The U.S. government is shedding light on some famous UFO encounters, attributing many to Chinese surveillance drones and optical illusions. According to anonymous Department of Defense (DoD) officials, recent UFO sightings, or “unidentified aerial phenomena” (UAPs), are often linked to foreign surveillance or airborne objects like weather balloons.
Some UAP incidents were identified as Chinese surveillance drones, as China is interested in U.S. military training methods. Additionally, certain UAP sightings, where objects appeared to defy physics, were explained as optical illusions. For instance, the “GOFAST” video was clarified as an illusion caused by the recording angle relative to the water, with the object actually moving at around 30 mph.
A classified UAP report delivered to Congress echoes these findings, expanding on a 2021 report that addressed 144 UAP incidents. The reports emphasize foreign technologies and natural explanations, not extraterrestrial involvement.
The government’s limited transparency has fueled conspiracy theories. The DoD aims to share UAP information while safeguarding national security, citing insufficient data for conclusive explanations. NASA has initiated its own UAP study to collect and analyze more data, aiming to identify these enigmatic objects in American skies by mid-2023.