What we know about Pentagon efforts to study UFOs and 'unidentified aerial phenomena'

As the search continues for three mysterious objects shot down over Canada and the U.S., the White House says it will be engaging its allies on the subject of 'unidentified aerial phenomena.'

As the search continues for three mysterious objects shot down over Canada and the U.S., the White House says it will be engaging its allies on the subject of "unidentified aerial phenomena."

"These unidentified aerial phenomena have been reported for many years, without explanation or deep examination by the government," White House national security council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday. "President Biden has changed all that. We are finally trying to understand them better."

Unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAP for short, is a term used in official circles for what are more commonly known as unidentified flying objects, or UFOs. Kirby described it as "an issue that affects everybody around the world."

"Secondly, we are consulting with allies and partners on the challenge of unidentified aerial phenomenon and how we can all work together to deal with that challenge," Kirby explained. "The president has directed the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the Director of National Intelligence to engage with their relevant counterparts to share information and to try to gain their perspectives as well."

CTVNews.ca reached out to relevant Canadian departments like Global Affairs, National Defence and Public Safety to learn more, but did not receive responses.

While Canadian and American officials both looked into UFOs during the Cold War, little was known about subsequent programs until a December 2017 investigation by The New York Times revealed that the Pentagon had been quietly studying the national security implications of UAP since 2007. Amid renewed public and political interest, in 2020 the Pentagon publicly announced the creation of the UAP Task Force. That group has now been replaced by what's known as the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, which was established thanks to a bipartisan effort in the U.S. Senate.

"UAPs pose a significant challenge to our national security, appearing in sensitive U.S. airspace and around military personnel," U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Kirsten Gillibrand, a Republican and a Democrat, said in a joint December 2021 statement.