Mumbai, April 20: The head of the Pentagon's newly established UFO unit batted down expectations that the current buzz surrounding unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) will prove the existence of extraterrestrial visitors.

The Pentagon's newly appointed All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO)'s first director, Sean M. Kirkpatrick, gave testimony before the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services on Wednesday, April 19. UFO Sightings: No Indication of Aliens or Extraterrestrial Activity, Says Pentagon After US Military Shot Down Three Unidentified Flying Objects. 

Two sections of the hearing were held, one of which was open to the public. Kirkpatrick made it clear during the open phase of the hearing that, out of the many UAP instances his office has examined, AARO has not yet discovered any reliable proof of extraterrestrial activity, off-world technology, or items that defy the rules of physics. The AARO director noted that this finding would be ‘unsatisfying’ to anyone who think they have seen unmistakable evidence of physics-defying craft or objects.

However, UAP cases most frequently "resolve into readily explainable sources" when there is a wealth of scientific data available, Kirkpatrick emphasised.

United States Tracking Over 600 UFO Sightings

According to the director of the agency established last year to focus on the sightings, the US government is monitoring more than 650 probable incidents of ‘so-called’ unidentified aerial phenomena, or UFOs.

The number of cases has increased from the 350 reports mentioned in an unclassified intelligence assessment on UAP that was published earlier this year, said Kirkpatrick while testifying before the Senate subcommittee.

We've prioritised roughly half of those over 650 as being anomalously interesting, so now we need to go through them and ask, "How many of those do I have actual data for", Kirkpatrick said. Do Aliens Exist? Are UFOs Real? NASA Astronauts Set To Go on Moon Mission Have This To Say on Extraterrestrial Life (Watch Video). 

Kirkpatrick explained to legislators how his office assists the Pentagon and the intelligence community in identifying cutting-edge foreign technologies. He specifically mentioned his assistance in identifying the Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon that passed over US territory in February.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 20, 2023 12:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).