The Pentagon has acknowledged the existence of a secret program for the study of unidentified flying objects - UFOs. Millions of dollars were allocated for it for five years until 2012. Several videos have been released and analyzed in a program called the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (Wiki). On some of them, objects in the sky move along strange trajectories, surprising military pilots: "Look, what is this thing ?!" The program was closed, and the defense department does not officially draw conclusions about the existence of aliens. However, it is known that many people associated with her continue to work on this topic. And some of the data is still classified.
Information about the program was published almost simultaneously by two American publications - The New York Times and Politico. At the same time, NYT sources claim that millions continue to be spent on the program after its official completion. Politico stresses that the new evidence should add faith and enthusiasm to UFO advocates and alien life theorists.
The UFO Sighting Research Program ran from 2007 to 2012 with an annual funding of $ 22 million - modest compared to the $ 600 billion defense budget. It was initiated at the request of the former leader of the US Senate, Harry Reed, who has long expressed enthusiasm for space phenomena, Radio Liberty notes. The program itself was not secret, but a very narrow circle of people was aware of the details of what the people involved are studying, Politico notes.
According to the NYT, the program was led by an intelligence worker, Luis Elizondo, who worked in his office on the fifth floor of the Pentagon's inner ring. Most of the funding was received by the company of Harry Reed's friend, billionaire businessman Robert Bigelow, Bigelow Aerospace. In an interview with the CBS 60 Minutes program, Bigelow said that he was “absolutely sure” that UFOs exist, and that aliens have visited Earth.
On December 16, the Pentagon acknowledged that the program had been funded for a number of years and ended in 2012. “It was found that there are other, higher priority issues that deserve funding, and it is in the interests of the Ministry of Defense to make changes,” said a spokeswoman for the defense department.
At the same time, NYT claims that the people involved in the program continue to collect and process data using established channels of communication with the military. In parallel, they carry out their normal official duties.
Reed left Congress last year. In a recent interview, he stated that he is proud of his contribution to space exploration: “I am not in the least embarrassed, shameless or regretful about it … I think this is one of the good things I have done while serving in Congress. I did something that no one else had done before."
The head of the program, Luis Elizondo, also retired. According to the NYT, in his letter of resignation to the head of the Pentagon, James Mattis, he complained that the program was "not taken seriously."
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In an interview with Politico, he said that the program had collected "dozens" of evidence of mysterious objects in the sky. But working “from within the system (of the defense department)” with this information was difficult.
He does not officially draw conclusions about the existence of aliens. However, it is known that after the resignation of Elizondo began to work for a non-profit company called To The Stars Academy of Arts and Sciences. One of its founders was Tom DeLonge, ex-guitarist of Blink-182, musician and businessman. On the website of the music magazine Rolling Stone, DeLonge is described as a man “obsessed” with theories about the existence of aliens and travel to other planets.
It is known that in the summer of 2012, the last department involved in UFO research was closed in the British military department.