By Tim Binnall
A highly anticipated report on the Pentagon's efforts to study UFOs has been released to the public and, sadly, it seems that the phenomenon remains as mysterious as ever. Meant to serve as an update to their preliminary assessment issued in June of 2021, the annual report on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) for 2022 provides an enlightening look at the progress that has been made by the DoD's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). Remarkably, they indicated that the group have received an additional 366 cases since their initial assessment, bringing the total number of UAP accounts collected by the office to a whopping 510.
In noting the increase in reports, the office seemed to indicate that this did not necessarily mean that there were suddenly more UFOs in the skies, but that witnesses are now encouraged to share their accounts "due to a concentrated effort to destigmatize the topic of UAP and instead recognize the potential risks that it poses." Breaking down their investigation into the fresh batch of reports, the AARO revealed that their analysis "judged more than half as exhibiting unremarkable characteristics." To that end, they explained that 26 were drones, a staggering 163 were "characterized as balloon or balloon-like entities," and 6 were simply classified as "clutter."
As for the remaining 171 cases, the report said that some of the UAPs "appear to have demonstrated unusual flight characteristics or performance capabilities." Although they did not say exactly how many of those incidents there were, the office noted that they "require further analysis." And, as one might have guessed, the fairly dry 12-page annual assessment makes no mention of extraterrestrials or the possibility that the phenomenon could be otherwordly, which was a point previously stressed by AARO officials in a press conference a few weeks ago. Be that as it may, disappointed UFO enthusiasts can take some solace in the sheer number of cases that have defied explanation so far and hope that perhaps some of them could be alien visitors.