Report: Evaluation of the DoD's Actions Regarding UFOs, UAP

"The DoD’s Lack of a Comprehensive, Coordinated Approach to Address UAP May Pose a Threat to Military Forces and U.S. National Security"

Historical Background

Over the past decades, the DoD has initiated infrequent and inconclusive efforts to identify and understand the origin, capabilities, and intent of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP).

By DODIG 1-25-2024

Military pilots have historically reported many of the reported UAP sightings. Also, the Air Force and Navy have been at the forefront of developing policies, procedures, and mechanisms for reporting UAP. In fact, the DoD has relied heavily on the Services and Components to detect, report, collect, analyze, and identify UAP since the 1940s.

The DoD’s first official UAP-focused activities occurred in December 1947, when the U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff established PROJECT SIGN to investigate the first recorded observations of unidentified flying objects. From 1947 to 1949, Air Force personnel investigated 243 reported UAP sightings. In 1952, the U.S. Air Force Director of Intelligence initiated PROJECT BLUE BOOK to investigate unidentified flying objects. Between 1952 and 1969, Air Force personnel investigated over 12,000 reported sightings. The DoD did not officially look at UAP again until mid-2000, when select members of Congress initiated and funded a program to study UAP, called the Advanced Aerospace Weapon Systems Applications program, under the direction of the Defense Intelligence Agency. Since then, the DoD has attempted to establish several programs for coordinating DoD-wide UAP reporting; however, none of the programs were ever fully implemented. In 2020, as a result of increased concerns of flight crew safety, national security, and adversary technology advances, Congress directed the DoD, through the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, to develop, fund, and staff a formal interagency entity to study, collect data, and report on UAP. On July 20, 2022, the DoD established the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) to be that entity.

Chapter 6, title 10, United States Code, establishes the authorities of combatant commanders, who are responsible for detecting, deterring, and preventing threats and attacks against the United States and its territories, possessions, and bases. After a review of the laws, policies, and guidance issued by Congress, the DoD, and other Federal agencies, we determined that, while the Services and Components have an important role to play, the combatant commands would be the logical organizations to detect, report, collect, and identify UAP incidents to AARO.

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