The US has collected 510 reports of unidentified flying objects, many of which are flying in sensitive military airspace.

While there’s no evidence of extraterrestrials, they still pose a threat, the government says.

Last year the Pentagon opened an office, the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office, solely focused on receiving and analysing all those reports of unidentified phenomena, many of which have been reported by military pilots.

It works with the intelligence agencies to further assess those incidents.

The events “continue to occur in restricted or sensitive airspace, highlighting possible concerns for safety of flight or adversary collection activity”, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence says in a in a declassified 2022 report summary.

The classified version of the report addresses how many of those objects were found near locations where nuclear power plants operate or nuclear weapons are stored.

The 510 objects include 144 objects previously reported and 366 new reports. In both the old and new cases, after analysis, the majority were determined to exhibit “unremarkable characteristics”, and could be characterised as unmanned aircraft systems, or balloon-like objects, the report released on Thursday says.

But the office is also tasked with reporting any movements or reports of objects that might indicate that a potential adversary has a new technology or capability.

The Pentagon’s anomaly office is also to include any unidentified objects moving under water, in the air, or in space, or something that moves between those domains, which could pose a new threat.

ODNI says in its report that efforts to destigmatise reporting and emphasise that the objects might pose a threat likely contributed to the additional reports.

– AAP