Tuesday 10 May 2022 08:53 PM House panel to hold first public UFO hearing in 50 YEARS next week  trends now

A House subcommittee will hold its first hearing open to the public on UFOs in more than 50 years next week, with two top intelligence officials set to testify. 

On May 17 at 10 a.m., the House Intelligence Committee's Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation Subcommittee will delve into details on reports of 'unidentified aerial phenomena.' Such high-level conversations have for the past half century been reserved for closed-door meetings among high-ranking military officials. 

'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,' the panel chair, Rep. André Carson, said in a statement on Tuesday.

Ronald Moultrie, the Pentagon's top intelligence official, and Scott Bray, the deputy director of naval intelligence, will testify before the panel. 

Last June, Congress requested a report on 'unidentified aerial phenomena,' and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) offered a preliminary assessment focusing on 144 incidents dating back to 2004. DNI was only able to explain one. 

The report said data was 'largely inconclusive' but most of the incidents definitely involved 'physical objects.'  Many of the sightings were reported by military pilots. 

In 18 of the incidents, spotters 'reported unusual UAP movement patterns or flight characteristics.'

'Some UAP appeared to remain stationary in winds aloft, move against the wind, maneuver abruptly, or move at considerable speed, without discernible means of propulsion,' the report said. 'In a small number of cases, military aircraft systems processed radio frequency energy associated with UAP sightings.'

After the woefully insufficient report, the Pentagon created a new office to study such incidents - the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group (AOIMSG). 

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, said the purpose of next week's hearing was to shed light on 'one of the great mysteries of our time and to break the cycle of excessive secrecy and speculation with truth and transparency.'