What governments, legislatures, militaries, space agencies and courts have done about unidentified aerial phenomena, in date order, each entry resting on its document. Every nation that has acted. Newest first.100 entries since 1946.
2020s
USLawUS House of Representatives, Rep. Tim Burchett
On 6 April 2026 Representative Tim Burchett introduced H.R. 8197 in the US House of Representatives, a bill to terminate the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office of the Department of Defense. It was referred to the Committee on Armed Services and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. The bill would require the Secretary of Defense, within 60 days of enactment, to terminate the Office and transfer its functions to other elements of the Department, and would bar the Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence from establishing a similar centralised office for unidentified anomalous phenomena. It would repeal Section 1683 of the Fiscal Year 2022 defence authorisation act and amend related records provisions.
1 document·5 points
Within 60 days of enactment the Secretary of Defense would terminate the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office and transfer its functions to other elements of the Department of Defense (pp. 1-2).
The Secretary and the Director of National Intelligence could not establish a single office "similar to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office" with comprehensive or centralized authority over unidentified anomalous phenomena (p. 2).
Section 1683 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (50 U.S.C. 3373) would be repealed, as would Section 1673 of the Fiscal Year 2026 act (p. 2).
Records duties under the Fiscal Year 2023 and Fiscal Year 2024 acts would pass from the Office to the Secretary (pp. 2-3).
The bill defines unidentified anomalous phenomena as airborne objects not immediately identifiable, transmedium objects or devices, and certain submerged objects or devices (p. 4).
On 9 September 2025 the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, chaired by Representative Anna Paulina Luna, held a hearing titled "Restoring Public Trust through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection". It heard Air Force veteran Jeffrey Nuccetelli, Navy Chief Alexandro Wiggins, journalist George Knapp, Air Force veteran Dylan Borland and, as minority witness, Joe Spielberger of the Project on Government Oversight. Nuccetelli told the task force that AARO had informed him the relevant Air Force records had been destroyed. Representative Burlison played a video he said showed an MQ-9 tracking an object off Yemen on 30 October 2024. Members called for passage of whistleblower and disclosure legislation.
1 document·5 points
The hearing was Serial No. 119-44 of the 119th Congress, held in Room HVC-210 of the Capitol Visitor Center and adjourned at 12:38 p.m. (p. 1, p. 50)
Mr Nuccetelli said AARO told him it could not locate records and that the Air Force destroys police records on a three-year schedule. (pp. 26-27)
Mr Borland said that after his inspector general complaint over retaliation he understood he was "determined credible, not urgent". (p. 27)
Representative Burlison described a video taken on 30 October 2024 of an MQ-9 drone tracking an object off the coast of Yemen, with another MQ-9 launching a Hellfire missile. (p. 28)
Mr Spielberger said national security whistleblowers must rely on internal processes through agency inspectors general. (p. 27)
On 9 September 2025 Mr Garcia of California, for himself, Mr Grothman, Mr Moskowitz and Mr Ogles, introduced H.R. 5231, the Safe Airspace for Americans Act, in the US House of Representatives. The bill was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. It would require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, within 180 days of enactment, to develop procedures for collecting, reporting, storing and investigating unidentified anomalous phenomena incidents reported by civilian aviation personnel, and to share reports with the Department of Defense's All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office. It would also protect reporters' medical and airmen certificates and prohibit reprisals against those who report.
1 document·5 points
The FAA Administrator would have 180 days after enactment to develop procedures to standardise the collection, reporting and analysis of UAP incidents, including adverse physiological effects or interference with flight instruments (p. 2)
The Administrator would share reports and archived incident data with the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office of the Department of Defense, and could not use reports in enforcement action except concerning accidents or criminal offences (p. 3)
The Administrator would choose between the existing Aviation Safety Reporting Program or a new separate system, and would produce a communications strategy to "decrease stigma" towards those reporting (p. 4)
Spotting or reporting UAP could not be taken into account in evaluating airmen's medical certificates or competency for airmen certificates (pp. 5 to 6)
Federal employees, contractors, air carriers and commercial operators would be barred from reprisals, including revoking security clearances or issuing cease and desist letters, for reporting UAP (pp. 6 to 7)
In September 2025 the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), an office of the U.S. Department of War, published an information paper titled "AARO and the Declassification Process". The paper explained why much UAP-related information is classified, using the example of an F-35 camera image of a soda can that could be classified because of the sensor used rather than its subject. It stated that AARO cannot declassify information itself, since the originating office holds that authority, and described a review leading to full, partial or no release, followed by redaction checks with the Defense Office of Prepublication and Security Review. It said AARO had found no evidence of extraterrestrial beings or technology to date.
1 document·5 points
AARO stated that it has found no evidence of extraterrestrial beings or technology to date (p. 1)
The paper says the vast majority of UAP reports are eventually determined to be mundane objects such as balloons, satellites and birds (p. 1)
AARO cannot declassify information on its own; the office that originally created the information has the primary authority to declassify it (p. 3)
Originating offices return one of three determinations: full release, partial release with redactions, or no release, and DOPSR must approve material before AARO publishes it (p. 4)
AARO is working with the National Archives and Records Administration to transfer UAP-related records for permanent storage and public access (p. 4)
On 29 August 2025 Representative Burchett, for himself and Representative Luna, introduced H.R. 5060, the UAP Whistleblower Protection Act, in the US House of Representatives. The bill was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and to the Committees on Armed Services and Intelligence (Permanent Select). It would extend whistleblower protections to disclosures about the use of Federal taxpayer funds to evaluate or research unidentified anomalous phenomenon material, amending the protections that cover Federal civilian employees, FBI personnel, members of the armed forces, Department of Defense contractors, Federal civilian contractors and the intelligence community.
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Introduced by Mr. Burchett for himself and Mrs. Luna on August 29, 2025, and referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committees on Armed Services and Intelligence (Permanent Select) (p. 1)
Section 1 gives the short title as the "UAP Whistleblower Protection Act" (p. 1)
Amends section 2302(b)(8) of title 5 to protect disclosures of "the use of Federal taxpayer funds to evaluate or research unidentified anomalous phenomenon material" by Federal civilian employees (p. 2)
Adds the same protected category for the FBI under section 2303(a)(2) of title 5, and for the armed forces and DoD contractors under sections 1034(c)(2) and 4701(a)(1) of title 10 (p. 3)
Extends it to Federal civilian contractors under section 4712(a)(1) of title 41 and to the intelligence community under section 1104 of the National Security Act of 1947 (p. 4)
On 11 February 2025, Representative Tim Burchett introduced H.R. 1187, the UAP Transparency Act, in the US House of Representatives during the 119th Congress, and the bill was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The bill would require the President, within 270 days of enactment, to direct the head of each federal department or agency holding records on unidentified anomalous phenomena to declassify them and publish them on a public website. It would also require the President to report on progress to House and Senate committees within 360 days and quarterly thereafter, and it adopts the definition of the term used in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022.
