Latest news with #UAPs
The Advertiser
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Defence says it's had no UFO briefings from the US. These newly revealed emails show otherwise
Australia has been receiving high-level briefings from the United States' UFO task force for years, despite the repeated denials of the top military brass, newly revealed emails show. Freedom of information documents from December 2021 show US officials discussing a briefing regarding Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAPs) - the modern term for UFOs - with its Five Eyes allies. The email chain included officials from the United States UAP Task Force (UAPTF) and an Australian defence representative, using a US Department of Defence email address. "Re tomorrow's UAP briefing, I received confirmation from Australia and Canada they will be here ... and of course UK," a UAPTF official wrote. However, a scheduling conflict led to the meeting being rescheduled for early January, 2022, much to the annoyance of the Office Under the Secretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security (OUSD). "I recall you and your team said last week that you wanted to come in today to brief the other partners. Because of this I urged the partners to build time into their schedules and come in for the brief," the OUSD official wrote. "The last thing we want to do is be dismissive of our allies and their time," a UAPTF official replied. The former Chief of Air Force - and now Vice Chief of Defence - Air Marshal Robert Chipman twice told senators during an estimates hearing that Australia had not been briefed on UAPs after the email exchange and rescheduled Five Eyes briefing. In November 2022, Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson asked if the US had discussed UAPs with Australian intelligence services or the Air Force. "I'm not aware of any formal discussions that we've held with the US," Air Marshal Chipman said. "I imagine it would have come across my desk if those discussions were held in the last four months." During the Senate estimates hearing the following year, the Air Marshal was more adamant in response to Senator Whish-Wilson's questions, which specifically queried if Australian defence attaches had received UAPTF briefings. "No," Air Marshal Chipman said. "No briefings at all," Senator Whish-Wilson said. "No," Air Marshal Chipman repeated. Briefing notes prepared in May 2022 for Air Marshall Chipman's Senate estimate hearing also state that neither "the US nor any other nation or ally" had requested or offered to collaborate on the issue of UAPs. "Defence has no desire to seek collaboration on this issue," the briefing note states. The Department of Defence refused to answer questions from The Canberra Times. Grant Lavac, an Australian civilian UAP researcher, said the lack of transparency was "quite concerning". "The Chief of Air Force leads all discussions on UAP in Australia, so if there's one person that needs to know what is happening on this topic in an Australian context and our discussions with allies, it's him," Mr Lavac said. "He's either uniformed because there is a complete lack of intelligence sharing, or there's a degree of incompetence, or it's something more sinister like plausible deniability. "Any one of those three scenarios is concerning." It's not the first time the Australian Defence Force has misled Senators about the nation's UAP activities. In 2024, Defence officials admitted Australia sent representatives to a UAP briefing in the Pentagon, after vigorously denying any involvement. The agenda of the meeting, which was attended by members of the Five Eyes alliance, was later released by the US government. It shows the alliance - which includes US, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand - met for a "caucus working group" to "cultivate shared awareness of allies' UAP issues, detection, and mitigation activities and challenges". They discussed the need for "networks to share Five Eyes UAP reporting", including documents marked "top secret" and "special intelligence", along with UAP "collection planning". "The intention is to develop a framework for future UAP collaboration," one document said. Australia's UAP policy has previously been criticised for being out of step with its closest military allies, including the US, which introduced mandatory UAP reporting for defence personnel in 2021. The US considers UAPs a potential flight safety and national security risk, while other allies have acknowledged the unknown aerial phenomenon, including the UK, Canada, France and Spain. The Canberra Times has previously reported Australian Defence personnel don't feel comfortable reporting UAP sightings through official channels and freedom of information documents revealed senior Defence officials mocked the subject while preparing briefing notes. Australia has been receiving high-level briefings from the United States' UFO task force for years, despite the repeated denials of the top military brass, newly revealed emails show. Freedom of information documents from December 2021 show US officials discussing a briefing regarding Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAPs) - the modern term for UFOs - with its Five Eyes allies. The email