Does the UK have a blind spot on UFO sightings?

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) once operated a dedicated UFO desk, assessing reports for potential threats to national security.

However, it was shut down in 2009, largely due to defence budget cuts.

Since then, there has been no official mechanism for the public – or even trained observers, such as pilots – to report unusual sightings.

For some, that represents a worrying blind spot.

David Jon, a former National Crime Agency officer based in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, has made it his mission to address what he sees as a growing gap in national security and scientific understanding.

He runs the SEPI (Supernatural, Extra-terrestrial, Paranormal Investigations) Agency, an independent organisation dedicated to researching UAPs and paranormal incidents and is actively campaigning with a petition for the government to establish a national reporting office.

His agency has 32 UFO cases from across the world on its books, two of which are still open.

He says he and his team use police-style techniques in their investigations, and that while most sightings can be explained, about 20% cannot.

Jon argues the issue is being taken far more seriously elsewhere, particularly in the US, where dedicated Pentagon units now analyse reported UAP encounters.

He believes the UK risks falling behind in understanding potential threats – or opportunities – linked to UAPs and is calling for closer collaboration with international partners.

"I want the government to take this subject seriously and put some money behind it," he says.

"People are now more empowered... people have a 4K camera in their pockets these days, so we are capturing a lot more evidence but there's nowhere to report them to.

"It doesn't mean our airspace is not experiencing the same things [as the US]; indeed, I'd argue we've had a lot more incidences here in the UK that need proper investigation."

While misidentified aircraft, atmospheric phenomena or even advanced military technology account for many sightings, others remain stubbornly unexplained.

The Rendlesham Forest incident of December 1980 is often described as Britain's most well-documented UFO event.

Over a series of nights, US Air Force personnel at twin bases in Suffolk reported seeing strange lights in the forest, along with what some described as a landed craft of unknown origin.

The incident prompted official investigations and has since become a cornerstone of UFO research in the UK.

In the 1990s, Nick Pope, a civil servant working at the MoD, was tasked with examining such cases to determine whether they posed any risk to national defence.

Pope spent years reviewing reports and interviewing witnesses, including those connected to Rendlesham.

Although he often emphasised that most sightings had conventional explanations, he acknowledged that a small percentage remained unexplained.

Pope wrote extensively on the subject of UFOs and, diagnosed with cancer earlier this year, continued to speak publicly.

He spoke to the BBC shortly before his death in April.

"This wasn't lights in the sky, this was a landing; British and American witnesses, multiple military witnesses," he said of the Rendlesham Forest incident.

"This is a defence and national security issue... People use the phrase 'drone' very loosely these days but there is no getting away from the fact that military bases have been directly overflown by these things, and it's not unreasonable for the British people to want some answers."

Despite these accounts, the official government position remains cautious.

The MoD maintains that no reported sightings of extraterrestrial intelligence, UFOs, or UAPs have ever indicated a direct military threat to the United Kingdom.

That stance offers reassurance but not necessarily answers.

An MoD spokeswoman said she was not aware of any point within the government for reporting such sightings, but added: "If the public are concerned about use of the airspace, they could contact the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority)."

A CAA spokesman said: "To our knowledge, there is no active monitoring of this taking place in the UK and the CAA has never been involved in any such activity.

"A lot of the 'unidentified flying objects' we see reported are unmanned aircraft systems (drones).

"Where people have airspace concerns these should be reported to the CAA... and safety concerns can further be reported via our website.

"There are also Airprox reports which cover reported near misses or objects close to aircraft to further encourage air safety."

In February, the BBC reported that an MoD Police investigation into drone sightings over US airbases in Norfolk, Suffolk and Gloucestershire in 2024 had not identified any suspects.

Prof Chris French, emeritus professor at Goldsmith's College, London, is a UFO sceptic.

"The vast majority of sightings don't have any kind of national security implications and also don't have any kind of relevance to the idea of ET (extraterrestrial) invasions," he says.

He says there are research bodies to which people can report sightings, he sees no need for government involvement.

"As a scientist, as a psychologist who's interested in these types of phenomena, the more data the better, as far as I'm concerned," he says.

"But I can see that from the point of view of the government, when resources are tight... they are probably not going to fund any kind of organisation to do this."

For pilots like Crowther, and researchers like Jon, the question is not just whether these phenomena pose a threat, but whether enough is being done to understand them at all.

With no official reporting structure, they fear many sightings risk going unrecorded, their details lost to time.

Crowther would welcome more openness on the subject.

"I think if not, people's imaginations run wild and I think we would all like to know exactly what is going on," he says.

As interest in UAPs continues to grow internationally, pressure may yet build on the UK government to revisit its approach.

In the meantime, incidents like the one Crowther says he experienced remain unexplained.

And for those who say they have witnessed them, the mystery is far from over.

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