1 document·4 points
Mr. Burchett introduced the bill on February 11, 2025, and it was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (p. 1)
Within 270 days of enactment, the President would direct each federal department or agency holding UAP records to declassify them and make them available on a publicly available website (pp. 1-2)
The President would report progress to the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs within 360 days and quarterly thereafter (p. 2)
The term "unidentified anomalous phenomena" takes its meaning from section 1683 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (50 U.S.C. 3373) (p. 2)
The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, writing for the Department of War, issued its Fiscal Year 2025 consolidated annual report on unidentified anomalous phenomena under section 3373k of Title 50, covering events from 2 June 2024 to 30 May 2025. AARO received 319 reports, resolved 114 of them and 256 earlier cases, and assessed all resolved cases as prosaic objects such as balloons, satellites, birds, aircraft and unmanned aerial systems, with one rocket launch and one manned jet pack. It credited a new modelling capability with resolving 238 reports as satellite flaring. The report found no evidence that any government or private entity had captured UAP-derived materials and no reports of health effects.
1 document·5 points
AARO received 319 UAP reports between June 2, 2024 and May 30, 2025, bringing its case holdings to 1,870 reports (p. 4).
AARO transferred 191 of the 319 cases to its active archive for lack of data and identified nine reports meriting further analysis by IC and S&T partners (p. 5).
A U.S. Navy report off the coast of Virginia described approximately 100 airborne UAP and two, likely uncrewed, surface systems; AARO was still investigating (p. 5).
AARO received 50 reports of UAS incidents near U.S. nuclear infrastructure, a 177.8 percent increase over the 18 in the FY 2024 report; none were reported as UAP (p. 9).
Of 262 individuals who contacted AARO through its secure reporting mechanism, 255 were judged out of scope and 7 warranted a follow-on interview request (p. 10).
On 19 November 2024 Dr Jon Kosloski, Director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), submitted a statement for the record to the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities at an open hearing. He told the subcommittee that AARO held over 1,600 UAP reports from across the U.S. government, that many resolved to commonplace objects such as birds, balloons and unmanned systems, and that only a very small percentage were potentially anomalous. He stated that AARO had discovered no verifiable evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity or technology, and set out three priorities: building partnerships, promoting transparency, including declassification, and scaling up the office's work.
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Kosloski said he arrived at AARO in August 2024 after most of a career at the National Security Agency.
AARO had over 1,600 UAP reports in its holdings from across the U.S. government.
"To date, AARO has discovered no verifiable evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology."
He named three priorities: building strong partnerships, promoting transparency, and scaling up the work of the office.
AARO said it was working with the National Archives and Records Administration to make UAP-related documents publicly available in a digitised collection.
The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office of the Department of Defense issued its Fiscal Year 2024 Consolidated Annual Report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena under 50 U.S.C. 3373(k), covering reports from 1 May 2023 to 1 June 2024. AARO received 757 reports in that period, 485 of incidents within it and 272 of incidents from 2021 and 2022. The executive summary states that 118 cases were resolved and a further 174 later finalised, all to prosaic objects such as balloons, birds, unmanned aerial systems, satellites and aircraft, while the trend section gives 49 resolved and 243 recommended for closure. The report states that AARO had discovered no evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity or technology, and that no observer reported adverse health effects.
1 document·5 points
AARO received 757 UAP reports, of which 708 occurred in the air domain, 49 in the space domain and none in the maritime or transmedium domains; 392 came from the FAA (pp. 4-5).
The report states that "to date, AARO has discovered no evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology" (p. 2).
Section III states that 21 cases merited further analysis by IC and S&T partners and 444 were placed in the Active Archive for lack of data (p. 5).
AARO received 18 reports from the Administrator for Nuclear Security and the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of incidents near nuclear infrastructure, all categorised as UAS (p. 11).
The report states that AARO launched www.aaro.mil with a secure reporting mechanism on 31 October 2023 and released its Historical Record Report Volume I in March 2024 (pp. 12, 15).
On 13 November 2024 the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability's Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation and its Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs held a joint hearing, Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth, chaired by Nancy Mace. The witnesses were Tim Gallaudet, Luis Elizondo, Michael Shellenberger and Michael Gold. Members criticised the transparency of AARO and the Pentagon, and a 12 page document on a programme called Immaculate Constellation, delivered to Congress by Mr Shellenberger, was entered into the record. Mr Elizondo told the committee he was convinced UAP were especially common near nuclear sites, and Dr Gallaudet told it that UAP threatened Navy pilots during a 2015 exercise.
1 document·5 points
The hearing was a joint session of two Oversight subcommittees, Serial No. 118 to 135, held in room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building from 11:37 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. (p. 1)
Rep. Mace said a 12 page document on Immaculate Constellation, described as an unacknowledged special access program, was delivered by Michael Shellenberger and entered into the record. (p. 3)
Rep. Grothman said the agencies briefed since the 2023 hearing had not been able to substantiate the claims made by David Grusch. (p. 6)
Mr Elizondo told the committee that Oak Ridge, Savannah River Site and Los Alamos appeared to be under some sort of surveillance and monitoring. (p. 47)
Dr Gallaudet told the committee that UAP were threatening Navy pilots during a 2015 exercise and called the issue one that is being hid from Congress. (pp. 47 to 48)
On 12 November 2024 Rep. Tim Burchett, for himself, Ms. Mace, Mrs. Luna and Mr. Burlison, introduced H.R. 10111, the UAP Whistleblower Protection Act, in the US House of Representatives. The bill was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability and in addition to the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Armed Services. It would amend existing whistleblower provisions in titles 5, 10 and 41 of the United States Code and in section 1104 of the National Security Act of 1947 so that disclosures about the use of Federal taxpayer funds to evaluate or research unidentified anomalous phenomenon material would be protected for civilian employees, the FBI, the armed forces, defence contractors, civilian contractors and the intelligence community.