chain included officials from the United States UAP Task Force (UAPTF) and an Australian defence representative, using a US Department of Defence email address. "Re tomorrow's UAP briefing, I received confirmation from Australia and Canada they will be here ... and of course UK," a UAPTF official wrote. However, a scheduling conflict led to the meeting being rescheduled for early January, 2022, much to the annoyance of the Office Under the Secretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security (OUSD). "I recall you and your team said last week that you wanted to come in today to brief the other partners. Because of this I urged the partners to build time into their schedules and come in for the brief," the OUSD official wrote. "The last thing we want to do is be dismissive of our allies and their time," a UAPTF official replied. The former Chief of Air Force - and now Vice Chief of Defence - Air Marshal Robert Chipman twice told senators during an estimates hearing that Australia had not been briefed on UAPs after the email exchange and rescheduled Five Eyes briefing. In November 2022, Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson asked if the US had discussed UAPs with Australian intelligence services or the Air Force. "I'm not aware of any formal discussions that we've held with the US," Air Marshal Chipman said. "I imagine it would have come across my desk if those discussions were held in the last four months." During the Senate estimates hearing the following year, the Air Marshal was more adamant in response to Senator Whish-Wilson's questions, which specifically queried if Australian defence attaches had received UAPTF briefings. "No," Air Marshal Chipman said. "No briefings at all," Senator Whish-Wilson said. "No," Air Marshal Chipman repeated. Briefing notes prepared in May 2022 for Air Marshall Chipman's Senate estimate hearing also state that neither "the US nor any other nation or ally" had requested or offered to collaborate on the issue of UAPs. "Defence has no desire to seek collaboration on this issue," the briefing note states. The Department of Defence refused to answer questions from The Canberra Times. Grant Lavac, an Australian civilian UAP researcher, said the lack of transparency was "quite concerning". "The Chief of Air Force leads all discussions on UAP in Australia, so if there's one person that needs to know what is happening on this topic in an Australian context and our discussions with allies, it's him," Mr Lavac said. "He's either uniformed because there is a complete lack of intelligence sharing, or there's a degree of incompetence, or it's something more sinister like plausible deniability. "Any one of those three scenarios is concerning." It's not the first time the Australian Defence Force has misled Senators about the nation's UAP activities. In 2024, Defence officials admitted Australia sent representatives to a UAP briefing in the Pentagon, after vigorously denying any involvement. The agenda of the meeting, which was attended by members of the Five Eyes alliance, was later released by the US government. It shows the alliance - which includes US, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand - met for a "caucus working group" to "cultivate shared awareness of allies' UAP issues, detection, and mitigation activities and challenges". They discussed the need for "networks to share Five Eyes UAP reporting", including documents marked "top secret" and "special intelligence", along with UAP "collection planning". "The intention is to develop a framework for future UAP collaboration," one document said. Australia's UAP policy has previously been criticised for being out of step with its closest military allies, including the US, which introduced mandatory UAP reporting for defence personnel in 2021. The US considers UAPs a potential flight safety and national security risk, while other allies have acknowledged the unknown aerial phenomenon, including the UK, Canada, France and Spain. The Canberra Times has previously reported Australian Defence personnel don't feel comfortable reporting UAP sightings through official channels and freedom of information documents revealed senior Defence officials mocked the subject while preparing briefing notes. Australia has been receiving high-level briefings from the United States' UFO task force for years, despite the repeated denials of the top military brass, newly revealed emails show. Freedom of information documents from December 2021 show US officials discussing a briefing regarding Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAPs) - the modern term for UFOs - with its Five Eyes allies. The email chain included officials from the United States UAP Task Force (UAPTF) and an Australian defence representative, using a US Department of Defence email address. "Re tomorrow's UAP briefing, I received confirmation from Australia and Canada they will be here ... and of course UK," a UAPTF official wrote. However, a scheduling conflict led to the meeting being rescheduled for early January, 2022, much to the annoyance of the Office Under the Secretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security (OUSD). "I recall you and your team said last week that you wanted to come in today to