The long-standing question of why the United States reports significantly more apparent “alien sightings” than other countries may finally have an explanation.
Data confirms that the U.S. ranks among the top nations for UFO reports. According to the National UFO Reporting Center, over 105,000 UFO sightings and encounters have been recorded in the United States since 1947, as reported by MITechNews.
In 2025 alone, the U.S. has already logged 36 sightings, according to World Population Review. However, the UK currently leads this year with 59 reported sightings.
Given the high number of UFO sightings in the U.S., scientist Sean Kirkpatrick was appointed to lead an investigation into “unidentified anomalous phenomena,” resulting in the creation of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) in 2022.
Sean Kirkpatrick, who heads the AARO, was tasked with gathering data on UFO sightings and determining whether they could be attributed to earthly sources, The Wall Street Journal reports.
As expected, many of the hundreds of reported sightings were traced to mundane explanations—such as balloons, birds, and drones. In particular, reports from pilots describing “orbs” in the sky were often found to be “reflections of the sun from Starlink satellites.”
AARO was also assigned to examine historical accounts dating back to 1945, specifically claims from former military personnel alleging that the U.S. government once ran a secret program aimed at recovering alien technology.
Kirkpatrick’s team interviewed a former Air Force officer who claimed he was once told about “a secret alien project” decades earlier. The program was said to be so highly classified that he was warned he could be imprisoned or even executed for disclosing any information about it.
Similar warnings were reportedly given to other Air Force officers, many of whom kept the alleged project a secret even from their spouses.
However, after thorough investigation, Kirkpatrick and his team concluded that the story was likely part of an elaborate prank played on new Air Force commanders—one that may have inadvertently contributed to the proliferation of UFO rumors in the U.S.
As the WSJ explains:
“For decades, certain new commanders of the Air Force’s most classified programs, as part of their induction briefings, would be handed a piece of paper with a photo of what looked like a flying saucer. The craft was described as an antigravity maneuvering vehicle.
“The officers were told that the program they were joining, dubbed Yankee Blue, was part of an effort to reverse-engineer the technology on the craft. They were told never to mention it again. Many never learned it was fake.”
These fabricated stories, reportedly created not only for hazing purposes but also to obscure actual secret weapons programs, may explain why the U.S. reports so many more UFO sightings than other countries.
Additional findings from AARO are expected to be published in the second volume of the Defense Department’s Historical Record Report later this year.
Source: unilad.com