After a spate of ‘near misses,’ the U.S. government is getting serious about the dangers posed by UFOs.

(Originally published Oct. 20 in “What in the World“) The U.S. government has assembled a crack team to respond to the threat to aircraft posed by unidentified flying objects after a spate of close encounters in recent years.

Military and civilian pilots have reported at least 11 “near misses” since 2019, in which UFOs have come within 150 meters of aircraft. These include declassified encounters by U.S. Navy pilots with objects displaying flight characteristics beyond those of any known aircraft. The investigation also includes unidentified undersea vehicles.

According to Politico, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, which includes the country’s largest defense and space contractors, has established three committees to study and assess the UFO risk. This is in addition to the Institute’s Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena Community of Interest and the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office established at the Pentagon in July.