The Pentagon has acknowledged for the first time the existence of a program charged with investigating unidentified flying objects – UFOs, Politico reported.

The “unidentified aerial phenomena” claimed to have been seen by pilots and other military personnel appeared vastly more advanced than those in American or foreign arsenals. In some cases they maneuvered so unusually and so fast that they seemed to defy the laws of physics, according to multiple sources directly involved in or briefed on the effort and a review of unclassified Defense Department and congressional documents.

The $22 million Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program began in 2007 and was funded primarily at the request of former Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who has long had an interest in the topic.

The Pentagon told the Times that the program ended in 2012. Its supporters say it is still in existence, but that the Defense Department has stopped funding it.