The Ministry of Defence ran a formal UFO investigation desk for approximately 60 years under Defence Intelligence section DI55. At its peak it received thousands of reports annually from military and civilian sources. Nick Pope ran the desk 1991-1994. The desk was closed in 2009 with the official statement that UAP posed "no defence threat."

Following closure of the MoD desk, over 52,000 pages of UFO investigation files were released to the UK National Archives in tranches between 2008 and 2013. Files cover cases from the 1950s to 2009. Publicly accessible at The National Archives, Kew. Rendlesham, Cosford, and the Calvine photograph are all represented.

A classified MoD study of UAP released under Freedom of Information in 2006. The 460-page report concluded that UAP exist as "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena" that are "real and proven beyond reasonable doubt." It attributed most sightings to natural plasma phenomena but acknowledged a residue of unexplained cases.

The full unredacted MoD file on the Calvine 1990 incident remains sealed under the Data Protection Act until January 1, 2076. The identities of the two witnesses have never been publicly confirmed. The original six negatives remain missing.

The MoD desk closed in December 2009 — precisely when the US AATIP programme was operating (2007-2012). The "no defence threat" conclusion appears politically motivated. The closure likely represents a shift to classified investigation rather than genuine abandonment of the subject.

The area around Bonnybridge and Falkirk experienced a sustained wave of UAP reports throughout the 1990s — estimated at over 2,000 between 1992 and 1999. Local councillor Billy Buchanan campaigned for government investigation. The MoD investigated but produced no public conclusions.