Summary
On 11 December 2024, UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence luke-pollard told the House of Commons that five decades of Ministry of Defence investigation into unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) have revealed no military threat to the United Kingdom. Pollard reiterated that the MoD ceased investigating UFO/UAP reports in 2009 and has classified no new material since. The statement landed only weeks after US Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa reported multiple drone incursions over raf-lakenheath, raf-mildenhall, raf-feltwell, and raf-fairford in late November 2024 — bases hosting U.S. forces and (at Lakenheath) U.S. nuclear weapons. The juxtaposition highlights a transatlantic divergence: the U.S. is rapidly institutionalizing UAP investigation via aaro and the NDAA, while the UK maintains its 2009 disengagement posture.
Key Claims
- “In over 50 years, no sighting reported to the department has indicated the existence of any military threat to the United Kingdom” — Pollard, MoD position.
- The MoD ceased investigating UFO/UAP reports in 2009 and has not classified any new material on the subject since.
- The UK is “aware of the differing approaches” of allies but its position is unchanged.
- The statement immediately follows late-November 2024 UAP/sUAS incursions reported by USAFE-AFA’s 48th Fighter Wing over RAF Lakenheath, Mildenhall, Feltwell, and Fairford.
Notable Quotes
“Whilst we are aware of the differing approaches currently being undertaken by other countries and allies in the investigation of UAPs, the MoD position on UAPs remains unchanged, which is that in over 50 years, no sighting reported to the department has indicated the existence of any military threat to the United Kingdom.” — Luke Pollard, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence
“The MoD ceased to investigate reports of UFOs or UAPs in 2009 and has not classified any new material on the subject since.” — Luke Pollard