#UFO hunters? Marco Rubio reveals ‘Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force’

In his report attached to the 2020-2021 Senate Intelligence Authorization Act, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, acting chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, instructs the director of national intelligence, the secretary of defense and other agency heads to compile data on “unidentified aerial phenomenon,” more commonly referred to as unidentified flying objects, or UFOs.

“The Committee remains concerned that there is no unified, comprehensive process within the Federal Government for collecting and analyzing intelligence on unidentified aerial phenomena, despite the potential threat,” according to the bill.

“The Committee understands that the relevant intelligence may be sensitive; nevertheless, the Committee finds that the information sharing and coordination across the Intelligence Community has been inconsistent, and this issue has lacked attention from senior leaders,” it continues.

The measure states several requests, including the identification of potential aerospace or other threats posed by UFOs to national security, and a description of the process by which each agency compiles and delivers data and analysis of all UFOs to the federal government.

The committee report also acknowledges the “Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force,” a body that has been alluded to but never confirmed. The bill calls on the task force to report if any UFOs pose a threat to U.S. military assets or have links to “adversarial foreign governments.”

The bill still needs to pass the Senate. Lawmakers are asking for a report within 180 days of the bill’s approval.

In April, UFOs were given renewed attention when the Pentagon released videos — that were previously leaked to the public — captured by Navy aircraft. The Department of Defense set up a program several years ago to investigate.

The now-defunct Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program was reportedly disbanded in 2012.