On Saturday , a intelligence account broke that should attract to the conspiracy theorist in you . The US Government really has been investigating unidentified flying object ( UFOs )   – or unexplained aerial phenomenon ( UAPs ) – and they ’ve been doing it all in hush-hush .

This is agree to reports fromThe New York TimesandPOLITICO , which unveil details of a five - year - foresightful project rather equivocally named the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program . The programme , backed and funded by Democrat Senator and ex - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , receive   just timid of $ 22 million between 2008 and 2011   – a tiny fraction of the Defense Department ’s one-year budget ( $ 600 billion ) .

The majority of the $ 22 million go to Bigelow Aerospace , a space engineering startup based in Las Vegas and owned by hotel mogul Bob Bigelow . The company renovated buildings in Sin City to lay in materials that had been " recovered " from flying saucer . Meanwhile ,   researchers examine civilians and military personnel who take to have seen and interact with mysterious aerial phenomena for signs of physiological changes .

The syllabus also amassed video and audio recordings of potential UFOs , include one of a Navy aircraft   surround by a glowing light . In the clip , a pilot light can be heard say ,   “ there ’s a whole fleet of them ” .

Despite feat to keep the work hush - hush and the funding a secret , Reid is proud of the political program . “ I think it ’s one of the good things I did in my congressional service . I ’ve done something that no one has done before , ” he   toldThe New York Times .

The official write up is that sweat proved fruitless and the political platform was keep out down in 2012 . “ It was dictated that there were other , eminent priority issues that merit funding , and it was in the just pastime of the DoD to make a change , ” added Thomas Crosson , a Pentagon spokesperson .

Another member of faculty toldPOLITICO ,   “ After a while the consensus was we really could n’t find anything of substance .

" They produced ream of paperwork . After all of that there was really nothing there that we could rule .

" There was really nothing there that we could justify using taxpayer money . "

But according to other sources   – including Luis Elizondo , who headed the computer programme before resigning   earlier this year   – the project is still on-going . Elizondo told   The New York Times   the program no longer receives financial support from the Pentagon , but faculty continue to enquire UFO reports in bicycle-built-for-two with their other departmental duties .

So , what should we make of all this ?

“ There are pot of prosaic effect and human perceptual trait that can account for these stories , ” said former NASA space bird locomotive engineer , James E. Oberg .   “ Lots of multitude are active in the air and do n’t desire others to know about it . "

However , he added , “ there could well be a pearl there . ”