In the latest in a series of revelations bound to excite any conspiracy theorists out there, the UK government has finally released the last of its newly-declassified UFO files.

Those following the saga will remember that the UK’s Ministry of Defence supposedly released all its UFO-related intelligence back in 2013 – before admitting that 18 documents had been held back as they contained potentially sensitive information. Then, last year, 15 of those documents were released without fanfare, finally revealing to ufologists the disappointing news that “no UFO sighting … has ever revealed anything to suggest an extra-terrestrial presence.”

Now, finally, the last three are cleared and ready to go to the National Archives. And, while you won’t find stories of little green men or narrowly-avoided alien invasions, they do show the UK took the threat of UFOs – or, to use their own incredibly British terminology, “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena” (UAP) – more seriously than they have been willing to admit.

The first revelation contained in the new files shows that the MoD ran two desks dealing with UFO sightings between 1947 and 1997. Although one of these desks was known to the public, taking calls from citizens reporting possible UFO sightings, the second was classified and staffed by intelligence experts working to investigate possible extra-terrestrial threats.

One apparently serious concern revealed by the dossier was that a hostile government – China or the then-USSR – had captured their own UFO and might use alien technology to attack the UK. And obviously, Britain was on the lookout for their own interplanetary leg-up: the reports show that officials expressed a major interest in the UK finding their own little ET to help them fight the communists.

"Monitor all reports in case in the future the hitherto unknown/not understood underlying phenomena is being exploited by another nation," a senior Air Force Commander is revealed to have written. "An actual – or potential enemy – could develop a flying device with the characteristics that these phenomena seem to have …high velocities, sharp manoeuvre, stationary flight and few radar returns.” The RAF was to be informed of “…novel technologies which might be useful to their programmes ...Propulsion, stealth and any novel electromagnetic technologies are of particular interest.”

The MoD’s UFO unit was closed in 2000 after an investigation, also declassified this year, concluded that UAP reports "do not demonstrably provide information useful for Defence Intelligence.” But is that just another layer of the conspiracy? Perhaps the truth is still out there ... but, sadly, the chances are it's probably not.

[H/T: The Times]