brief the other partners. Because of this I urged the partners to build time into their schedules and come in for the brief," the OUSD official wrote. "The last thing we want to do is be dismissive of our allies and their time," a UAPTF official replied. The former Chief of Air Force - and now Vice Chief of Defence - Air Marshal Robert Chipman twice told senators during an estimates hearing that Australia had not been briefed on UAPs after the email exchange and rescheduled Five Eyes briefing. In November 2022, Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson asked if the US had discussed UAPs with Australian intelligence services or the Air Force. "I'm not aware of any formal discussions that we've held with the US," Air Marshal Chipman said. "I imagine it would have come across my desk if those discussions were held in the last four months." During the Senate estimates hearing the following year, the Air Marshal was more adamant in response to Senator Whish-Wilson's questions, which specifically queried if Australian defence attaches had received UAPTF briefings. "No," Air Marshal Chipman said. "No briefings at all," Senator Whish-Wilson said. "No," Air Marshal Chipman repeated. Briefing notes prepared in May 2022 for Air Marshall Chipman's Senate estimate hearing also state that neither "the US nor any other nation or ally" had requested or offered to collaborate on the issue of UAPs. "Defence has no desire to seek collaboration on this issue," the briefing note states. The Department of Defence refused to answer questions from The Canberra Times. Grant Lavac, an Australian civilian UAP researcher, said the lack of transparency was "quite concerning". "The Chief of Air Force leads all discussions on UAP in Australia, so if there's one person that needs to know what is happening on this topic in an Australian context and our discussions with allies, it's him," Mr Lavac said. "He's either uniformed because there is a complete lack of intelligence sharing, or there's a degree of incompetence, or it's something more sinister like plausible deniability. "Any one of those three scenarios is concerning." It's not the first time the Australian Defence Force has misled Senators about the nation's UAP activities. In 2024, Defence officials admitted Australia sent representatives to a UAP briefing in the Pentagon, after vigorously denying any involvement. The agenda of the meeting, which was attended by members of the Five Eyes alliance, was later released by the US government. It shows the alliance - which includes US, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand - met for a "caucus working group" to "cultivate shared awareness of allies' UAP issues, detection, and mitigation activities and challenges". They discussed the need for "networks to share Five Eyes UAP reporting", including documents marked "top secret" and "special intelligence", along with UAP "collection planning". "The intention is to develop a framework for future UAP collaboration," one document said. Australia's UAP policy has previously been criticised for being out of step with its closest military allies, including the US, which introduced mandatory UAP reporting for defence personnel in 2021. The US considers UAPs a potential flight safety and national security risk, while other allies have acknowledged the unknown aerial phenomenon, including the UK, Canada, France and Spain. The Canberra Times has previously reported Australian Defence personnel don't feel comfortable reporting UAP sightings through official channels and freedom of information documents revealed senior Defence officials mocked the subject while preparing briefing notes. Australia has been receiving high-level briefings from the United States' UFO task force for years, despite the repeated denials of the top military brass, newly revealed emails show. Freedom of information documents from December 2021 show US officials discussing a briefing regarding Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAPs) - the modern term for UFOs - with its Five Eyes allies. The email chain included officials from the United States UAP Task Force (UAPTF) and an Australian defence representative, using a US Department of Defence email address. "Re tomorrow's UAP briefing, I received confirmation from Australia and Canada they will be here ... and of course UK," a UAPTF official wrote. However, a scheduling conflict led to the meeting being rescheduled for early January, 2022, much to the annoyance of the Office Under the Secretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security (OUSD). "I recall you and your team said last week that you wanted to come in today to brief the other partners. Because of this I urged the partners to build time into their schedules and come in for the brief," the OUSD official wrote. "The last thing we want to do is be dismissive of our allies and their time," a UAPTF official replied. The former Chief of Air Force - and now Vice Chief of Defence - Air Marshal Robert Chipman twice told senators during an estimates hearing that Australia had not been briefed on UAPs after the email exchange and rescheduled Five Eyes briefing. In November 2022, Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson asked if the US had