Speaking about the MOD's 'UFO Project' Linda Unwin, the Desk Officer in Directorate of Air Staff (DAS) responsible for dealing with enquiries about UFOs and for implementing Freedom of Information within DAS, said:
"The first point to make is that there is no 'UFO Project'. Handling of UFO sightings is a very small element of our work."
So why should a fairly conservative government department be interested in such things?
"I’ll let you into a little secret…generally, we’re not! The policy is quite simple: we only look at these reports to establish whether there might be anything of defence significance, such as an unauthorised or hostile aircraft in UK airspace."
Linda's colleague, Julie Monk, said that the number of sightings reported each year varies enormously.
"Although at present we are getting about 100 reports a year, in the late 90's there were on average more than double that. Of course, it fluctuates - public interest can increase after, say, a blockbuster film.
So how does the MOD handle reports of UFO sightings? Julie explained that contrary to popular and press belief, UFO sightings are not routinely 'investigated'.
"The vast majority of the reports are far too vague to make even the most basic enquiries, but there might be a handful each year – say where a lot of people have reported something – which are referred to Air Defence specialists.
"MOD does not provide an identification service. Once we have established that there is no defence significance we do nothing more. It would not be a good use of taxpayers’ money."
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