By James Pero For Dailymail.com
Published: 21:59 BST, 22 May 2019 | Updated: 22:00 BST, 22 May 2019
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A U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson reportedly confirmed the Pentagon's interest in UFO's, citing the agency's investigation of 'unidentified aerial phenomena.'
According to a report from The New York Post, a representative confirmed that the U.S. government studied and investigated the occurrence of mysterious and unexplained aircraft as a part of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program that was made public in 2017.
Media commentator and former British defense official Nick Pope told the Post that the specific choice of words marks a major step in the way that the government talks about unidentified aircraft.
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In a major precedent, a U.S. Department of Defense official has admitted that the Pentagon studied 'unidentified aerial phenomena.'
'This new admission makes it clear that they really did study what the public would call ‘UFOs,’ he told the Post.
'It also shows the British influence, because UAP was the term we used in the Ministry of Defence to get away from the pop culture baggage that came with the term ‘UFO.'
The shift in terminology comes just weeks after the U.S. Navy unveiled new guidelines on collecting information about UFO sightings.
As reported by Politico, the guidelines are designed to make it easier for sailors to report UFO sightings amid fears that mysterious unidentified flying objects could actually be 'extremely advanced Russian aircraft.'
The Navy has reported an uptick in the number of 'highly advanced aircraft' encroaching on its air space.
'There have been a number of reports of unauthorized and/or unidentified aircraft entering various military-controlled ranges and designated