discussed UAPs with Australian intelligence services or the Air Force. "I'm not aware of any formal discussions that we've held with the US," Air Marshal Chipman said. "I imagine it would have come across my desk if those discussions were held in the last four months." During the Senate estimates hearing the following year, the Air Marshal was more adamant in response to Senator Whish-Wilson's questions, which specifically queried if Australian defence attaches had received UAPTF briefings. "No," Air Marshal Chipman said. "No briefings at all," Senator Whish-Wilson said. "No," Air Marshal Chipman repeated. Briefing notes prepared in May 2022 for Air Marshall Chipman's Senate estimate hearing also state that neither "the US nor any other nation or ally" had requested or offered to collaborate on the issue of UAPs. "Defence has no desire to seek collaboration on this issue," the briefing note states. The Department of Defence refused to answer questions from The Canberra Times. Grant Lavac, an Australian civilian UAP researcher, said the lack of transparency was "quite concerning". "The Chief of Air Force leads all discussions on UAP in Australia, so if there's one person that needs to know what is happening on this topic in an Australian context and our discussions with allies, it's him," Mr Lavac said. "He's either uniformed because there is a complete lack of intelligence sharing, or there's a degree of incompetence, or it's something more sinister like plausible deniability. "Any one of those three scenarios is concerning." It's not the first time the Australian Defence Force has misled Senators about the nation's UAP activities. In 2024, Defence officials admitted Australia sent representatives to a UAP briefing in the Pentagon, after vigorously denying any involvement. The agenda of the meeting, which was attended by members of the Five Eyes alliance, was later released by the US government. It shows the alliance - which includes US, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand - met for a "caucus working group" to "cultivate shared awareness of allies' UAP issues, detection, and mitigation activities and challenges". They discussed the need for "networks to share Five Eyes UAP reporting", including documents marked "top secret" and "special intelligence", along with UAP "collection planning". "The intention is to develop a framework for future UAP collaboration," one document said. Australia's UAP policy has previously been criticised for being out of step with its closest military allies, including the US, which introduced mandatory UAP reporting for defence personnel in 2021. The US considers UAPs a potential flight safety and national security risk, while other allies have acknowledged the unknown aerial phenomenon, including the UK, Canada, France and Spain. The Canberra Times has previously reported Australian Defence personnel don't feel comfortable reporting UAP sightings through official channels and freedom of information documents revealed senior Defence officials mocked the subject while preparing briefing notes.
Metro
29-05-2025
- Science
- Metro
Scientists reveal truth behind 'UFO' seen in major city with 'cryptic message'
Scientists have weighed in on a sphere-shaped object dubbed by some to be a UFO with a cryptic message to humanity. The object allegedly was spotted zig-zagging in the sky over the Colombian city of Buga before landing in March. While there is no evidence that object seen flying in a nontraditional way is the same as the one recovered on the ground, a team of scientists have been analyzing it. The team used AI to decipher symbols inscribed on the sphere which they likened to ancient scripts. Researchers have translated the symbols to the read: 'The origin of birth through union and energy in the cycle of transformation, meeting point of unity, expansion, and consciousness — individual consciousness.' 'We interpret it as a message to humanity, encouraging a collective shift in consciousness to help Mother Earth — especially considering the current issues with pollution and environmental decline,' they said. But one unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) researcher, Dr Julia Mossbridge, is skeptical that the object is actually a UFO or of alien material. 'The sphere itself seems kind of like an art project' created by humans, Mossbridge, who is a cognitive neuroscientist, told Fox News recently. 'If an artist is doing this, why is that? Well, I think it's partly the same reason. 'It's because we're learning that we don't understand what's in our skies or our waters. And there's something going on that's essentially bigger than us.' More Trending She pointed out the lack of concrete evidence to show that the object observed in the sky is the same as the one found in the ground. But Mossbridge, who attended a congressional hearing on UAPs on May 1, said humans may soon have to reckon with the possibility of alien life. 'We are entering a time when we are starting to recognize as humans we don't have the control that we thought we had over everything,' she said. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: The Milky Way will be most visible until this date in the US – here's how to see it MORE: Trump kisses former Fox News host while swearing her in as new top prosecutor MORE: Shocking moment cop shoots driver through windscreen while clinging to car hood in Miami
