Mikhail Kotov — about why the topic of unidentified flying objects has become popular again overseasThe office of the Director of National Intelligence of the United States during congressional hearings presented to the public an unclassified part of the Report on unidentified aerial phenomena in 2022, which refers to more than 500 contacts with UFOs.
It was also noted that the number of recorded cases of "meetings with the unknown" has increased significantly over the past year. Can we assume that the time of interest in aliens is undergoing a rebirth?
UFOs are back in fashion
Its start can be considered the famous Roswell incident in July 1947. However, then the find — metal and rubber fragments of an unknown object — farmer William Brazel and US Air Force officers from Roswell Air Base on a ranch near the village of Corona in New Mexico did not make much noise. Apparently, the cultural phenomenon of UFOs and everything connected with it has not yet been formed. However, more than 20 years later — in the late 1970s - an unprecedented wave of reports about possible contacts with flying saucers was caused by the statement of retired Major Jesse Marcel in an interview with ufologist Stanton Friedman that, in his opinion, the fragments discovered in the 1940s were extraterrestrial. After that, apparently, the desire to become famous and get on TV, multiplied by the "hotness" of the topic, gave birth to a huge number of versions and new witnesses.
If you look at the ESRI map, which displays messages about flying saucers and their inhabitants from 1906 to 2014, you can't help but notice the two brightest spots — the USA and the UK.
In my opinion, this is primarily due to cultural characteristics, in particular the "willingness and desire" to see UFOs. And also, for example, with the same desire, albeit fleeting, but fame, which "contactees" can quickly get by formulating for not very responsible media an exciting story about flying saucers and little men with an unusual head shape or skin color. One could also assume that it is a matter of people's observation, geographical location or the work of special services. However, for example, try to compare yourself with Russian grandmothers on benches in the ability to notice the unusual, and next to the same States there is Mexico, which does not burn on the map at all, like a Christmas tree. As for certain units from the category of "Men in Black" or "Secret Materials", Mulder and Scully, who in the story were hiding behind FBI badges, a lot (of course, unintentionally) contributed to the burial of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (which in reality has nothing to do with this) under a bunch of calls in the style of: "Come, I have alien neighbors." According to the writer and cosmonautics historian Anton Pervushin, Americans also often call the representative office of the US Air Force, which, they say, is traditionally responsible for everything that happens in the air.
Anton Pervushin agrees that since the 40s of the last century, a kind of "UFO culture" began to form in the USA - through TV shows, newspapers, films. "American society seems to be permeated with the feeling that aliens are constantly and invisibly present next to them," he notes. Moreover, if the same "Secret Materials" "for many Russian viewers were almost the first touch of the unknown, then for familiar Americans they ideally lay on an already formed worldview." So, the wave of reports in the States about spotted plates and short-term captures of people for research began to subside by the early 2000s.
It would seem that the "contactees" are becoming a thing of the past, practicing ufologists also have less and less interest in UFOs. However, the Pentagon intervened.
UFOs as a threat to the world
In 2020, the US Department of Defense authorized and released three "historical Navy videos" depicting "unidentified aerial phenomena." After that, statements by the military and representatives of other structures swept through the media of the States that UFO surveillance has been going on for quite a long time and has hundreds of recorded incidents. It was also reported about the formation of several departments responsible for creating reports on the topic of flying saucers on an annual basis.
The report on unidentified aerial phenomena in 2022 is a continuation of the same work on fixing phenomena that require additional explanations. Not only the military participated in its preparation, but also meteorologists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Ministry of Energy, the Federal Aviation Administration, NASA and the Agency for the Comprehensive Study of Anomalies created last summer. And the name "unidentified flying objects" (unidentified flying objects, UFO), which has become native for many years, was changed to "unidentified aerial phenomenon" (unidentified aerial phenomenon, UAP), apparently to give more scientific and solidity.
In fact, there are no revelations in the open part of the document. In total, there are currently 510 UFOs in the list of sightings in the United States (I will call them the old-fashioned way). It was revealed that 26 of them are drones and quadrocopters; 163 are meteorological or household inflatable balloons. Several other objects during the inspection turned out to be birds and plastic bags. However, the nature of the origin of 171 items has not yet been established. It is noted that witnesses claim an uncharacteristic manner of movement of phenomena when compared with human technology.
At the same time, in the report "Preliminary assessment: unidentified aerial phenomenon" for November 2004 — March 2021, it was reported that only 144 reports of the appearance of unidentified aerial phenomena (NVF) were received.
Waiting for contact
In fact, modern science still does not have a single fully confirmed and recorded meeting with someone or something of extraterrestrial origin (which could not be explained except by theories about UFOs). So this phenomenon is still more just a media phenomenon.
But what is the reason for such an increased interest of the American military in this topic? The first reason, I think, is simply money — if there is a committee, then public funds are allocated for it. Yes, and people are in business (especially since real people of interest get there more often), once a year they issue a report and read it out before Congress.
The second reason is even more prosaic: such structures are an opportunity not to miss the appearance of new equipment and reconnaissance aircraft among the alleged opponents. To "better understand the possible potential threats that UFOs may pose, either for flight safety or as a data collection platform by a potential adversary," the 2022 report says directly .
It should be clarified that there are simply no similar American government agencies that monitor UFOs and issue annual reports, for example, in Russia and China. At least officially they don't exist. This again serves as an indicator for me that it is the "UFO culture" created within the country that is paramount, and attempts to talk about the "unknown" from the rostrum without a clear argument are unlikely to find public support in most countries.
Last year, ex-CEO of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin noted that scientists at the Russian Academy of Sciences are investigating the facts of the appearance of so-called UFOs in the history of mankind. However, he noted that 99.9% of these are some kind of atmospheric or other physical phenomena that are not related to the real hypothesis of the appearance of IAF.
In addition, the growth of reports of UFO contacts in recent years may be associated with an increase in the number of various drones, because indeed many of them are very futuristic and unfamiliar to ordinary people. But it is unlikely that such simple explanations suit the US military, because the opportunity to talk about UFOs is a great reason to ask for an increase in the budget.
And the aliens? That's when they arrive, then let them get in touch.
