Congress is holding its first UFO hearing in more than 50 years

Giles Snyder

May 17, 2022 / 5:08 am

caption: In this image from 2015 video provided by the Department of Defense, an unexplained object is seen as it is tracked soaring high along the clouds, traveling against the wind.

Congress is set to hold its first public hearing on UFOs in more than 50 years today, as the House Intelligence committee hears testimony from military officials. The 9 a.m. ET hearing will be livestreamed on the committee's YouTube channel.

The session will include testimony from Ronald S. Moultrie, the Pentagon's top intelligence official, and from Scott W. Bray, the deputy director of Naval intelligence.

It's the first congressional hearing held on the subject of what are now called "unidentified aerial phenomena" since a push by then-Rep. Gerald Ford led to an Air Force report and hearing in 1969.

Congress recently mandated that the military regularly update Congress on UAPs, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a report covering 143 sightings last year.

"This report is an important first step in cataloging these incidents, but it is just a first step," Sen. Marco Rubio said in a statement at the time.

"The Defense Department and intelligence community have a lot of work to do before we can actually understand whether these aerial threats present a serious national security concern," Rubio wrote. [Copyright 2022 NPR]

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