1 document·5 points
Introduced in the 118th Congress, 2nd session, by Mr. Burchett with Ms. Mace, Mrs. Luna and Mr. Burlison (p. 1)
Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and in addition to the Intelligence (Permanent Select) and Armed Services Committees (p. 1)
Amends section 2302(b)(8) of title 5 to protect Federal civilian employees disclosing 'the use of Federal taxpayer funds to evaluate or research unidentified anomalous phenomenon material' (p. 2)
Extends the same protected category to FBI personnel, the armed forces and DoD contractors under title 5 section 2303 and title 10 sections 1034 and 4701 (p. 3)
Adds the category for Federal civilian contractors under title 41 section 4712 and for the intelligence community under section 1104 of the National Security Act of 1947 (pp. 4 to 5)
On 16 May 2024 Rep. Tim Burchett, joined by Mr Moskowitz, Mrs Luna and Mr Burlison, introduced H.R. 8424, the UAP Transparency Act, in the US House of Representatives during the 118th Congress, and it was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability. The bill would require the President, within 270 days of enactment, to direct each federal department or agency holding records on unidentified anomalous phenomena to declassify them and publish them on a public website. It would also require progress reports to the House Oversight and Senate Homeland Security committees within 360 days and quarterly thereafter, using the definition in section 1683 of the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2022.
1 document·4 points
Introduced by Mr Burchett for himself, Mr Moskowitz, Mrs Luna and Mr Burlison, and referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability (p. 1)
Within 270 days of enactment, the President would direct each federal department or agency holding UAP records to declassify them and make them available on a public website (p. 2)
Within 360 days and quarterly thereafter, the President would report progress to the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (p. 2)
The term 'unidentified anomalous phenomena' takes its meaning from section 1683 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (50 U.S.C. 3373) (p. 2)
The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office of the Department of Defense issued Volume I of its Historical Record Report on United States Government involvement with unidentified anomalous phenomena, dated February 2024 on its cover and on file as 8 March 2024. The office reviewed official investigations since 1945, searched classified and unclassified archives and conducted approximately 30 interviews. It found no evidence that any government investigation had confirmed a sighting as extraterrestrial technology, and no empirical evidence for claims that the government and private companies had been reverse-engineering such technology. It assessed that named hidden programmes either did not exist, were misidentified authentic programmes, or resolved to a disestablished one, and attributed the claim in large part to circular reporting.
1 document·5 points
AARO reviewed all official USG investigatory efforts since 1945 and conducted approximately 30 interviews (p. 6)
It found no evidence of any authentic UAP-related nondisclosure agreement or threats of death or violence for disclosing UAP information (p. 7)
An alleged 1961 Special National Intelligence Estimate leaked online was assessed to be inauthentic (p. 8)
A sample from an alleged crashed spacecraft was found to be a manufactured, terrestrial alloy primarily of magnesium, zinc and bismuth (p. 8)
KONA BLUE, a proposed UAP recovery programme put to the Department of Homeland Security, was never approved, and an IC Controlled Access Program expanded in 2021 was disestablished for lack of merit (p. 9)
On 11 January 2024 Rep. Robert Garcia of California, with Mr Grothman, Mr Moskowitz, Ms Mace, Mr Ogles and Mrs Luna, introduced H.R. 6967, the Safe Airspace for Americans Act, in the US House of Representatives. The bill was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Oversight and Accountability. It would require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, within 180 days of enactment, to set up procedures for civilian aviation personnel to report incidents involving unidentified anomalous phenomena, share those reports with the Department of Defense's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, and protect those who report from reprisals and from effects on their medical or airmen certificates.
1 document·5 points
The FAA Administrator would have to develop procedures, within 180 days of enactment, to collect, report and analyse UAP incidents reported by civilian aircrew, air traffic controllers, flight attendants, maintenance personnel, dispatchers, air carriers and airports, and to evaluate the threat they present to the national airspace system (p. 2)
The Administrator would share the reports and archived data with the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office of the Department of Defense, and could not use them in enforcement action except for information concerning accidents or criminal offences (p. 3)
Reporting UAP could not be taken into account in evaluating mental standards for medical certificates under part 67 of title 14 or competency for airmen certificates (pp. 5 to 6)
Federal agencies, contractors, air carriers and commercial operators would be barred from personnel reprisals for spotting or reporting UAP, and carriers from issuing cease and desist letters over such reports (pp. 6 to 7)
The bill defines unidentified anomalous phenomena to include airborne objects not immediately identifiable, transmedium objects or devices, and certain submerged objects or devices (pp. 7 to 8)
In October 2023 the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Defense published the Fiscal Year 2023 Consolidated Annual Report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, drafted by the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) and ODNI and cleared for open publication on 17 October 2023. The report covered 31 August 2022 to 30 April 2023, during which AARO received 291 reports, bringing its total to 801. It found a collection bias towards restricted military airspace, no reported adverse health effects, and no reports attributed to foreign activity, and concluded that most UAP would likely resolve to ordinary phenomena with better data. An appendix resolved a 2021 case as commercial aircraft.
1 document·5 points
AARO received 291 UAP reports: 274 from the period and 17 from 2019 to 2022 not previously conveyed; 290 were in the air domain and one maritime.
As of 30 April 2023 AARO had received a total of 801 UAP reports.
AARO received over 100 reports from the FAA, mostly of unidentified lights without specific shape, none suggesting anomalous characteristics or a threat to flight safety.
No encounters with UAP were confirmed to have directly contributed to adverse health-related effects.
The "Western United States" case resolution of 8 May 2023 assessed five equidistant lights as almost certainly commercial aircraft up to 300 nautical miles from the sensor.
NASA published the final report of its Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Independent Study Team, a panel of 16 experts chaired by Dr. David Spergel that NASA established in June 2022. The report states that it is not a review of previous UAP incidents but a roadmap for how NASA can obtain usable data. It concludes that analysis is hampered by poor sensor calibration and missing metadata and baseline data, and that there is no standardised system for civilian reports. It recommends that NASA support the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, use the Aviation Safety Reporting System for pilot reports, explore crowdsourcing apps and help reduce stigma. It states there is no reason to conclude that existing reports have an extraterrestrial source.
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The panel found that analysis of UAP data is hampered by poor sensor calibration, the lack of multiple measurements, the lack of sensor metadata and the lack of baseline data (p. 3).
It found there is currently no standardised system for civilian UAP reports and said NASA should assist AARO in developing a Federal system (p. 4).
