THE former head of the Pentagon’s real life X-Files programme revealed that defence officials released top secret UFO videos to the public - in a bid to find answers.

Luis Elizondo, the former head of the top secret programme, said that two mysterious videos of UFO encounters, published late last year were released so that people could look at them and help “put together more pieces of the puzzle”.

6 Luis Elizondo is the former Credit: International UFO Congress

The Pentagon confirmed the existence of the $22 million Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program (AATIP) - which investigated sightings of UFOs between 2007 to 2012 - back in December.

At the same time two compelling videos of unexplained UFO sightings by US military personnel - investigated by the AATIP - were also published.

Now in a video clip shared exclusively with Sun Online, Elizondo claims that he did not “trick” or gain the videos by “false pretense” - but that defence officials willingly declassified and released the footage - so members of the public could try and identify the mysterious objects in them.

When asked how the once-classified videos were released, Elizondo said: “No, there was no trick and there was no false pretense.

6 Elizondo said the Department of Defense declassified the views and allowed them to be released

“The videos were released in accordance with the strict manner that DoD (Department of Defense) prescribes, following DoD manuals and regulations involving the release of information…. furthermore, an additional step was taken to have the videos reviewed by foreign disclosure representatives - in fact the most senior foreign disclosure representatives - in the department.

“Ultimately it required OCA or “original classification authority” approval and review to release the videos.

“So in essence, I didn't really release anything - the Department of Defense released those videos.

New footage shows 'UFO' recorded by US fighter jet pilots

"The documentation is held by the Department of Defense and the justification for releasing those videos were exactly as stated that was to create an unclassified database that people could then access and try to help us identify the signatures we were seeing.”

He adds: “I suspect we will always get more information as people with, with additional expertise, experience and background continue to look at the videos … we will begin to put together more pieces of the puzzle.

“There are experts I would submit now that are out there, perhaps within this audience that is watching this video now, that have the ability to look at some of these videos and help us have a better understanding of what exactly we're looking at.”

6 Luis Elizondo oversaw the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program Credit: YouTube

A full recorded interview with Elizondo was shown at the International UFO Congress - in which the former AATIP manager revealed his opinion on the existence of UFOs and whether or not they should be presumed a threat.

And while the Pentagon claimed funding for the AATIP had ceased in 2012 - he made it clear that the program itself had not ended.

Nick Pope, who used to do a similar job to Elizondo for Britain’s Ministry of Defence told Sun Online: “The whole situation is bizarre. The idea seems to have been that when the Pentagon's imagery analysts drew a blank, they decided to put two or three videos into the public domain, to see if anyone else could solve the mystery.

“Maybe this was limited to specialist aviation forums at first, but inevitably these things get cross-posted and end up on YouTube.

6 Ex-MoD employee Nick Pope is an expert on UFOs Credit: Twitter @nickpopemod

“While I never did anything like this with any of the 'unknowns' we received at the MoD, it's certainly an imaginative tactic.

“The Pentagon's processes are complicated, and declassifying something isn't quite the same as authorizing something for public release, so despite Luis Elizondo's detailed explanation, there's still controversy about whether due process was followed.”

He added: "These bombshell revelations give us the clearest insight yet into the Pentagon's secret UFO project.

“So far, all we've heard from Luis Elizondo are a few carefully crafted quotes in the original newspaper story, and some brief TV news interviews that lasted just a few brief minutes.

6 The Pentagon revealed in December that they have been secretly investigating UFO sightings for five years

“In this new video we learned a lot more about AATIP, and the man who ran it: his background, how he got involved in AATIP and became director, how they got cases from not just the military but also from the intelligence community, and how the UFO videos got into the public domain.

“There's also more speculative material where Elizondo reveals what he thinks about UFOs, and the related question of whether or not he thinks they're a threat.

“On this point, his view - which was the same as mine when I did a similar job in the MoD - is that until you can prove something isn't a threat, the sensible military presumption should be that it might be.”

6 UFO expert Alejandro Rojas said getting official information about the videos had been difficult Credit: John Chapple

Ufologist Alejandro Rojas, who organized the International UFO Congress and shared the clip with Sun Online, said: "Elizondo's revelations regarding the UFO videos they have released thus far are a bit of a mixed bag.

"It is fascinating to hear the scrutiny the release went through when the DoD chose to release the videos. It also great to hear more about what Elizondo and his group ruled out as they attempted to identify the objects in the video.

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"He addresses many of the questions some of the more skeptical researchers have posed.

"To me, it sound like the videos were released in order for members of the general public to look at and scrutinize them to help find answers in a citizen science or crowd-sourcing type project. However, getting more official information about the videos sounds difficult.

"So far, apart from what has been shared by Elizondo and the New York Times, the DoD has not been forthcoming with additional information.

"Fortunately, Elizondo has promised us a follow-up interview and it seems he intends to continue to share information as long as it has been approved for release. His insider's view is invaluable."

The congress organizers will be releasing more from Elizondo's video later this week on their YouTube channel.