Wait. Why does the government now care about UFOs?

UFOs and other strange sightings are always a government concern on The X-Files, but it seems that the lines between sci-fi and real life are being blurred more and more.

After the recent Navy sightings of unidentified aircraft, it was revealed that three more U.S. senators were just briefed on even more encounters by the Pentagon (of course, the whole thing is classified). Seems that the requests for top-secret information on what may or may not be aliens are in demand. Should we be worried? We just don’t know.

“If naval pilots are running into unexplained interference in the air, that’s a safety concern Senator Warner believes we need to get to the bottom of,” Rachel Cohen, spokesperson for Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement.

The Pentagon first implemented a program to investigate what it calls “unidentified aerial phenomena” in late 2017. The program came into being because of a request from then-Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who took a special interest in figuring out what exactly is flying over our heads.

When Congress started taking an increased interest in UFOs back in April, it led to an update in the procedures for reporting unexplained sightings. Interviews with sailors and aviators yielded some tantalizing info. The aircraft they spotted trespassing on what is supposed to be protected airspace was so advanced that it defied the laws of aerodynamics. Some of the video footage they captured of these unknown craft has actually been declassified now.

“Navy officials did indeed meet with interested congressional members and staffers on Wednesday to provide a classified brief on efforts to understand and identify these threats to the safety and security of our aviators," spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Daniel Day said in a statement to the media, Politico reports. Day also mentioned there will also be “follow-up discussions with other interested staffers.”

As military officials keep emerging to tell of their encounters, requests for briefings will continue. The Navy will keep organizing sessions, which have included staff under the Secretary of Defense for Intelligence. They will also continue to and provide Congress with information, but don’t expect to be getting constant notifications of UFO sightings on your dashboard, since everything will be classified—for now.

So where do we go from here? Hardcore believers want Congress to have a more formal process, as in surveying certain areas with satellites and requiring a detailed analysis of things in the sky (or underwater) that weren’t supposed to be there.

Mulder and Scully would approve.

(via Politico)