
The Pentagon has acknowledged that it ran a secret UFO investigation program for five years, wrapping up in 2012 when US defence officials shifted attention and funding to other priorities.
The New York Times reported on Saturday that the program, tasked with investigating sightings of unidentified flying objects, or UFOs, ran from 2007 to 2012 with $22m in annual funding secretly tucked away in US defence department budgets worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
Its initial funding came largely at the request of former Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat long known for his enthusiasm for space phenomena, the newspaper said.
Yet according to its backers, the program remains in existence and officials continue to investigate UFO episodes brought to their attention by service members, the newspaper said.