U.S. Military Has Had 11 'Near Misses' With Unidentified Objects: Official

The military has had at least 11 "near misses" with unidentified flying objects, a U.S. intelligence official said on Tuesday.

During a hearing before the House Intelligence Committee, Scott Bray, the deputy director of naval intelligence, was asked by Illinois Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi if there have been any "collisions" between a U.S. asset and an unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP).

"We have not had a collision, we've had at least 11 near misses, though," Bray said in response.

The comments by Bray came during the hearing, when he and Ronald Moultrie, the under secretary of defense for intelligence and security, testified about UAPs and unidentified flying objects (UFOs).

Bray was asked about the 11 near misses and if the UAPs have ever tried to communicate with any U.S. military aircraft when within "close proximity." Bray said that the U.S. has never received any communication signals from the UAPs or tried to communicate to them.

"So we don't even put out a alert saying...identify yourself. You are, you know, within our flight path or something like that. We haven't said anything like that?" Krishnamoorthi asked Bray.

Bray replied that the U.S. military has never put out an alert trying to communicate with a UAP at close distance and said: "it appears to be something that is unmanned, appears to be something that may or may not be in controlled flight, and so we've not attempted any communication with that."

Bray also confirmed that the U.S. has never discharged any "armaments" at the UAPs during a close encounter.

Indiana Democratic Representative Andre Carson, who serves as the chair of the House Intelligence Committee's Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation subcommittee, said during his opening remarks that "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena are a potential national security threat. And they need to be treated that way.

"UAPs are unexplained, it's true. But they are real. They need to be investigated. And any threats they pose need to be mitigated."

Moultrie said that the U.S. is determined to uncover the origins of some UAPs and UFOs because they "pose potential flight safety and general security risks."

"We want to know what's out there as much as you want to know what's out there," he added.

Last June, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence published a report on UFOs and UAPs. The report found that from 2004 to 2021 the U.S. government had more than 100 encounters with UAPs.

Newsweek reached out to the Pentagon for comment.