---
title: "The Pentagon Just Released Its UFO Report"
description: "The Office of the Director of National Intelligence just dropped its hotly-anticipated declassified report on \"unidentified aerial phenomena,\" or UFOs."
date: "2021-06-25"
modified: "2021-06-25"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/ufo-report-released"
categories:
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "military"
  - "Pentagon"
  - "ufos"
---

# The Pentagon Just Released Its UFO Report

![The Office of the Director of National Intelligence just dropped its hotly-anticipated declassified report on "unidentified aerial phenomena," or UFOs.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/UFO.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://unsplash.com/@bencollins" target="\_blank"\>Ben Collins via Unsplash / Futurism \</a\>\</em\>*

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence just dropped its hotly-anticipated declassified report on "unidentified aerial phenomena," which are essentially a wordy rebranding of "unidentified flying objects" (UFOs).

The major takeaway of the Friday evening release: disappointingly, very little. In the [9-page document](<https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/press-releases-2021/item/2223-UAP#content>), the Pentagon's best and brightest essentially threw up their hands and admitted that they can't explain the vast majority of apparent UFO sightings.

The report drew immense amounts of speculation before its release because of the remote possibility that it would say something concrete about alien life, but that didn't come to pass.

"We have no clear indications that there is any non-terrestrial explanation for them — but we will go wherever the data takes us," an anonymous US government official [told *NBC News*](<https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/ufo-report-government-can-t-explain-143-144-mysterious-flying-n1272390>) shortly before the report was released. "We do not have any data that indicates that any of these unidentified air phenomena are part of a foreign collection program nor do we have any data that is indicative of a major technological advancement by a potential adversary."

The report itself is at times almost comically vague.

"There are probably multiple types of UAP requiring different explanations based on the range of appearances and behaviors described in the available reporting," reads one section. "Our analysis of the data supports the construct that if and when individual UAP incidents are resolved they will fall into one of five potential explanatory categories: airborne clutter, natural atmospheric phenomena, USG or U.S. industry developmental programs, foreign adversary systems, and a catchall 'other' bin."

In total, the report examined 144 incidents, 143 of which investigators were unable to explain.

But it did contain a few tantalizing references.

"In a small number of cases, military aircraft systems processed radio frequency (RF) energy associated with UAP sightings," reads one.

"The UAPTF holds a small amount of data that appear to show UAP demonstrating acceleration or a degree of signature management," reads another. But additional "rigorous analysis are necessary by multiple teams or groups of technical experts to determine the nature and validity of these data," it said.

Most of the most interesting gossip came from anonymous sources associated with the report, rather than the document itself.

"We absolutely do believe what we're seeing are not simply sensor artifacts," a government source [told *CNN*](<https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/25/politics/ufo-report-pentagon-odni/index.html>), for instance. "These are things that physically exist."

Overall, answers are few and far between. And to be fair, the investigation was by definition immensely challenging from the start.

**READ MORE:** [Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena](<https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/press-releases-2021/item/2223-UAP#content>) \[Office of the Director of National Intelligence\]

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)