According to Navy intelligence officials at a House hearing, a database of UFO reports contains approximately 400 incidents. Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence Scott W. Bray said that naval officers have not discovered anything “nonterrestrial in origin” despite there being several unexplainable incidents. The military’s 2021 report found no evidence of aliens and all of the documented objects appeared to be unmanned. Accounts of unexplained aerial phenomena have increased, which Bray attributes in part to better sensors and an increase in unmanned aerial systems. The 2021 report tracks incidents dating back to 2004, with many of the most recent entries coming from personnel who had not previously reported sightings; the military is currently working to destigmatize the reporting process. Several lawmakers, most of whom believe that UFO reports more likely signify that a foreign adversary is using new technology than alien presence, warned that the sightings pose a potential national security threat.
