U.S. Department of Defense releases 161 UFO documents; sightings also reported during Apollo 11

[Financial News]  
\r\n
\r\n\r\n
The United States Department of Defense (DoD) released 161 additional documents on Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) on the 8th local time.
Photos, witness statements, and investigative reports were made public.
The additional release followed President Donald Trump’s strong directive to the DoD, as well as efforts by Congress and activists.
More materials are expected to be released gradually every few weeks.
The UFO phenomenon, which the DoD calls Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), was also reported during the Apollo 11 lunar mission.
Buzz Aldrin, a crew member of Apollo 11’s lunar module when the United States launched the mission in 1969, reported seeing a "sizeable" object near the Moon. He also said he saw a "very bright light source" that the crew believed could have been a "laser."
An anomaly was also reported during Apollo 17, launched in 1972. Among the photos taken by NASA, three dots arranged in a triangular formation were captured.
In a recent preliminary analysis, the DoD concluded that this may not have been simple "light scattering" but rather a "physical object."
In 1994, a Tajikistan pilot flying a jet over Kazakhstan and three Americans reportedly witnessed a brightly glowing UAP.
According to testimony, the object repeatedly made "90-degree turns" that would be impossible for a conventional aircraft, and it circled while performing "spiral maneuvers" at tremendous speed.
In 2022, a rugby ball-shaped object was detected by U.S. military sensors in the East China Sea.
In 2023, UAPs were spotted in several locations.
First, a UAP flying low just above the surface of the Aegean Sea was detected. According to the report, the object moved at about 129 km/h and repeatedly made "90-degree turns."
That same year, a "bouncy ball-shaped" object was detected by U.S. surveillance equipment over Syria. It flew at a steady speed of about 777 km/h for roughly seven minutes.
In the Middle East, a UAP was observed during a helicopter search. An intelligence official spotted a "very hot" sphere hovering above the ground. The sphere moved quickly for about 32 km, and four or five more spheres then appeared behind it, flashing intensely up and down.
On January 1, 2024, two circular lights were captured on camera flying against a pitch-black sky over North America.
A common feature of these UAPs is their apparent ability to make 90-degree turns that seem to defy inertia. Such abrupt changes in direction are impossible even with modern aviation technology.
Extreme speed is another hallmark. They are said to fly at supersonic speeds or at high speed at very low altitudes.
Above all, no devices based on traditional flight principles, such as wings, engines, or exhaust ports, have been identified visually or by sensors.
UAPs also move freely through both the atmosphere and underwater.
The DoD said that interpreting such UAPs is up to individuals. It emphasized that they remain "unresolved cases" that cannot be definitively classified because of limited data.
Earlier, the DoD said in its 2024 report that "there was no evidence of recovered alien technology or confirmed life forms."
\r\n
dympna@fnnews.com Song Kyung-jae Reporter