The National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC) has been inundated with over 2,000 reports of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) in the first half of 2025, marking a significant increase from the previous year.
The nonprofit organization, which has been investigating such cases since 1974, received 2,174 reports of UFO sightings and unexplained phenomena this year, a notable rise from the 1,492 reports during the same period in 2024.
According to The Hill, the center has collected around 3,000 reports this year, many of which describe sightings that occurred years or even decades ago. The delay in reporting these incidents is often attributed to the stigma associated with UFO cases.
Christian Stepien, NUFORC's chief technology officer, estimates that a mere 5% of sightings are ever reported, despite the center receiving information from a diverse range of sources, including air traffic controllers, military personnel, police, and ordinary citizens.
"There are so many things being seen by so many people. And if it's a secret block project, you're not flying it over highly populated neighborhoods where everybody can see it, and even these days, have pictures of it," Stepien stated.
However, not all reports received by NUFORC are unexplainable. Many of the cases can be easily identified as balloons, drones, planets, or stars. "We get lots of reports of balloons and things like that that we can say that's clearly a balloon, or that's a drone, or it's an airplane or whatever it is," Stepien explained. Only about 3% of the reports are deemed worthy of further investigation.
"The dramatic ones are kind of the cases where you say somebody saw a giant triangle floating over their house the size of a tennis court or a football field," Stepien said. "And we get those reports fairly regularly, things that can't possibly be mistaken for something else."
This surge in UFO reports comes at a time when the Trump administration is pushing for greater transparency regarding UFOs. In June, the White House announced an order to "restore American airspace sovereignty," recognizing the growing threat posed by unmanned aircraft systems. The initiative aims to tighten restrictions over critical infrastructure and develop new drone detection technologies.
Stepien is hopeful that this shift in government attitude towards UFOs will bolster these efforts. "The government certainly has the good stuff," he said. "These days with cellphones and things like that, we're starting to get some nice videos and things, but we don't have high-resolution cameras and forward-looking infrared [technology] and that kind of stuff."
The conservative perspective would applaud the Trump administration's efforts to restore American airspace sovereignty, viewing it as a necessary step to protect national security. The increase in UFO sightings and the potential threat they pose to critical infrastructure underscores the need for a strong, proactive government response.
The administration's commitment to developing new drone detection technologies also aligns with conservative values of innovation and free-market solutions.
While the majority of UFO sightings can be easily explained, the small percentage that cannot be readily identified highlights the importance of continued investigation and transparency in this area. As Stepien's comments suggest, the potential for undiscovered phenomena and the need for high-resolution technology to capture these events are areas that warrant further exploration.
The conservative viewpoint would support such endeavors, recognizing the potential benefits of technological advancement and the importance of maintaining national security.
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