It named the Aviation Safety Reporting System, which NASA administers for the FAA and which receives approximately 100,000 reports per year, as a promising avenue for commercial pilot UAP reporting (p. 4).
The foreword states the team of 16 experts was established in June 2022 and that the report is not a review of previous UAP incidents (p. 7).
The report states: "At this point there is no reason to conclude that existing UAP reports have an extraterrestrial source." (p. 33)
On 26 July 2023 the Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability held a hearing on unidentified anomalous phenomena, chaired by Glenn Grothman. It heard Ryan Graves of Americans for Safe Aerospace, David Grusch, a former National Reconnaissance Office representative to the UAP Task Force, and retired Navy Commander David Fravor. Members raised concerns about transparency, AARO's classified budget and stigma around reporting. Graves told the subcommittee that a pilot in his unit had passed within about 50 feet of an object he described as a dark cube inside a clear sphere. Grusch urged others to come forward through inspectors general. The chairman said he expected legislation to follow.
3 documents·5 points
The subcommittee met at 10:06 a.m. in room 2154 of the Rayburn Office Building, with Glenn Grothman presiding, and adjourned at 12:22 p.m. (p. 1, p. 50)
Anna Paulina Luna said members had been denied access to a classified briefing in a SCIF before the hearing because of the steps needed to grant witness Grusch temporary clearance. (p. 5)
Ranking Member Robert Garcia noted that AARO Director Sean Kirkpatrick had told the Senate his unit found no evidence of extraterrestrial activity. (p. 7)
Graves testified that two aircraft flew within about 50 feet of a stationary object, "a dark gray or a black cube inside of a clear sphere," at the entrance to their working area. (p. 46-47)
Tim Burchett entered statements by George Knapp and Jeremy Corbell and the Defense Intelligence Reference Document "Advanced Space Propulsion Based on Vacuum (Spacetime Metric) Engineering" into the record. (p. 3)
On 26 July 2023 David Grusch, a former intelligence officer, gave an opening and closing statement under oath to the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. Grusch told the committee that they had served 14 years as an intelligence officer, in the US Air Force and at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and had co-led their agency's work on unidentified anomalous phenomena. Grusch stated that they had filed a PPD-19 Urgent Concern with the Intelligence Community Inspector General, and that they had been informed of a multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering program to which they were denied access. Grusch said the testimony rested on what others had told them, and that they had suffered retaliation.
1 document·5 points
Grusch described being an intelligence officer for 14 years, a Major in the USAF and, from 2021 to 2023, a GS-15 civilian at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
Grusch stated they became a whistleblower through a PPD-19 Urgent Concern filing with the Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG).
Grusch said they were a member of the UAPTF from 2019 to 2021 and in 2019 were tasked to identify all SAPs/CAPs needed for its congressionally mandated mission.
Grusch claimed they were informed of "a multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering program" and were denied access to it.
Grusch said: "I am speaking to the facts as I have been told them," and that they had suffered retaliation.
On 19 April 2023 the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, chaired by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, held an open hearing with Dr Sean M. Kirkpatrick, Director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), following a closed session earlier that day. Gillibrand raised AARO's funding, its reporting chain, sensor filters and a public process for witnesses. Kirkpatrick told the subcommittee that AARO was tracking a total of 650 cases, that most reports showed mundane characteristics, and that AARO had found no credible evidence thus far of extraterrestrial activity, off-world technology, or objects that defy the known laws of physics.
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Gillibrand said the President's budget for fiscal years 2023 and 2024 requested only enough funding to defray AARO's operating expenses, and that a letter from 16 senators secured temporary relief (p. 2).
Kirkpatrick said AARO's team of more than three dozen experts was organised around operations, scientific research, integrated analysis and strategic communications (p. 8).
He testified that AARO has found no credible evidence thus far of extraterrestrial activity, off-world technology, or objects that defy the known laws of physics (p. 10).
He said that as of that week AARO was tracking a total of 650 cases, and that the roughly 150 likely balloons in the January report were not thereby resolved (p. 10).
He said reported objects are typically 1 to 4 meters in size, smaller than the resolution of many civil climate satellites (p. 20).
On 12 January 2023 the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released its 2022 Annual Report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, prepared under Section 1683 of the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act in conjunction with the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). The report stated that 510 UAP reports were catalogued as of 30 August 2022: the 144 in the 2021 preliminary assessment, 247 new reports and 119 older ones found or filed late. AARO's initial analysis characterised more than half of the 366 additional reports as balloons, drones or clutter, leaving 171 uncharacterised, some of which appeared to show unusual flight characteristics. It reported no collisions and no confirmed health effects.
1 document·5 points
510 UAP reports were catalogued as of 30 August 2022, combining 144 from the preliminary assessment, 247 new reports and 119 reported late (p. 2, p. 5).
Of the 366 newly identified reports, 163 were characterised as balloon or balloon-like, 26 as UAS or UAS-like, and 6 as clutter (p. 5).
171 reports remained uncharacterised and unattributed; some appeared to demonstrate unusual flight characteristics or performance capabilities (p. 5).
AARO was established as the successor to the UAPTF on 20 July 2022 (p. 4).
There were no reported collisions between U.S. aircraft and UAP, and no encounters confirmed to contribute directly to adverse health effects (p. 6).
On 15 July 2022 the Deputy Secretary of Defense issued a memorandum establishing the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) within the Department of Defense. The memorandum amended a direction of 23 November 2021 that had created the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group, in order to meet section 1683 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022. It directed the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security to establish AARO, renamed the oversight council the AARO Executive Council, and directed the Secretary of the Navy to disestablish the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force and transfer its data to AARO. AARO was named the department's authoritative office and focal point for UAP.
1 document·5 points
AARO was to carry out the duties that were to be fulfilled by the AOIMSG, established on November 23, 2021 (p. 1)
Its mission covers "anomalous, unidentified space, airborne, submerged, and transmedium objects" (p. 1)
The AOIMEXEC was renamed the AARO Executive Council (AAROEXEC) to provide oversight and direction to AARO (p. 1)
The Secretary of the Navy was directed to disestablish the UAPTF no later than the date AARO is established and transfer its data, analysis and other material (p. 1)
AARO is the DoD focal point for all UAP and UAP-related activities and may represent the Department to the interagency, Congress, media and public (p. 2)
On 17 May 2022 the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, chaired by Andre Carson, held an open hearing on unidentified aerial phenomena with Under Secretary Moultrie and Mr. Bray. Carson said the last congressional hearing on the subject had been half a century earlier and pressed for an update on the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group. Bray told the subcommittee that the UAP Task Force held no material and had detected no emanations suggesting anything nonterrestrial, and that there had been at least 11 near misses. Moultrie said he knew of no official programme between Project Blue Book and AATIP. The session recessed at 10:28 a.m. for a closed session.
