Defence won’t follow Pentagon to launch an investigation into UFO sightings or Unexplained Aerial Phenomena

The Royal Australian Air Force chief says Australia has no plans to follow the Pentagon by formally investigating UFOs, insisting his pilots have not reported any recent sightings of unexplained objects in the sky.

At a Senate estimates hearing, RAAF Chief Air Marshal Mel Hupfeld was quizzed about a declassified US report into the topic released in June by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The report, submitted to US Congress, found defence and intelligence analysts lacked sufficient data to determine the nature of mysterious flying objects observed by military pilots, including whether they are advanced earthly technologies, atmospherics or of an extra-terrestrial nature.

Under questioning from Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson, the RAAF chief confirmed he was not “formally aware” of the report’s findings but had noticed it in the media.

Air Marshal Hupfeld told the committee he had not seen any reports of “unidentified aerial phenomena” — or UAPs — in Australian airspace.

“I’m not familiar with, nor have seen any reports or information regarding UAPs in an Australian airspace context, and there’s no air force-led task force that looks into this phenomenon,” he said.

The RAAF chief was then quizzed on whether Australia’s Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN) could detect UAPs.

“It’s not possible for me to determine whether the JORN would see something like an unusual airborne phenomenon, without knowing the construction materials and other performance parameters of such an object, if indeed it was an object,” he said.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne later joked that it was the first time she had witnessed a parliamentary examination on the topic of UFOs.

“I can say with some confidence that, after over two decades of participating in the Senate estimates process, this is the first occasion on which, in any capacity, I have had the opportunity to observe a conversation and a question-and-answer session on such an issue.

“So, thank you for bringing it to our attention,” she told Senator Whish-Wilson at the end of the RAAF chief’s evidence.

In June, the Defence Department told the ABC it “does not have a protocol that covers recording or reporting of unidentified aerial phenomena/unidentified flying object sightings”.

“The US Department of Defense Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force actions or reporting are outside of Defence’s remit,” a spokesperson told the ABC.

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