The true story of how UFOs evolved from science fiction to a national security priority

While you were enjoying your summer, the U.S. government has decided it is really, really interested in UFOs.

The new UFOlogy

“We could be on the cusp of starting an accelerated process of learning,” said Loeb. “But it could go in the direction of learning, ‘Oh everything we see is birds and airplanes and things like that,’ nothing else.”

Flying saucer summers

Destigmatization

“In fact, this was initially my favored working hypothesis,” said Anton. However, it is the entertainment industry, in the form of To The Stars Academy, that has driven the eruption of UFO interest. The Defense Department, in contrast, has responded tardily to congressional demands for more information and study of UFOs.

This “destigmatization” of UFO studies could lead to it “becoming more and more a legitimate scientific research topic,” added Anton. “This would indeed be a great step forward and could, in the best case, lead to new knowledge about UFOs.”

Even West, the video analyst and practiced debunker, agrees that more serious study of UFO observations could produce some beneficial knowledge. “The reports that pilots are seeing things they can’t identify, regardless of what it is, that is an issue,” he said. “Why are these things pinging radars. Is there something wrong with the radar, is it a weather phenomenon?”

“These are real issues worth looking into,” he said. “But then there is all the crazy stuff as well.”