Pentagon reveals new details after UFO video release

US Navy chiefs have revealed new details of their pilots’ encounters with ”unexplained aerial phenomena”, following the release of three declassified videos by the Pentagon last month.

Documents from the Navy Safety Center, obtained by news site Drive under the Freedom of Information Act, detail several incidents where pilots came across “unmanned aerial systems”, says Sky News.

One report from March 2014 described how a pilot came across an “unknown aircraft” which was “approximately the size of a suitcase, and silver in colour”. A navy jet then “passed within 1,000 feet” of the object but could not identify it.

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During another incident, in June 2013, an aircraft “white in colour and approximately the size and shape of a drone or missile” was spotted.

Another involved an unidentified aircraft with an “approximately five foot wingspan and was coloured white with no other distinguishable features”. When drone operators in the area were contacted, all denied knowledge of such aircraft.

The documents warn it could be “only a matter of time” before a navy aircraft collides with an unidentified drone, saying they “pose a greater midair risk than manned aircraft”.

These new details follow last month’s release of three declassified videos that show US Navy pilots encountering what appear to be UFOs.

Nick Pope, a former UFO investigator for the Ministry of Defence in the UK, said the videos could show extra terrestrial activity, but that he did not have a “definitive explanation”.

He told Sky News the unidentified aircraft could be “US black project technology being blind-tested against the military as part of the evaluation process, a Russian or Chinese drone engaged in reconnaissance, or something genuinely unknown and yes, perhaps even extra-terrestrial”.

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The videos, which the Pentagon says depict “unexplained aerial phenomena”, had previously been leaked. A spokesman said they were now being formally released “to clear up any misconceptions by the public on whether or not the footage that has been circulating was real or whether or not there is more to the videos”.

The footage shows what pilots saw during training flights in 2004 and 2015. One of the grainy videos was recorded over the Pacific Ocean. The second was captured off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida.

In one of the videos, a pilot exclaims: "What the f**k is that?!" In another, an object is seen racing through the sky and begins spinning in mid-air. “Dude, this is a f**king drone, bro,” a pilot says on the video. Another says “there's a whole fleet of them”.

The Guardian says the release of the videos will “spur more speculation that humans have recently interacted with extra terrestrials”.

In 2017, retired commander David Fravor told ABC News about the 2004 encounter with unfamiliar craft. “I can tell you, I think it was not from this world," he said.

“I'm not crazy, haven't been drinking. It was… after 18 years of flying, I've seen pretty much about everything that I can see in that realm, and this was nothing close.”

Former senator, Harry Reid, welcomed the Pentagon's decision to officially release the clips. “I'm glad the Pentagon is finally releasing this footage, but it only scratches the surface of research and materials available,” he tweeted. “The US needs to take a serious, scientific look at this and any potential national security implications. The American people deserve to be informed,” he added.

Last year, the US Navy admitted that the videos had prompted new guidelines for how pilots should report sightings of “unauthorized and/or unidentified aircraft”.