Transparency? New UFO website for military reports

The U.S. government has long been criticized for its lack of transparency on the subject of UFOs, or UAP (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena) as they’re now called by the military. Will a new website launched by the Department of Defense (DoD) help provide more transparency? DoD announced its new website on August 31, 2023. And the public can get updates from this website, on the investigations conducted by the DoD’s All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).

Plus, the website will serve as a place where government and military personnel can submit confidential reports of UFO, or UAP, sightings. And that fact – the ease of submission of reports – is sure to increase the number of reported sightings of UFOs!

The new website – which can be found at www.aaro.mil – stems from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2023. That act was signed into law by President Biden on December 23, 2022.

It’s all part of the recent interest in UFOs (UAP) by the U.S. Congress. Find reports on recent U.S. Congressional activity here, here and here.

There’s also been a claim by a former U.S. intelligence officer of a “UFO coverup” by the U.S. government. Read about it here.

The All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office itself is, of course, another sign of U.S. government interest. It was established on July 20, 2022.

AARO’s new UFO website

Generally speaking, the purpose of the website is basically twofold. First, to provide the public with the latest information regarding AARO and its investigations. The DoD press release stated:

Today the department launched a website on the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office to provide the public with information concerning AARO and its efforts to understand and resolve unidentified anomalous phenomena.

This website will provide information, including photos and videos, on resolved UAP cases as they are declassified and approved for public release. The website’s other content includes reporting trends and a frequently asked questions section as well as links to official reports, transcripts, press releases and other resources that the public may find useful, such as applicable statutes and aircraft, balloon and satellite tracking sites.

The department is committed to transparency with the American people on AARO’s work on UAP. This website will serve as a one-stop shop for all publicly available information related to AARO and UAP, and AARO will regularly update the website with its most recent activities and findings as new information is cleared for public release.

What are UAP?

UAP, or Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, is the term now used by government agencies including the DoD and NASA for UFOs. With that in mind, AARO describes UAP on the website this way:

The DoD considers Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) as sources of anomalous detections in one or more domain (i.e., airborne, seaborne, spaceborne and/or transmedium) that are not yet attributable to known actors and that demonstrate behaviors that are not readily understood by sensors or observers.

‘Anomalous detections’ include but are not limited to phenomena that demonstrate apparent capabilities or material that exceed known performance envelopes. A UAP may consist of one or more unidentified anomalous objects and may persist over an extended period of time.

Military and public UFO reports

In addition, the second objective is to act as a portal for military and other government personnel to confidentially report their sightings or other information. The DoD said:

This fall, consistent with Section 1673 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, AARO will launch a secure reporting tool on the website to enable current and former U.S. government employees, service members or contractors with direct knowledge of U.S. government programs or activities to contact AARO directly to make a report.

To date, AARO has been tasked with dealing primarily with military reports. Most sighting reports have come from Navy and other fighter pilots. In addition, U.S. Reaper drones have also been seeing UAP in recent years. These have been the “metallic sphere” objects.

Moreover, there is also a plan for the public to be able to submit reports in the future as well:

A mechanism for members of the general public to make reports will be announced in coming months.

Presently, the website is still under construction, but there are some interesting bits of information to be found already. This includes details that AARO Director Sean Kirkpatrick previously presented at the NASA Public Meeting on May 31, 2023. Read more about some of those below.

Reporting trends

The website includes the updated UAP Reporting Trends graphic, also shown at the NASA public meeting. It breaks down the military UAP reports, accordingly, into altitudes, typically-reported characteristics, morphology and hotspots.

The most commonly reported shapes are “orb, round, sphere” at 47%. This is also listed as the “typical” characteristic shape. Size from 3-13 feet (1-4 meters), with speeds from stationary to Mach 2 (1,500 mph or 2,500 kph), with no exhaust. Interestingly, the tic-tac shape, like in the now-famous 2004 incident, is listed at 1% of reports, triangles at 2%, disks at 2%, cylinders at 2% and ovals at 3%. Indeed, this would seem to fit with some of the pilots’ and other reports (from U.S. Reaper drones), describing “metallic spheres” or “translucent spheres with a cube inside them.”

Notably, on AARO’s Mission page, it also says that:

UAP do not equal unattributed balloon activity; key emphases on ‘anomalous’ factors.

Existence of UAP is direct consequence of domain-awareness gaps.

UAP potentially represent advanced capabilities operating in our domain-awareness gaps.

UAP videos and other information

As of now, there are eight videos on the website. Of these, one is listed as “unidentified” and four are described as “unresolved” and “anomalous.” This includes the first three original Navy videos – FLIR (tic-tac), Gimbal and GoFast – that became public after the New York Times story in December 2017.

In addition, there are several other infographic slides on the AARO Mission page. One of the most interesting is AARO Integrated Operations. It discusses UAP data acquisition, UAP detection and tracking, UAP mitigation, UAP reporting requirements and even UAP object recovery:

Leads UAP recovery planning and execution, in close collaboration with AARO S&T Group. Advises Commands on the secure and safe handling, storage, transport and transfer of UAP Objects and Material, for AARO S&T exploitation.

Notably, much of the language on the website is taken from or based on the previous congressional mandates in the National Defense Authorization Act.

In addition, there are pages for Education, Resources and FAQs, Congressional Reports and Briefings and News and Press Products.

Bottom line: The Department of Defense has unveiled its new UFO website. It will make information available to the public as well as receive reports from military personnel.

Via U.S. Department of Defense

Via AARO

Read more: Will the proposed UAP Disclosure Act reveal UFO secrets?

Read more: Crashed UFOs? Bold claims from a former intelligence officer