Pentagon confirms UFO sighting in new video; Obama's statement on it peaks curiosity

The Pentagon, United States on Wednesday confirmed images of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) as part of ongoing investigations to “gain insight” into the “nature and origins” of UFO, carried out by the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force established by the Department of Defense. UFO enthusiast and film-maker Jeremy Corbell first released footage of a UFO taken by a Navy ship.

In the said leaked clip, an Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) can be seen hovering over the water. After witnessing movement right above the water surface, one can notice the UFO "splashing" and disappear in the water body. The video appeared to show the mysterious object flying for a few minutes before disappearing into the water. It also moved erratically.

The Pentagon has confirmed and said that videos and photos of UAP are part of ongoing examinations by the United States Department of Defense. It would not be incorrect to comment that the confirmation further fuels query on what the Pentagon knows about such incidents and others like them.

Understanding of UFOs / UAPs

The Pentagon formed a task force in 2020 to improve and hone understanding of UAPs and UFOs. The Department of Defense established the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force to investigate and “gain insight” into the “nature and origins” of UFOs. Next month (June), the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and other agencies are scheduled to deliver unclassified reports on UFOs to Congress. The Department of Defense's watchdog is also set to evaluate how the Pentagon has managed reports on UFOs over the years. 

As per the statement by the Department of Defense on the Release of Navy videos, 

“The aerial phenomena observed in the video remains characterized as ‘unidentified."

What is a UFO?

For the sake of definition, an unidentified flying object is simply any object that can’t be classified as a known aircraft. While UFOs are often known as “aliens” in pop culture, the condition is not necessarily about extraterrestrials. In short, a UFO is a flying object that looks or moves unlike any aircraft used by any country. Basis limited knowledge, sightings and virtue of its nature, UFOs are enveloped in mystery and there are still a lot more questions than answers about these few rare and uncanny incidents. 

Reported UFO sightings

The US Navy in 2019 said there have been "a number of reports of unauthorised and/or unidentified aircraft entering various military-controlled ranges and designated air space in recent years".

One declassified video from 2004 off the coast of California caught an image. Former Navy pilot had discussed this 2004 incident off Southern California in which he said to USA Today he and three other pilots spotted an unexplained "large area of roiling whitewater surrounded by a calm sea".

Supposedly a pilot's UFO sighting over Clayton, New Mexico in 2020. 

"The pilot, at an altitude of 37,000 feet reported seeing a long cylindrical object that almost looked like a "cruise missile type of thing" moving really fast right over the top of them according to published audio. American Airlines confirmed that the radio transmission came from flight 2292. FAA a few days later stated: "A pilot reported seeing an object over New Mexico shortly after noon local time on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021. FAA air traffic controllers did not see any object in the area on their radarscopes."

Barack Obama recently spoke of UFOs

In an appearance on "The Late Late Show" earlier this week, Obama said,

"The truth is that when I came into office, I asked, right, I was like, 'Alright, is there the lab somewhere where we're keeping the alien specimens and space ship?' And you know, they did a little bit of research and the answer was no. What is true, and I'm actually being serious here, is that there are, there's footage and records of objects in the skies, that we don't know exactly what they are. We can't explain how they moved, their trajectory. They did not have an easily explainable pattern. And so, you know, I think that people still take seriously trying to investigate and figure out what that is."

Interestingly so, Obama's admission that there are, in fact, "footage and records of objects in the skies, that we don't know exactly what they are. We can't explain how they moved, their trajectory" contains broader acknowledgement by an official former arm of the government and after decades of refuting -- UFOs are real.