Pentagon Declassifies UFO Videos, Japan Drafts Military Protocols After Possible Sightings

The U.S. Department of Defense declassified UFO videos, and the Land of the Rising Sun moved shortly afterward to develop new protocols for its military to respond properly in case of possible UFO sightings.

Sciencepost says that in late April 2020, three videos were declassified and authenticated by the U.S. Department of Defense, with the images captured between 2004 and 2015 by U.S. Navy pilots and their F-18 Hornet.

ABC News

Le Nouvel Obs reports that the Pentagon released three declassified videos filmed by Navy fighter pilots in 2004 and 2015, with a Defense Department press release saying the objective was to confirm the authenticity of the videos three years after a New York Times article reported on the leak.

Le Nouvel Obs adds that the Pentagon said that after a thorough review, releasing the declassified videos does not reveal any capabilities or sensitive systems and does not impede any potential ongoing investigations into intrusions into U.S. airspace by unidentified phenomena.

Sciencepost says Japan decided to develop new protocols to help its military respond properly when UFOs appear, framing the objective as updating how soldiers should react, record, and follow up.

Defense Minister Tarō Kono is quoted in Sciencepost saying that it is not certain that existing measures would be effective in the event of a UFO encounter, and that the unknown nature of these craft could cause confusion among pilots.

BBC

Sciencepost also describes existing guidelines for the military, including that pilots should invite a UFO to change course, fire on it if it penetrates national airspace, or force it to land.

In Le Nouvel Obs, the Pentagon notes that the nature of the objects filmed remains unknown at this time, so any official confirmation of flying saucers and extraterrestrials will have to wait.

The Centre national d'études spatiales (Cnes) article says the DoD announced on April 27, 2020 the official release of three videos documenting unidentified aerial phenomena observed by U.S. Navy pilots, filmed in 2004 and 2015.

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BBC

Cnes reports that the DoD authorized the dissemination of three unclassified Navy videos, including one recorded in November 2004 and two in January 2015, which had circulated publicly after unauthorized broadcasts in 2007 and 2017.

Cnes quotes Pentagon spokesperson Sue Gough saying the DoD’s release was intended to dispel public misconceptions and that the authorized sharing of these videos reveals no sensitive systems or capabilities and does not affect potential future investigations into incursions of unidentified aerial phenomena into military airspace.

BBC adds that the Pentagon says the clips it released were sent to the FBI and that the government says they were all filmed in the same general area of the northeastern US, but it does not say precisely where this was.