US Report Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Preliminary Assessment: 144 reports, one explained
On 25 June 2021 the Office of the Director of National Intelligence delivered its Preliminary Assessment on unidentified aerial phenomena to the Congressional Intelligence and Armed Services Committees, in response to Senate Report 116-233 accompanying the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. Drafted by the UAP Task Force and the ODNI National Intelligence Manager for Aviation, it reviewed 144 US Government reports from 2004 to 2021 and identified one with high confidence, a large deflating balloon, leaving the others unexplained. It concluded that most UAP probably represented physical objects, that they probably lacked a single explanation, and that they clearly posed a safety of flight issue and might pose a challenge to national security.
1 document·5 points·2 stories
- 144 reports originated from USG sources, of which 80 involved observation with multiple sensors; one was identified with high confidence as a large, deflating balloon (p. 4)
- No standardized reporting mechanism existed until the Navy established one in March 2019; the Air Force adopted it in November 2020 (p. 4)
- In 18 incidents, described in 21 reports, observers reported unusual UAP movement patterns or flight characteristics (p. 5)
- Resolved incidents are expected to fall into five categories: airborne clutter, natural atmospheric phenomena, USG or industry developmental programs, foreign adversary systems, and a catchall "other" bin (p. 5)
- The UAPTF has 11 reports of documented instances in which pilots reported near misses with a UAP (p. 6)
Documents
- Report Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Office of the Director of National Intelligence· 2021-06-25· 9 pp.
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