Editing Unidentified flying object (section)

====FOIA release of documents in 1978====
According to a 1979 [[New York Times]] report, "records from the C.I.A., the F.B.I. and other Federal agencies" ("about 900 documents—nearly 900 pages of memos, reports and correspondence") obtained in 1978 through the Freedom of Information Act request, indicate that "despite official pronouncements for decades that U.F.O.'s were nothing more than misidentified aerial objects and as such were no cause for alarm ... the phenomenon has aroused much serious behind‐the‐scenes concern" in the US government. In particular, officials were concerned over the "approximately 10%" of UFO sightings which remained unexplained, and whether they might be Soviet aircraft and a threat to national security.<ref name="Huyghe-1979-NYT">{{cite news |last1=Huyghe |first1=Patrick |title=U.F.O. Files: The Untold Story  |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/10/14/archives/ufo-files-the-untold-story.html |access-date=November 9, 2021 |agency=New York Times |date=October 14, 1979 |archive-date=November 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109023957/https://www.nytimes.com/1979/10/14/archives/ufo-files-the-untold-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Officials were concerned about the "risk of false alerts", of "falsely identifying the real as phantom", and of mass hysteria caused by sightings. In 1947, Brigadier General George F. Schulgen of Army Air Corps Intelligence, warned "the first reported sightings might have been by individuals of Communist sympathies with the view to causing hysteria and fear of a secret Russian weapon."<ref name="Huyghe-1979-NYT"/>

===== White House statement of November 2011 =====
In November 2011, the [[White House]] released an official response to two petitions asking the U.S. government to acknowledge formally that aliens have visited this planet and to disclose any intentional withholding of government interactions with extraterrestrial beings. According to the response:
{{blockquote|The U.S. government has no evidence that any life exists outside our planet, or that an extraterrestrial presence has contacted or engaged any member of the human race...no credible information to suggest that any evidence is being hidden from the public's eye....|Statement by the White House<ref name="WhiteHouse">{{cite web|last=Larson|first=Phil|title=Searching for ET, But No Evidence Yet|url=https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/response/searching-et-no-evidence-yet|date=November 5, 2011|publisher=[[White House]]|access-date=2013-09-06|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111124052154/https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/Petitions#!/response/searching-et-no-evidence-yet|archive-date=November 24, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="Atkinson">{{cite news |first=Nancy |last=Atkinson |url=http://www.universetoday.com/90717/no-alien-visits-or-ufo-coverups-white-house-says/ |title=No Alien Visits or UFO Coverups, White House Says |date=November 5, 2011 |work=[[Universe Today]] |location=Courtenay, B.C. |access-date=November 6, 2011 |archive-date=January 18, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190118163408/https://www.universetoday.com/90717/no-alien-visits-or-ufo-coverups-white-house-says/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

The response further noted that efforts, like [[Search for extraterrestrial intelligence|SETI]] and NASA's ''[[Kepler (spacecraft)|Kepler]]'' space telescope and [[Mars Science Laboratory]], continue looking for [[life|signs of life]]. The response noted "odds are pretty high" that there may be life on other planets but "the odds of us making contact with any of them—especially any [[extraterrestrial intelligence|intelligent ones]]—are extremely small, given the distances involved."<ref name="WhiteHouse"/><ref name="Atkinson"/>

=====ODNI report 2021=====
On June 25, 2021, the [[Office of the Director of National Intelligence]] released a report on UAPs.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gabbatt |first1=Adam |title=It came out of the sky: US releases highly anticipated UFO report |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/25/ufos-us-government-report |work=The Guardian |date=June 25, 2021 |language=en |access-date=June 26, 2021 |archive-date=June 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210626025006/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/25/ufos-us-government-report |url-status=live }}</ref> The report found that the UAPTF was unable to identify 143 objects spotted between 2004 and 2021. The report said that 18 of these featured unusual movement patterns or flight characteristics, adding that more analysis was needed to determine if those sightings represented "breakthrough" technology. The report said that "some of these steps are resource-intensive and would require additional investment."<ref name="dni_Preliminary_Assessment">{{cite web |title=Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena |publisher=[[Office of the Director of National Intelligence]] |date=June 25, 2021 |access-date=June 25, 2021 |url=https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Prelimary-Assessment-UAP-20210625.pdf |archive-date=July 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726114054/https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Prelimary-Assessment-UAP-20210625.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The report did not link the sightings to extraterrestrial life.<ref name="APmerchant">{{cite news |last1=Merchant |first1=Nomaan |title=No ET, no answers: Intel report is inconclusive about UFOs |url=https://apnews.com/article/technology-government-and-politics-f5f24502d97072fd4bef34b6fe36c81d |website=apnews.com |date=June 25, 2021 |agency=Associated Press |access-date=June 25, 2021 |archive-date=June 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625210913/https://apnews.com/article/technology-government-and-politics-f5f24502d97072fd4bef34b6fe36c81d |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Kube |first1=Courtney |last2=Edelman |first2=Adam |title=UFO report: Government can't explain 143 of 144 mysterious flying objects, blames limited data |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/ufo-report-government-can-t-explain-143-144-mysterious-flying-n1272390 |work=NBC News |date=June 25, 2021 |language=en |access-date=June 26, 2021 |archive-date=June 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210626023614/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/ufo-report-government-can-t-explain-143-144-mysterious-flying-n1272390 |url-status=live }}</ref>