Intelligence officials at the Pentagon are set to share their real-life X-files on UFO sightings when they face US Congress on Tuesday (May 17).
The headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, along with several other national security agencies, will be questioned by the House Intelligence Committee’s Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation Subcommittee.
The public hearing, which is the first on alien life in more than 50 years, aims to find answers on reports of mysterious aircrafts violating protected airspace.
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Panel chair Representative André Carson said in a statement ahead of the session: "The American people expect and deserve their leaders in government and intelligence to seriously evaluate and respond to any potential national security risks — especially those we do not fully understand.
"Since coming to Congress, I’ve been focused on the issue of unidentified aerial phenomena as both a national security threat and an interest of great importance to the American public."
Congressman Adam Schiff, chairman of the US intelligence committee, said: "This will give the public an opportunity to hear directly from leaders in the intelligence community on one of the greatest mysteries of our time."
He added that the hearing would 'break the cycle of excessive secrecy and speculation with truth and transparency'.
The Pentagon’s top intelligence official, Ronald Moultrie, is set to testify before the panel alongside Scott Bray, the deputy director of naval intelligence.
The hearing comes five months after the National Defense Authorisation Act required the military to establish a permanent UFO research office and take a series of other steps to collect and investigate reports of 'unidentified aerial phenomena'.
The US released a report in June 2021 cataloguing 144 cases of 'unidentified aerial phenomena' (UAP) over the past 17 years, 18 in which observers 'reported unusual UAP movement patterns or flight characteristics'.
In 2017, America’s very own X-Files-esque team was revealed by The New York Times: up until 2012, $22 million in defence funding went to the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP).
Three years later, amid leaks and speculation, the Pentagon officially released three declassified videos of UFOs – no aliens, but an emphasis on ‘unidentified’.
Meanwhile, it is reported that more than 250 extra-terrestrials are believed to have visited Britain in 2021, according to the Daily Star.
The British UFO Research Association [BUFORA] alleged that there were 259 'alien' sightings last year and included claims of 'unexplained phenomena' such as little green men, spaceships and abductions.
BUFORA, which is dedicated to investigating alien sightings in the UK, provides witness support groups and counselling for people who say they have encountered other life forces.
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Lisa McLoughlin