1 document·5 points
Carson said Congress had rewritten the charter of the organisation now called the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group, or AOIMSG, and that it did not yet have a named director (pp. 2 to 3).
Bray said: "When it comes to material that we have, we have no material," and that the task force had detected no emanations suggesting anything nonterrestrial in origin (p. 34).
Moultrie said he was "Not aware of anything that is official" done between Project Blue Book and AATIP (p. 35).
Bray told the subcommittee there had been no collision but "at least 11 near misses", and that no attempt had been made to communicate with the objects (p. 40).
Gallagher asked about a reported Malmstrom Air Force Base incident and entered the so-called Admiral Wilson memo into the record; Bray said that data was not within the task force's holdings (pp. 36 to 39).
The briefing cards prepared by the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs record that on 23 November 2021 the Deputy Secretary of Defense signed a memo establishing the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group (AOIMSG) as the successor to the UAP Task Force, together with an Executive Council (AOIMEXEC) to oversee it. The cards give the group's mission as detecting, identifying and attributing objects of interest in Special Use Airspace and mitigating threats to safety of flight or national security. They state that the Department lacked data to say whether UAP were a foreign collection programme or an adversary's technology advance, and that implementing guidance was forthcoming.
1 document·5 points
On Nov. 23, 2021, DSD signed a memo establishing the AOIMSG as the successor to the UAPTF and the AOIMEXEC to provide oversight of it (p. 1).
The AOIMSG would focus on proactively identifying objects in Special Use Airspace, rather than only items observed but not identified (p. 1).
The cards state the Department lacked the data to indicate whether UAP were part of a foreign collection program or a major technology advancement by a potential adversary, and that there is not one single explanation for UAP (p. 1).
The cards say the June 2021 report confirmed UAP activity expands beyond Navy's purview, so the work is better directed at the OSD level (p. 3).
A December 9, 2021 update notes the draft FY22 NDAA approved by the House on Dec. 7 directed DoD and ODNI to establish a UAP office (p. 1).
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)
On 22 September 2008 the United States government awarded contract HHM402-08-C-0072 to Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies, LLC of Las Vegas, Nevada, under solicitation HHM402-08-R-0211, issued on 1 September 2008. The Virginia Contracting Activity administered it, and payment was to come through the NSA Finance and Accounting Office. The Standard Form 1449 records a total award amount of $21,948,810.00 on a firm fixed price basis. It sets a base year from 22 September 2008 to 29 September 2009 and an option year to 21 September 2010. Deliverables included monthly status reports, project management plans and research reports for Tasks 3.a.1 to 3.a.12, and a Comprehensive Integrated Threat Assessment. The document does not use the names AAWSAP or AATIP.
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Contract HHM402-08-C-0072 was awarded to Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies, LLC with an award/effective date of 22 September 2008, under solicitation HHM402-08-R-0211 issued 1 September 2008 (p. 1)
The total award amount is given as $21,948,810.00; the contract was administered by the Virginia Contracting Activity, ATTN: DIAC, with payment by the NSA Finance and Accounting Office (p. 1)
The contract type is firm fixed price, and the BAASS proposal dated 9/3/2008 is incorporated by reference
Line items cover monthly status reports, project management plans and research reports for Tasks 3.a.1 to 3.a.12, a Comprehensive Integrated Threat Assessment, travel and other direct costs
The base year runs from 22 September 2008 to 29 September 2009, with an option year from 22 September 2009 to 21 September 2010 (p. 3)
On 27 March 2007 the US District Court for the District of Columbia, Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, issued a memorandum opinion in Leslie Kean's Freedom of Information Act suit against NASA over records of the incident at Kecksburg, Pennsylvania, on 9 December 1965. The court found that NASA had not shown its searches were adequate, noting that most declarations from its Centers gave no detail of records searched or terms used, and that a renewed search of Records Center boxes had found responsive documents. It upheld NASA's withholding of two emails under Exemption 5, denied both motions in part without prejudice, and directed the parties to propose search and documentation procedures by 30 April 2007.
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Kean's FOIA request of 31 January 2003 sought documents on Kecksburg, the "Fragology Files" for 1962 to 1967, Project Moon Dust and "Cosmos 96"; NASA admitted its first two searches were inadequate (p. 1)
Only one of ten Center letters, from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, specified the databases searched and the search terms used (p. 6)
Three of nineteen boxes sought from the Washington National Record Center were reported missing; a fourth search in 2006 found responsive documents in the remaining sixteen (pp. 8-9)
The court held that the record left "significant doubt" about the searches, citing NASA documents on Cosmos 96 and the documents found in the fourth search (p. 17)
After in camera review, two emails between McConnell and attorney Bierbower were held covered by the deliberative process privilege (p. 19)
In 1997 the US Air Force published The Roswell Report: Case Closed, written by Captain James McAndrew of the Secretary of the Air Force Declassification and Review Team, with a foreword by Secretary of the Air Force Sheila E. Widnall. It followed the July 1994 report, prepared for a General Accounting Office inquiry requested by Congressman Steven Schiff, which attributed debris recovered near Roswell in 1947 to the balloon project MoGUL. The new volume addressed accounts of alien bodies. It concluded that these were probably anthropomorphic test dummies carried aloft by high altitude research balloons, and that reports of bodies at the base hospital most likely combined a 1956 aircraft accident and a 1959 balloon mishap.
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The report says the GAO probe, initiated at the request of New Mexico Congressman Steven Schiff, sought to determine whether any US agency held information on an alleged crash and recovery of an extraterrestrial vehicle near Roswell in July 1947. (p. 1)
It states that the July 1994 Air Force report concluded the recovered material was debris from the Army Air Forces balloon-borne research project MoGUL. (p. 1)
It concludes that "aliens" observed in the New Mexico desert were probably anthropomorphic test dummies carried aloft by US Air Force high altitude balloons, and that activities spread over many years had been consolidated into two or three days in July 1947. (p. 3)
It concludes that claims of bodies at the Roswell Army Air Field hospital most likely combined a 1956 KC-97 accident in which 11 Air Force members died and a 1959 manned balloon mishap in which two pilots were injured. (p. 3)
In 1997 the Central Intelligence Agency published "CIA's Role in the Study of UFOs, 1947-90", a study by Gerald K. Haines, historian of the National Reconnaissance Office, in Studies in Intelligence. Written after DCI R. James Woolsey ordered a review of all Agency files on UFOs in late 1993, it traced CIA interest from the late 1940s to 1990. It concluded that Agency concern over UFOs was substantial until the early 1950s but that CIA had since paid only limited and peripheral attention to the phenomena. It described a 1952 CIA study group, its national security worries about Soviet use of sightings, and the Agency's concealment of its interest, which it said contributed greatly to later charges of a conspiracy and cover-up.
