Ex-Defense Official Raises Alarm Over Possible Intelligence Failure at UFO Hearing

Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, or UAPs, are a threat to national security and, if those who built them are our enemies, then their mere existence constitutes one of the largest intelligence failures ever ... so says a former Defense Department official who testified before Congress.

Luis Elizondo -- an author and former DoD official -- appeared alongside several other UAP experts in front of Congress Wednesday to discuss the threat UAPs pose to America.

Check out the clip ... Nancy Mace -- a Republican congresswoman from South Carolina -- asks Elizondo if UAPs are made by private businesses or extraterrestrials, since he says governments do not control this tech.

Elizondo explains it could be both ... before saying UAPs far outclass the technology of the American government.

He finishes off with a word of warning ... telling the committee, if this technology is controlled by an adversarial power -- this intelligence lapse would be much larger than the failure to prevent 9/11.

Michael Shellenberger, Tim Gallaudet and Michael Gold -- several other experts on UAPs -- also testified.

We've told you all about UFOs and UAPs over the years ... including earlier this year when we released "TMZ Presents: UFO Revolution" -- a deep-dive into America's UFO problem, featuring interviews with filmmaker/journalist Jeremy Corbell, UFO historians, and a U.S. congressman.