bobdina
12-04-2009, 03:44 PM
MoD Shut UFO Investigation Unit
Friday, December 04, 2009
Source: Ananova
The Ministry of Defence has been slammed after announcing it would no longer be investigating UFO sightings. The MoD department which has dealt with more than 12,000 reports, including 135 last year, is closing after 60 years.
MoD chiefs made the decision to close the £50,000 a year department after deciding there was no benefit investigating sightings which were "an inappropriate use of defence resources".
A hotline and email address for the public to report strange sights in the skies to the military were shut down on December 1.
The MoD said it had received thousands of reports of UFOs over more than 50 years, but none revealed any evidence of a potential threat to the UK or substantial proof of the existence of extra-terrestrials.
It justified the decision to axe the X Files-style unit by saying there was no "defence value" in investigating the sightings.
After an application under the Freedom of Information Act, the MoD admitted that responding to every UFO sightings "diverts MoD resources from tasks that are relevant to Defence". The officer who dealt with UFO reports has been moved to another post, saving £44,000 a year.
Past military files on UFOs will continue to be released by the National Archives.
Nick Pope, who ran the Ministry of Defence UFO project from 1991 to 1994, said it was "Outrageous. We're leaving ourselves wide open to terrorist attacks,"
In a statement, the MoD said "The MoD has no opinion on the existence or otherwise of extra-terrestrial life. However, in over 50 years, no UFO report has revealed any evidence of a potential threat to the United Kingdom.
"The MoD has no specific capability for identifying the nature of such sightings. There is no defence benefit in such investigation and it would be an inappropriate use of defence resources."
After investigation, around five per cent of reports remain unexplained.
An MoD spokesman added "Our resources are focused on the top priority - the frontline in Afghanistan. Any legitimate threat to the UK's airspace will spotted by our 24/7 radar checks and dealt with by RAF fighter aircraft."
The decision comes after the team was moved from the MoD's Whitehall Headquarters to RAF Command in High Wycombe, Bucks.
http://www.modoracle.com/news/MoD-Shut-UFO-Investigation-Unit_19404.html
Friday, December 04, 2009
Source: Ananova
The Ministry of Defence has been slammed after announcing it would no longer be investigating UFO sightings. The MoD department which has dealt with more than 12,000 reports, including 135 last year, is closing after 60 years.
MoD chiefs made the decision to close the £50,000 a year department after deciding there was no benefit investigating sightings which were "an inappropriate use of defence resources".
A hotline and email address for the public to report strange sights in the skies to the military were shut down on December 1.
The MoD said it had received thousands of reports of UFOs over more than 50 years, but none revealed any evidence of a potential threat to the UK or substantial proof of the existence of extra-terrestrials.
It justified the decision to axe the X Files-style unit by saying there was no "defence value" in investigating the sightings.
After an application under the Freedom of Information Act, the MoD admitted that responding to every UFO sightings "diverts MoD resources from tasks that are relevant to Defence". The officer who dealt with UFO reports has been moved to another post, saving £44,000 a year.
Past military files on UFOs will continue to be released by the National Archives.
Nick Pope, who ran the Ministry of Defence UFO project from 1991 to 1994, said it was "Outrageous. We're leaving ourselves wide open to terrorist attacks,"
In a statement, the MoD said "The MoD has no opinion on the existence or otherwise of extra-terrestrial life. However, in over 50 years, no UFO report has revealed any evidence of a potential threat to the United Kingdom.
"The MoD has no specific capability for identifying the nature of such sightings. There is no defence benefit in such investigation and it would be an inappropriate use of defence resources."
After investigation, around five per cent of reports remain unexplained.
An MoD spokesman added "Our resources are focused on the top priority - the frontline in Afghanistan. Any legitimate threat to the UK's airspace will spotted by our 24/7 radar checks and dealt with by RAF fighter aircraft."
The decision comes after the team was moved from the MoD's Whitehall Headquarters to RAF Command in High Wycombe, Bucks.
http://www.modoracle.com/news/MoD-Shut-UFO-Investigation-Unit_19404.html