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DCI R. James Woolsey ordered another review of all Agency files on UFOs in late 1993, after pressure from UFOlogists (p. 67).
The study concludes that CIA concern was substantial until the early 1950s and has since been "limited and peripheral" (p. 67).
DCI Walter Bedell Smith believed there was only one chance in 10,000 that the phenomenon posed a threat to national security, but that even that chance could not be taken (p. 68).
Air Force and CIA officials agreed that outside knowledge of Agency interest would make the problem more serious; the study says this concealment contributed greatly to later charges of a CIA conspiracy and cover-up (p. 71).
The author found almost no documentation on Agency involvement with UFOs in the 1980s (p. 83).
On 28 July 1995 the United States General Accounting Office issued report GAO/NSIAD-95-187 to Representative Steven H. Schiff on its search for government records concerning the 1947 crash near Roswell, New Mexico. Reviewing work carried out from March 1994 to June 1995, it found that RAAF administrative records from March 1945 to December 1949 and outgoing messages from October 1946 to December 1949 had been destroyed, with no record of who destroyed them or under what authority. The search yielded two 1947 records: the July 1947 509th Bomb Group and RAAF history, which described the object as a radar tracking balloon, and a July 8, 1947 FBI teletype. Other agencies reported no further records.
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RAAF administrative records (March 1945 to December 1949) and RAAF outgoing messages (October 1946 to December 1949) were destroyed; the disposition form does not indicate who destroyed them, when, or under what authority (p. 2).
GAO identified four Army Air Forces air accidents in New Mexico in July 1947, all involving military aircraft and all after July 8, 1947; Air Force officials said there was no requirement to report a weather balloon crash (pp. 2-3).
The July 1947 509th Bomb Group and RAAF history stated that the "flying disc" "turned out to be a radar tracking balloon" (p. 4).
A July 8, 1947 FBI teletype reported the recovery of a hexagonal-shaped disc suspended from a large balloon, said to resemble a high-altitude weather balloon with a radar reflector, being sent to Wright Field (p. 4).
On May 30, 1995 the CIA's Executive Director told GAO that a search of all CIA databases for "Roswell, New Mexico" produced no documents related to the crash (p. 6).
In 1995 Headquarters United States Air Force published "The Roswell Report: Fact versus Fiction in the New Mexico Desert", reproducing the report Col. Richard L. Weaver and 1st Lt. James McAndrew had prepared for the Secretary of the Air Force and the General Accounting Office after Representative Steven H. Schiff asked about an alleged 1947 UFO crash in New Mexico. Weaver's report, dated 27 July 1994, came with 33 attachments, among them McAndrew's synopsis of balloon research. The publication states that the Declassification and Review Team found no evidence of any extraterrestrial craft or alien flight crew, and it attributes the debris recovered near Roswell to Project MOGUL, a formerly Top Secret balloon project.
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The report was written in response to a request from Representative Steven H. Schiff (R-NM) and duplicates the material given to the Secretary of the Air Force and the GAO, with an added photograph section.
The Secretary of the Air Force directed a complete records search, and classified information was to be declassified and officials freed from secrecy oaths.
It states that the Declassification and Review Team "found no evidence of any extraterrestrial craft or alien flight crew".
It identifies Project MOGUL, a programme to detect Soviet nuclear detonations and ballistic missile launches using balloon trains more than 600 feet long, as the explanation for the "Roswell Incident".
It names NYU flight No. 4, launched by Charles B. Moore on June 4, 1947, as the balloon train most likely to have caused the incident.
On 18 November 1980 the US District Court for the District of Columbia granted the National Security Agency's motion for summary judgment in Citizens Against UFO Secrecy v. National Security Agency, Civil Action No. 80-1562, a Freedom of Information Act suit seeking all NSA documents relating to UFOs. The court reviewed a public affidavit and a 21-page top secret in camera affidavit from NSA official Eugene Yeates and found the claimed exemptions properly applied. It held that the withheld communications intelligence reports were protected under Exemption 3 and Public Law 86-36, that four other documents were properly withheld in whole or part, and that the public interest was outweighed by national security. The case was dismissed.
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The plaintiff sought all documents in the NSA's possession relating to UFOs and UFO phenomena; the bulk of the withheld material consisted of communications intelligence reports.
The court examined personally a top secret, 21-page in camera affidavit from NSA official Eugene Yeates, alongside his public affidavit.
The court found that release of the intelligence reports "could seriously jeopardize the work of the agency and the security of the United States" and granted the Exemption 3 claim in its entirety under Public Law 86-36, without considering Exemption 1.
Four documents that were not intelligence reports were withheld in whole or in part under Exemptions 1, 3, 5 and 6, which the court found proper.
The court found the affidavits sufficient to make in camera review of the documents themselves unnecessary, granted summary judgment and dismissed the case.
On 1 February 1978 NASA's Public Services Branch, Office of External Relations, issued Information Sheet 78-1 to answer public inquiries about unidentified flying objects directed to the White House and NASA. The sheet stated that NASA was the focal point for such inquiries and that neither NASA nor any other government agency was engaged in UFO research. It quoted Administrator Robert A. Frosch's letter of 21 December 1977 declining to establish a research programme or symposium for lack of physical evidence, while offering to analyse bona fide samples from credible sources. It restated the Air Force conclusions on closing Project Blue Book and addressed astronaut reports and Jimmy Carter's 1969 sighting.
