The Defense Department is launching a new unit to investigate the possibility of life beyond Earth.
The Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group will be tasked with finding and identifying UFOs in restricted airspace, officials announced Tuesday.
The new group will replace the U.S. Navy’s Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, Fox News reports.
The Navy panel was created last year to “improve its understanding of, and gain insight into” UFOs, the military said in a statement.
The move comes after the U.S. intelligence community verified a whopping number of unexplained aerial sightings earlier this year, but could not explain them. Indeed, since 2004, nearly 150 UFO sightings have been investigated by the government.
The new group will attempt to upgrade policies, training and technology related to the investigation of UFOs.