But they will definitely say so.
Details of the three shootdowns by fighter jets in recent days have been sparse, leaving a vacuum in Washington that is being filled by otherworldly speculation. Senators were told in a classified briefing on Tuesday that the unidentified flying objects have not yet been recovered, meaning the US has not been able to study them.
Asked if Biden administration briefers have ruled out extraterrestrial involvement, Sen. Mitt Romney (R., Utah) said “I don’t know how you ever confirm that” with a laugh.
“How would you know?” Sen. Rick Scott (R., Fla.) said. “I don’t think you have enough information to say that.”
US officials still don’t know how the objects were moved or who sent them, but say they were harmless and definitely out of this world.
Some MPs won’t rule out extraterrestrial activity, perhaps not wanting to alienate concerned voters who have been pestering them with questions about the possibility of invaders from the skies.
“I went grocery shopping this weekend when I was home, and I have to say, it was the most asked question,” said Sen. Katie Britt (R. Ala.), when asked about possible foreign involvement. was asked about. People want to know they are safe and our motherland is safe.”
Sen. Mark Kelly (D, Ariz.), the only current senator who has actually been in space as an astronaut, said he could not confirm any close encounters.
“I didn’t see them,” Mr. Kelly said, forming a line for the elevator after the vote. “So if they’re green? They have big eyes? I’d say yes,” he joked as the elevator doors closed.
The mystery surrounding the objects has fueled talk of possible alien visitors. After a Chinese surveillance balloon was shot down earlier this month, officials have said little about subsequent contacts.
The community that believes in extraterrestrial life has been buoyed by the discoveries of the past week.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s visitors. I learned a long time ago never to overestimate that remarkable, complex and cryptic presence,” said Whitley Strieber, a writer who says he was abducted by aliens in 1985. was done.
Mark Rodeghier, scientific director of the Center for UFO Studies, remains skeptical, saying he hasn’t seen evidence that these are “original UFO incidents” – partly because the military was only able to shoot them down with missiles.
Washington has been hysterical about flying objects before. In July 1952, a series of bright lights seen over the capital caused authorities to evacuate F-94 jets from Delaware’s New Castle Air Force Base. The pilots were unable to find anything. A headline on the front page of the Washington Post read: “‘Saucer’ outran jet, pilot says; Air Force lifts lid on investigation.”
General Glenn VanHerk, commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and US Northern Command, revived concerns about a possible world war. On Sunday, he told reporters that he was not ruling out anything, including extraterrestrial involvement, adding that he would “let the intel community and the counterintelligence community figure it out.”
A Defense Department official issued a statement a few hours later saying that “there is no indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity with these recent takedowns.”
Authorities say they still haven’t determined what they were destroying, but defend the decision to shoot them. The objects struck various locations in airspace over Alaska on Friday, Canada’s Yukon Territory on Saturday and Lake Huron on Sunday.
US spy agencies and the Pentagon said in a report released last month that reported sightings of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, better known as UFOs, have increased significantly over the past two years, and nearly half of new sightings remain unexplained.
The study, led by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, put the number of UAP sightings—most often by Navy and Air Force pilots—at 510, with 366 reports coming in since March 2021. An analysis by a new Pentagon office is likely unmanned aircraft, balloons or aerial debris, but 171 remain “undocumented and unreported,” the report said.
The objects shot down by the US last week were unmanned and no communication signals were detected, according to Defense Department officials.
Last year, the House Intelligence Committee’s Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence and Counterproliferation heard testimony from defense officials on reports of “unidentified aerial phenomena” and the risks they pose to national security. The aliens did not appear in testimony.
Some Republicans called for the president to deliver a national address to allay fear of anything. President Biden’s press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tried to downplay the out-of-this-world rumors on Monday, laughing, saying, “I know there have been questions and concerns about this, but there’s no sign—again.” , there is no sign- aliens or extraterrestrial activity with these recent takedowns.”
When asked later in the same briefing about the possibility of aliens, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, “I don’t think the American people have to worry about aliens in relation to these craft. Period.” “
Still, Mr. Kirby could not rule out that the objects were under surveillance.
The White House said Monday that it plans to form a team that will study airborne objects and the potential safety and security risks they pose. The new group will include elements from the Pentagon, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Homeland Security and other government agencies, US officials said.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) has tapped Sen. John Tester (D., Mont.), who chairs the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, “to conduct a careful, bipartisan examination of these various incidents.” “
Mr. Tester said he plans to hold a hearing on the matter.
Asked if he could assure the American people that aliens were not involved, he said, “Absolutely.” Then he stopped and smiled. “I do not think so.”