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In July 1977 Dr. Frank Press, Director of Science and Technology Policy, wrote to NASA Administrator Dr. Robert A. Frosch suggesting NASA answer UFO mail and consider an active research programme. (p. 1)
In his letter of December 21, 1977, Frosch proposed "that NASA take no steps to establish research in this area or to convene a symposium on this subject", while standing "ready to respond to any bona fide physical evidence from credible sources." (p. 1)
The sheet restated the Air Force conclusions after Project Blue Book ended on December 17, 1969: no UFO indicated a threat to national security, and no evidence showed "unidentified" sightings were beyond present science or extraterrestrial vehicles. (p. 4)
It stated that in every instance of astronaut reports NASA satisfied itself that what was observed was nothing abnormal in the space environment. (p. 6)
It recorded that Mr. Carter told NICAP in 1973 he had seen a bright, moving object over Leary, Georgia, in October 1969, and noted a suggestion that he may have seen Venus. (p. 6)
On 17 December 1969 the US Air Force issued a press release in which Secretary of the Air Force Robert C. Seamans, Jr. announced the termination of Project Blue Book, its programme for investigating unidentified flying objects. In a memorandum to Chief of Staff General John D. Ryan, Seamans stated that continuing the project could not be justified on grounds of national security or science. The release said the decision rested on the University of Colorado study directed by Dr. Edward U. Condon, its review by the National Academy of Sciences, past UFO studies and two decades of Air Force experience. It stated that Blue Book records would be retired to the USAF Archives at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.
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Seamans wrote that "the continuation of Project Blue Book cannot be justified either on the ground of national security or in the interest of science" (p. 1)
The University of Colorado's 18-month contracted study, released in January 1969, concluded further extensive study of UFO sightings was not justified in the expectation that science would be advanced (p. 1)
A National Academy of Sciences panel concluded that "the least likely explanation of UFOs is the hypothesis of extraterrestrial visitations by intelligent beings" (p. 2)
Blue Book's stated conclusions: no UFO evaluated gave any indication of threat to national security, and no evidence showed "unidentified" sightings were technology beyond present knowledge or extraterrestrial vehicles (p. 2)
Records were to go to the USAF Archives, Maxwell Air Force Base, with enquiries handled by the Secretary of the Air Force, Office of Information (SAFOI) (p. 2)
The Final Report of the Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects, conducted by the University of Colorado under contract F44620-67-C-0035 to the United States Air Force with Dr. Edward U. Condon as scientific director and Daniel S. Gillmor as editor, was published in three volumes. The university president's transmittal letter to Air Force Secretary Harold Brown, dated 31 October 1968, said the Air Force had made no attempt to influence the study. The text supplied covers the study's origins in a 1966 Air Force Office of Scientific Research request and a 1967 plasma conference, but it does not contain the National Academy of Sciences review, its endorsement or the release date on file.
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The university president transmitted the final report to Secretary of the Air Force Harold Brown on 31 October 1968 and wrote that there had "never been the slightest suggestion of any effort on the part of the Air Force to influence either the conduct of the investigation or the content of this report".
The edition is described as a reproduction of the report submitted to the National Academy of Sciences on November 15, 1968, "for its scientific review".
On 31 August 1966 Colonel Ivan C. Atkinson of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research asked the University of Colorado to take part "as the grantee institution", following a March 1966 recommendation of an ad hoc panel chaired by Dr. Brian O'Brien (p. v).
At a plasma UFO conference in Boulder on 27 and 28 October 1967, participants reached a unanimous conclusion that an object pacing a B-47 was not a plasma or an electrical luminosity produced by the atmosphere (p. 1193).
All conference participants agreed that the UFO cases presented contained insufficient data for a definitive scientific conclusion (p. 1194).
On 29 July 1968 the House Committee on Science and Astronautics held a Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, chaired in session by Mr. Roush. Dr. Robert M. L. Baker, Jr., of Computer Sciences Corporation and UCLA, told the committee that substantial evidence supported the existence of unexplained phenomena near the earth, which he called anomalistic observational phenomena, based on his analyses of films from Utah, Montana, Florida and Venezuela. He argued that existing radar and optical sensors were not designed to detect such phenomena and recommended a well funded, long term interdisciplinary research programme. In later discussion Dr. Hynek and others said that ridicule discouraged witnesses from reporting sightings.
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Dr. Baker said that since 1954 he had found substantial evidence that an unexplained phenomenon was present in the environs of the earth, preferring the term "anomalistic observational phenomena" (p. 125).
He said he had analysed Utah and Montana films supplied by ATIC and concluded that neither birds nor airplane reflections explained them (p. 126).
He told the committee that on July 28, 1968 he had confirmed at Colorado Springs that a partially classified sensor system had recorded anomalistic alarms not explained by natural phenomena, malfunction or manmade objects (p. 130).
He said it was premature to give overriding attention to the extraterrestrial hypothesis but strongly advocated a long term interdisciplinary research programme (p. 131).
Dr. Hynek cited a poll of 5 million Americans reporting unexplained sightings against some 12,000 Air Force reports in 20 years, asking "who is holding out on the other 4,988,000 reports?" (p. 193).
On 5 April 1966 the House Committee on Armed Services, chaired by L. Mendel Rivers, heard Secretary of the Air Force Harold Brown, Dr J. Allen Hynek of Project Blue Book and Maj. Hector Quintanilla, Jr. on unidentified flying objects, following sightings in Michigan. Brown read a letter stating that the Air Force had identified 9,501 of 10,147 reports from 1947 through 1965 and had found no threat to national security and no evidence of extraterrestrial vehicles. The record included an Air Force statement on the Dexter and Hillsdale sightings and a letter from Gerald R. Ford urging a committee investigation. Hynek told the committee that the Exeter case was listed as unidentified.
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Brown stated that the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board had concluded that the UFO phenomena presented no threat to United States security and that its recommendations were under study (p. 5992).
Of 10,147 reported sightings from 1947 through 1965, the Air Force said it had identified 9,501, leaving 646 (p. 5992).
The Air Force statement on Dexter and Hillsdale, Mich., said young men had played pranks with flares at Hillsdale and that a released photograph showed the crescent moon and Venus (p. 5993).
In a letter of March 28, 1966, Gerald R. Ford proposed hearings and wrote that he did not agree that all the Michigan reports could be so easily explained away (p. 6046).
Hynek told the committee he had seen no evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence but that the possibility should be kept open as a hypothesis (p. 6046).
On 28 March 1966 House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford wrote to Rep. George P. Miller, chairman of the Science and Astronautics Committee, and Rep. L. Mendel Rivers, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, proposing that one of the two committees hold hearings on unidentified flying objects. The letter cited recent sightings in Michigan and said the Air Force consultant, astrophysicist Dr. J. Allen Hynek, had dismissed them as pranks, swamp gas or the crescent moon and Venus. Ford wrote that he did not agree all the reports could be so easily explained away and asked for testimony from the executive branch and from people who claimed to have seen UFOs.
