US government admits funding secret UFO programme

The US Department of Defense has admitted that it used to fund a covert programme to investigate sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs), according to multiple media reports.

The so-called Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program ran from 2007 to 2012, with $22m in annual funding, according to a New York Times report published on Saturday.

It was initially funded at the request of Harry Reid, a retired politician who was the majority leader of the US Senate at the time. Most of the money went to Bigelow Aerospace, a Nevada-based research company owned by Reid's close friend and billionaire, Robert Bigelow, the Times said.

The paper's report said researchers with the programme reviewed sightings of UFOs and assessed threats posed by the objects.
 [aljazeera.com]
 17/12/17