The U.S. Defense Department announced Tuesday night that it is creating a new group to investigate reports of UFOs in restricted airspace. 

The new department, called the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group, aims to unify efforts across military branches and federal agencies “to detect, identify and attribute objects of interests in Special Use Airspace (SUA), and to assess and mitigate any associated threats to safety of flight and national security.”

The group replaces the Navy’s Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force. 

“Incursions by any airborne object into our SUA pose safety of flight and operations security concerns, and may pose national security challenges,” the Defense Department said in its announcement. “DOD takes reports of incursions — by any airborne object, identified or unidentified — very seriously, and investigates each one.”

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, working with Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, ordered the undersecretary of the defense for intelligence and security to form the new department as well as a executive council to conduct oversight.

Once a well-guarded secret, the federal government has begun to speak more openly about UAP sightings in recent months, but it’s still grappling for answers.

In a June report to Congress, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not come to any one official conclusion about the nature of the mysterious sightings from various U.S. military personnel. Officials failed to explain 143 of the 144 cases of UAPs captured on video since 2004.

The report cited numerous reasons why there is not yet a definitive answer, but it said in part that “limited data and inconsistency in reporting are key challenges to evaluating UAP.” 

The Defense Department said the creation of Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group was in response to the report. 

The department said it will issue more guidance in the coming weeks about the new group, including about its director, organizational structure and resources. 

Spectrum News’ Rachel Tillman contributed to this report.