British military releases UFO files

LONDON, England (CNN) - Britain's Ministry of Defense on Wednesday released files on UFO sightings dating back to the 1970s, including witness accounts and the government's response.

The ministry released the files as part of a four-year project to transfer all of the UFO documents to the National Archives to make them available to curious members of the public. The documents include hundreds of police reports taken from witnesses who describe seeing lights or strange objects in the sky, from southern England and Wales up to Northern Ireland.

The files released Wednesday cover 1978 to 1987. The rest of the files, dating from the 1950s and covering recent history, will be released over the coming years.

The Ministry of Defense said it examined the reports solely to determine whether enemy aircraft had infiltrated British airspace. Once it was determined that no enemy aircraft were in the sky, it did not investigate further.