Ministry of Defence
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Ministry of Defence releases X-files
The first in a
series of UFO files, dating back to the 1970s, have been released
on The National Archives' website today, Wednesday 14 May
2008.
The Ministry of Defence files include descriptions of
alleged Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon or "UFO"
sightings and subsequent MoD evaluations of the reports.
To date, independent experts have concluded that there are realistic explanations behind alleged UFO reports, such as aircraft lights or natural phenomena. Reports 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 receives a large number of requests each year for information relating to UFOs, so to meet demand a new system has been introduced to release these files in a structured way. The rest of the files are currently under review and will be added to The National Archives over the next three years.
The MoD already releases information on sightings which, and this can be found on the MoD website, through the FOI Disclosure Log.
Notes to Editors
1. The released files can be seen on The National Archive website: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
2. The files will be available to download free for the first month, after which The National Archives will charge for the publication of these files.
3. The MoD will be releasing these documents to The National Archives over a period of three years.
4. The files are compiled by Directorate of Air Staff and Defence Intelligence Staff.
