Congress Probes UFOs

The Senate Armed Services Subcommittee will hold a public hearing today on unidentified anomalous phenomena—known colloquially as UFOs—in the second such open hearing on the topic in the last 50 years. Sean Kirkpatrick, head of the All-domain Anomaly Reporting Office of the Defense Department, will give updates on the agency's operations since the office's establishment in July. The live feed begins here at 10:30 am ET.

Interest in UAPs has surged in recent years amid an uptick in unresolved sightings of unidentifiable craft, posing risks to training pilots and revealing possible vulnerabilities in national security. Proponents of making information public argue reports have long failed to gain public attention due to an entrenched, decades-old stigma associated with UFOs.

In 2017, several videos showing wingless vehicles performing complex maneuvers drew broader attention to the issue, culminating in a historic Congressional hearing in May and the creation of AARO. The office's mission is to synchronize efforts to resolve reports of UAPs across military and intelligence agencies.