This is only the second hearing on this topic in recent times, following the first one that took place in May, which was the first in more than 50 years, according to ABC News.

A US official said in February that one of the methods used to determine that China was running a foreign surveillance operation utilizing balloons was the continuous analysis of hundreds of UAP (unidentified aerial phenomena) events documented by military personnel by the Pentagon and the US intelligence community.

Two current senior US officials noted that the Chinese spy balloon that crossed the country was able to collect information from several important US military locations despite the Biden administration's attempts to prevent the aircraft from taking such action, according to NBC News.

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UFO Sightings in The US Surge

The number of sightings reported to the US National Intelligence Office has increased to 510 from the 144 that were included in the spy agency's first estimate for 2021.

According to the study, over half of the recent sightings were classified as "unremarkable" and assigned human origins.

However, there is still no explanation for over 100 of the UFO encounters.

A recently published study states that UAPs, commonly known as UFO sightings, continue to be reported in sensitive or restricted airspace, which raises concerns about safety and national security, per the BBC.

The study reviewed 366 new reports, out of which 26 were identified as drones, 163 as balloons, and six as clutter. The report aimed to destigmatize UFO encounters and improve aviation security.