Pentagon Program Studying UFOs Revealed

Some elements of the program are reportedly still active.

By Alex Gilyadov

A once classified Pentagon program studying UFOs has recently been unveiled.

The New York Times reports the $22 million project, titled the Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program, launched in 2007 after former Senator Harry Reid of Nevada expressed deep interest in the subject. According to the Pentagon, the program shut down in 2012, five years after it started.

Before the program began, Reid spoke to Robert Bigelow about the potential of alien life actually existing. Bigelow is the billionaire founder of an aerospace company and he firmly believes UFOs have indeed visited the United States.

As for the program's funding, Reid made sure the program would never be questioned on the Senate floor during budget debates. "This was so-called black money," Reid said.

The Pentagon. Image via New York Times.

The program focused on studying video and audio recordings of mysterious aerial/reported UFO encounters by military pilots, and also featured interviews with people who claimed to have had physical encounters with unknown objects. One example includes video footage of a Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet surrounded by an unknown glowing aura.

Though the Defense Department indicates the program shut down years ago, The New York Times reports some elements of the UFO program are still active. A select few officials from within the Defense Department continue to investigate encounters, according to the report. The former director of the program also reportedly worked with Navy and CIA officials this past October.

Alex Gilyadov is a freelance writer for IGN. Be sure to check out his YouTube channel and follow him on Twitter.

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