The MoD also states that the only interest they really have in the UFO
phenomena is "solely to establish whether UK airspace may have been
compromised by hostile or unauthorised military activity".
The files include descriptions of alleged Unidentified Aerial
Phenomenon or "UFO" sightings and subsequent MOD evaluations of the
reports.
The MOD receives a large number of requests each year for information
relating to UFOs, and so has introduced a system to meet this demand by
releasing these historic files in a structured way.
The released files can be seen on The National Archives' website, see
Related Links >>> The files will be available to download
free for the first month, after which The National Archives will charge for
them.
The rest of the files are currently under review and will be added to The
National Archives over the next three years.
To date, independent experts have concluded that there are straightforward
explanations behind alleged UFO reports, such as aircraft lights or natural
phenomena.
Reports of UFOs are examined by the Ministry of Defence solely to establish
whether UK airspace may have been compromised by hostile or unauthorised
military activity.
If required, sighting reports are examined with the assistance of the
Department's air defence experts. Unless there is evidence of a potential
threat, no further work is undertaken to identify the nature of each sighting
reported.
The Ministry of Defence has no other interest or role regarding UFO matters
and does not consider questions regarding the existence or otherwise of
extraterrestrial life-forms.
The MOD now routinely releases information on reported UFO
sightings. This information can be found on the MOD website, through
our Freedom Of Information Publication Scheme.
