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Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tweeted Monday that Americans "deserve to be informed" about UFO information following the Pentagon's official release of three Navy videos showing "unidentified aerial phenomena."
Why it matters: Reid devoted funding in 2007 to a $22 million program to investigate unidentified flying objects. The Pentagon confirmed its existence in 2017.
- The Navy also confirmed an increase in UFO sightings in 2019. It formalized a new process to allow pilots to report sightings at the time.
- Officials have clarified that, while UFOs are not necessarily indicative of extraterrestrial life, they do raise concerns regarding advanced aircraft flying near sensitive military facilities and military-controlled ranges.
The big picture: The Navy videos were previously published by the New York Times, which interviewed the pilots involved in some of the incidents.
- They refused to speculate on the origin of the crafts they saw, but one pilot told the Times that "we're here to do a job, with excellence, not make up myths."