The US government is examining more than 650 cases of unidentified aerial phenomena (known as UFOs), but no evidence of extraterrestrial technology or otherworldly craft has been found so far, according to the director of the Office for Anomaly Resolution in All Domains (AARO) at the Pentagon, Sean Kirkpatrick. While there has been an increase in the number of reported cases, this is attributed to increased interest in aviation safety and eliminating the perception of mystery incidents.
The AARO has prioritized about half of the reports for review, with 52% of them describing round or spherical objects, while the rest have various shapes. These objects range in size from one to four meters and are described as white, silver, or translucent metallic.
The primary role of Kirkpatrick’s office is to help the Pentagon and intelligence services identify technologies used by other countries. Some of the objects detected could be explained by technical advances from rival powers, and in these cases, the intelligence services are in charge of their analysis.
During a public hearing, Kirkpatrick showed two declassified videos, one of which turned out to be a shadow from the heat emitted by the engines of a passenger jet. In the other video, it has not been possible to determine the nature of the spherical object that crosses the screen of a drone camera.
So far, the AARO investigation has found no credible evidence of extraterrestrial activity or off-world technology. Most of the reported unidentified objects appear to be balloons, unmanned aerial systems, garbage, natural phenomena, or other perfectly plausible discoveries.
An earlier Pentagon report indicated that many of the incidents examined did not need details to determine their nature with certainty. Among these, 163 attributed to globes or similar objects were mentioned. Recently, F-22 fighters shot down a Chinese balloon over US waters, accusing it of spying.