Perth Now
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
RAF pilots 'too scared' to speak out over UFO encounters
Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots have reportedly seen UFOs during flights but are staying tight-lipped for fear of being grounded, sacked or worse. Documentary filmmaker Mark Christopher Lee says he's been contacted by several British military pilots who claim to have had real-life run-ins with mysterious unidentified aerial phenomena - or UAPs. But despite the extraordinary nature of what they saw, they're keeping their mouths shut. Mark told the Daily Star newspaper: "We have military pilots who have had real-life encounters with UAPs. I have spoken to them. What they say is incredible." However, these top guns are only prepared to spill the beans under strict anonymity. The filmmaker said: "They fear the consequences if they were to go on the record. Will they be fired, ridiculed, demoted – even prosecuted – for speaking out? These are their fears." Mark added that other military personnel and even police officers are scared to speak up about strange sightings in the skies. He said: "What will happen to their families? "It's frustrating because unless someone goes on the record, puts their name – and potentially rank – to an event it is impossible to judge and difficult to properly investigate." The filmmaker claims that the British public is being "kept in the dark" about UFOs. Mark said: "Information about extraordinary events is being withheld from them." The RAF has yet to comment on the claims.
Newsweek
25-05-2025
- Science
- Newsweek
UFO Discovered in Colombia? Scientist Weighs In
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A Colombian radiology specialist says a mysterious metal orb discovered in his country is an unidentified flying object (UFO) of extraterrestrial origin, though experts remain skeptical of the claim. Jose Luis Velasquez, the radiology specialist, determined the extraterrestrial origin after inspecting the object and finding no marks indicating the metal orb had been welded together or contained joined parts in any way, according to a post on X, formerly Twitter, from a creator who labels their content as entertainment. The object - known as the "Buga Sphere" - was discovered in Buga, Colombia earlier this year, according to video in the social media post. Images of the orb show a silver-colored sphere about the size of a bowling ball covered in what appears to be foreign text and drawings. However, Dr. Julia Mossbridge, founder of the Mossbridge Institute and a researcher affiliated with multiple universities and technology companies, expressed strong doubts about the extraterrestrial claims when contacted by Newsweek. "Buga Sphere, I really suspect it's a piece of artwork," Mossbridge explained. "It looks so human made to me." Newsweek reached out to Velasquez via email for comment on Sunday during non-working hours. Why It Matters After decades of denying any knowledge of UFOs, the Pentagon released a report in November of 2024 regarding unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP) following a congressional hearing in which House lawmakers urged for greater transparency. The report documented hundreds of instances where balloons, birds and satellites were mistakenly identified, along with a few cases that remain puzzling—such as a close encounter between a commercial airliner and an unidentified object off the New York coast. Federal efforts to investigate UAPs have prioritized potential risks to national security and air safety rather than delving into theories. Officials at the Pentagon's All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), established in 2022 to track UAPs, have stated there is no evidence suggesting that any cases they examined have extraterrestrial origins. Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence Scott Bray points to a video display of a UAP during a hearing of the House Intelligence, Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation Subcommittee hearing on "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena," on Capitol Hill,... Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence Scott Bray points to a video display of a UAP during a hearing of the House Intelligence, Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation Subcommittee hearing on "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena," on Capitol Hill, May 17, 2022, in Washington. More AP Photo/Alex Brandon What To Know Dr. Tim Gallaudet, a retired Rear Admiral U.S. Navy was one of four witnesses who spoke during the congressional hearing about UAP last year. The Admiral said the discoveries led him to the "new realization that we are not the only advanced intelligence in the universe." "As a former science agency leader, I have always sought the truth in human knowledge and thought," Gallaudet said during the hearing. "Now that we know UAP are interacting with humanity, and these include unidentified submerged objects (USOs) in the ocean, we should not keep our heads stuck in the sand but boldly face this new reality and learn from