British defense study debunks UFO sightings

In 1952, then-Prime Minister Winston Churchill said, "What does all this stuff about flying saucers amount to? What can it mean? What is the truth?" A report that was completed in 2000 by the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) and now made public may at last answer Churchill's questions.

The MOD declassified the study in response to a request made under British freedom-of-information laws. That study, examining sightings of "unidentified aerial phenomena," or UAPs, concluded that flying saucers and other related objects, "In the absence of any evidence to the contrary," are the result of: "Mis-reporting of man-made vehicles, often observed by perfectly credible witnesses, but with unfamiliar or abnormal features; or in unusual circumstances"; "Reports of natural but not unusual phenomena, which are genuinely misunderstood at the time by the observer"; or "The incidence of natural, but relatively rare phenomena." The report notes that incidence of events in the latter category may be increasing due to "man-aided factors, such as smoke and dust." The sightings that were included in the data pool for the study were reported between 1987 and 1997.

The MOD, in its role as military protector of the United Kingdom, conducted the study primarily to determine if there were any discernible risks, but concluded that "There is no evidence that any UAP, seen in the [United Kingdom's airspace], are incursions by air-objects of any intelligent (extra-terrestrial or foreign) origin, or that they represent any hostile intent" and "There is no evidence that solid objects exist which could cause a collision hazard." The key recommendation of the MOD is that in light of the study, "It should no longer be a requirement for [the British intelligence services] to monitor UAP reports as they do not demonstrably provide information useful to Defence Intelligence."

However, the study did unexpectedly note the "relevance of plasma and magnetic fields to UAP." The study reports that atmospheric plasmic energy masses can take on many of the aspects of UFOs, including non-ballistic motion, "shadowing" aircraft, and, with possible military applications as decoys, the ability to sometimes mimic solid objects on radar.

COPYRIGHT 2006 Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning