On Tuesday, a committee in the House of Representatives held the first public congressional hearing on unidentified flying objects in more than half a century.

During the hearing, top Pentagon officials disclosed that the number of “unidentified aerial phenomena” (UAP) reported by pilots and service members had increased to approximately 400.

Rep. André Carson, a Democrat from Indiana and the chairman of the House Intelligence Subcommittee on Counterintelligence, Counterterrorism, and Counterproliferation, introduced the topic of the hearing by stating that unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) “are a potential national security threat, and they need to be treated that way.”

According to Scott Bray, the deputy director of US naval intelligence, the increase in sightings can be attributed to a number of different factors, such as the growing popularity of quadcopters and drones, updates in sensor technologies, an increase in aerial clutter such as mylar balloons, and a perceived decrease in the stigma associated with reporting.

According to Bray’s explanation, there is no evidence to suggest that paranormal or extraterrestrial activity was involved in any of the sightings, even if many of them remain unexplained.

In one of these incidents that took place in 2004, fighter pilots operating from an aircraft carrier in the Pacific came into contact with an object that appeared to have dropped tens of thousands of feet before stopping and hovering.

In a separate event, which was brought to the attention of the general public for the first time on Tuesday, footage of an unidentified flying object can be seen passing by at high speed alongside a fighter jet from the United States Navy, and there is still no explanation.

After the open session, there was a closed session in which members of Congress were given access to classified information and briefed on its contents.

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