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Ford proposed that either the Science and Astronautics Committee or the Armed Services Committee schedule hearings and invite testimony from the executive branch and from persons who claim to have seen UFOs.
The accompanying release said Ford described the "swamp gas" version given by J. Allen Hynek as "flippant."
The letter quoted a UPI story from Ann Arbor dated March 21, 1966, that "at least 40 persons, including 12 policemen" said they saw a strange flying object land in a swamp.
In an April 21, 1966 statement Ford said the Air Force had told him it was arranging a study of UFO sightings by scientists at a university with no close ties to the Air Force.
An Air Force release of October 7, 1966 announced the University of Colorado had been selected, with Dr. Edward U. Condon directing the scientific work under an agreement valued at approximately $300,000.
On 25 October 1955 the US Air Force issued a press release accompanied by the summary of Project Blue Book Special Report No. 14, a statistical study of sighting reports dated 5 May 1955 and first issued in May 1955 in 100 copies with restricted distribution. The text supplied is the July 1966 third edition published by Dr Leon Davidson, which reproduces the full text of the report and some of its tables alongside early Air Force press releases, the 1953 CIA panel report and Davidson's own analysis. Davidson states his belief that the CIA was responsible for much UFO publicity. The reproduced tables classify each year's cases as balloon, astronomical, aircraft, insufficient information, unknown and other categories.
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The publishing history gives the original Air Force issue as 100 copies with restricted distribution in May 1955, and the report itself is dated May 5, 1955.
The report's summary accompanied the Air Force press release of October 25, 1955.
Davidson published a first edition of 1000 copies in December 1956, a second in October 1957, and a third edition with Ramsey-Wallace Corp. in July 1966.
A reproduced table records 303 cases evaluated as Unknown for 1952, or 20.2 per cent, against 39 (23.0 per cent) in 1950 and 33 (27.3 per cent) in 1951.
The coding scheme rated observer and report reliability and assigned a final identification, including categories for insufficient information and unknown.
JANAP 146, issued under the Joint Chiefs of Staff and entered on file under December 1953, set uniform instructions for reporting vital intelligence sightings to military authorities. The document applies to US and Canadian civil, commercial, government and military aircraft, merchant and fishing vessels, and military installations. It lists unidentified flying objects among the sightings to be reported, alongside aircraft, missiles and unidentified submarines. Reports from airborne and land-based sources were to be headed CIRVIS and sent with urgency precedence to CINCONAD or the RCAF Air Defense Command. The text states that unauthorised disclosure of a report could bring prosecution under Title 18 of the US Code or the Canadian Official Secrets Act. The text available here does not show an issue date.
1 document·5 points
Applies to US and Canadian civil and commercial aircrew, government and military aircraft, merchant, government and fishing vessels, and military installations (p. 1-1).
Reports from airborne and land-based sources are identified by CIRVIS as the first word; waterborne reports by MERINT (p. 1-2).
"Unidentified flying objects" are listed among the sightings to be reported, alongside missiles and unidentified submarines (p. 2-1).
Unauthorised transmission or disclosure of a report may be prosecuted under Title 18 of the US Code, Chapter 37, or the Canadian Official Secrets Act of 1939.
Evaluations are to rate each sighting as Positive, Probable, Possible, Improbable or No Threat to the security of the United States or Canada.
Documents
FOIA releaseJANAP 146National Security Agency· 13 pp.
The Scientific Advisory Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects, convened by the Central Intelligence Agency's Office of Scientific Intelligence, met from 14 to 18 January 1953 and reported to the Assistant Director for Scientific Intelligence. Its formal report, signed by H. P. Robertson as chairman with Lloyd V. Berkner, S. A. Goudsmit, Luis W. Alvarez and Thornton Page, concluded that the evidence showed no indication of a direct physical threat to national security and no need to revise scientific concepts. It found that continued emphasis on reporting could clog communication channels and foster a morbid national psychology, and recommended that national security agencies strip the subject of its special status and institute training and public education. A memorandum of 16 February 1953 recorded the meetings and the members' further comments.
1 document·5 points·1 story
The Panel concluded that the evidence presented "shows no indication that these phenomena constitute a direct physical threat to national security".
It recommended that national security agencies "take immediate steps to strip the Unidentified Flying Objects of the special status they have been given and the aura of mystery they have unfortunately acquired".
The Panel did not accept the USN Photo Interpretation Laboratory's conclusion that the Tremonton, Utah objects were "self-luminous", considering their motions and brightness strongly suggestive of birds (pp. 11 to 13).
It proposed an educational programme of "training and debunking" lasting one and a half to two years, and suggested consultants including Hadley Cantril and Walt Disney, Inc. (pp. 20 to 22).
It advised that civilian groups such as the "Civilian Flying Saucer Investigators" and the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization "should be watched" (p. 23).
The US Air Force's Air Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base sent the Director of Intelligence an initial report on Project "SIGN" in 1948. It was prepared under a Headquarters USAF letter dated 30 December 1947 and signed by General L. C. Craigie. The report said Project HT-304 was activated on 26 January 1948 and that Technical Instruction 2185 followed on 11 February 1948. It tabulated reports received up to 1 February 1948 and noted recurring features such as hovering, high climb rates and disc shapes. It recorded that Dr Irving Langmuir of General Electric judged the data insufficient for a positive identification. The command added its own view that a low aspect ratio aircraft could reproduce many of the reported characteristics.
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The study was directed by a Headquarters USAF letter dated 30 December 1947, signed by General L. C. Craigie; quarterly reports were to begin on 1 July 1948.
Project HT-304 was activated on 26 January 1948, and Technical Instruction 2185 was dated 11 February 1948.
Objects were described as oval, disc or saucer shaped; reported sizes ranged from a 25-cent piece to 250 feet in diameter.
Schedules of lighted night-flying advertising blimps were cross-checked as a possible source of reports.
Dr Irving Langmuir was "reluctant to consider the so-called 'flying discs' as a reality"; the Headquarters held that boundary layer control could make a similar low aspect ratio aircraft possible.
The register here is the record's: what a body did, when, with the document. The archive's stories carry the longer reads, and the Latest feed carries this week's official news before it is entered here. Entries from the United Kingdom rest on material under the Open Government Licence v3.