it." The AARO says UAPs are "not yet attributable to known actors and that demonstrate behaviors that are not readily understood by sensors or observers." "A UAP may consist of one or more unidentified anomalous objects and may persist over an extended period of time," the agency's website explained. While Mossbridge thinks the Buga Sphere is an art piece and not a UAP, she says the object has allowed for more conversation surrounding the phenomena. "If it is a UAP I would be stunned but it's possible," she said, cautioning that the object could "discredit actual UAP investigations." Mossbridge says that there has been progress in wider publicity of UAP's but she would like to see more cooperation between foreign governments to share data and lead to further knowledge and understanding among the human race. "I think that governments need to think more about the psychosocial positive aspects of these kind of mysteries, because self-transcendence is often ignored as a motivating factor in people's behavior," she explained, "when people start focusing on something that's bigger than us, it really powerfully changes behavior the better." She thinks that people and governments continue to open up to discover knowledge about the unknown as a form of trying to explain that which we don't understand to quell our own fears. "As humans we want to feel safe so we want to say this is how things work," Mossburg said. "It's a real trick of just noticing how human psychology works and allowing ourselves to know everything. The safest thing we can do is try to discover what's true." What People Are Saying Julia Mossbridge, MA, PhD, told Newsweek by phone Sunday: "It seems to me we could use the mystery and the humility that UAP produce in people who see and experience them, we could use that as a way to bring countries together that are currently not together. " What Happens Next The next steps for identifying the origin of the Buga sphere are unclear. Mossbridge says there are several agencies that could study the object if given access that would be able to further examine it. She says as people continue to experience and self-document these phenomena, we should be able to grow in our understanding of them. "People can see whats in the sky, they can see whats in the water. I think the era of trying to hide things that are not hideable is over," Mossbridge told Newsweek.
Mint
25-05-2025
- Science
- Mint
Mysterious sphere found in Buga, Colombia sparks UFO speculation
A strange metallic sphere discovered in Buga, Colombia, has reignited public interest in UFOs and unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs). The object, retrieved on March 2, has prompted both excitement and caution among researchers and skeptics alike. The object, first reported by social media page @Truthpolex, was seen flying before it landed in the Colombian town. Witnesses described it as a smooth, metallic orb with no visible welds or joints. Observers noted that it consists of three concentric layers, and inside are 18 micro-spheres arranged around a dense central core. The sphere has no welds or joints. Weighing approximately 4.5 pounds and unusually cold to the touch, the orb also bears markings that resemble ancient writing systems, including runes, Ogham, and Mesopotamian scripts, further deepening the mystery. While the object's design and discovery have led to UFO speculation, scientists like Julia Mossbridge, founder of The Institute for Love and Time (TILT) and a physicist at the University of San Diego, are urging restraint. 'It looks to me like a really cool art project,' Mossbridge told Fox News Digital. 'We are entering a time when we don't have the control that we thought we had.' She said that jumping to conclusions about alien origins reflects humanity's difficulty in accepting uncertainty. 'Something shows up that doesn't fit our model of the world, and we immediately want to label it,' she added. Mossbridge places the Colombian sphere in a broader global context, highlighting the ongoing interest and investigation into UAPs. 'Frankly, we've been looking at UAPs for decades,' she said. 'The federal government has admitted there are things that we don't understand, but we are investigating them.' Groups like the Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies, the UAP Disclosure Fund, and the Galileo Project are spearheading independent scientific inquiries. 'They are all trying to get rigorous information themselves, not necessarily waiting on the federal government,' Mossbridge said. 'And they're looking for international cooperation. Because, for instance, the sphere in Colombia is in a different country. So, what are the rules about how we deal with something that's interesting that's found there?' Before assuming extraterrestrial origins, Mossbridge strongly recommends that such objects undergo scientific vetting. 'Bring the object to a group like the Galileo Project,' she said. 'Experts can determine if the material is clearly non-human-made.' While skeptical of this particular find, Mossbridge emphasised that it doesn't invalidate the broader phenomenon. Despite her doubts about the Buga sphere, she emphasised that it doesn't discount all the other objects that are of extraterrestrial origin.'
