The Debrief has learned of the leak of an unclassified photo, said to have been widely distributed in the Intelligence Community, which purportedly shows what the DoD has characterized as “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.”
On Wednesday, The Debrief reported on two classified intelligence reports issued by The Pentagon’s Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF).
The Debrief learned of the existence of the photograph from a defense official who has been verified as being in a position to have access to the UAPTF intelligence reports. Additionally, the same two officials with the DoD, and one from the U.S. Intelligence community with whom we previously spoke, confirmed that the leaked image is the same photo provided in a 2018 intelligence position report issued by the UAPTF.
The photo itself is said to be considered “Unclassified and For Official Use Only,” however, because the image and accompanying report were shared on a secure Intelligence Community network, the officials we spoke with would only acknowledge it under strict conditions of anonymity. Prior to any agreement, The Debrief did verify these sources were in fact in positions within the U.S. Intelligence Community and under the authority of the U.S. Director of National Intelligence.
The Debrief reached out to Pentagon spokeswoman Susan Gough for clarification about the photo, who on December 3, 2020, responded to our questions via email.
“To maintain operations security and to avoid disclosing information that may be useful to potential adversaries, DOD does not discuss publicly the details of reports, observations or examinations of reported incursions into our training ranges or designated airspace, including those incursions initially designated as UAP,” Gough’s reply read.
Hellbound and Down 