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ALL-DOMAIN ANOMALY RESOLUTION OFFICE BACKGROUNDER
References: (a) James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act of 2023
(b) Message: Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Reporting and Material-Disposition General Administration (Joint Staff, 191452ZMAY23)
(c) Memorandum: Defense Department Response to Tiger Team Information Request re
Unidentified
Anomalous Phenomena (AARO, March 2023)
(U) The Defense Department and Intelligence Community are committed to ensuring a unified, coordinated, and integrated approach to mitigating safety and security threats from UAP. The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) mission is to minimize technical and intelligence surprise by synchronizing scientific, intelligence, and operational detection, identification, attribution, and mitigation of unidentified, anomalous objects in the vicinity of national security areas.
(U) The Office’s vision is to create an environment in which unidentified, anomalous objects are effectively and efficiently detected, tracked, analyzed, and managed by way of normalized DoD, IC, and civil business practices; by adherence to the highest scientific and intelligence-tradecraft standards; and with greater transparency and shared awareness. Realization of this vision relies on cohesive management by OSD and ODNI, by which the Department and IC apply AARO strategic guidance and direction to optimize the effectiveness and efficiency of the UAP Mission within and across the Department and mission partners.
(U) What are UAP? Unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) are 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 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 none, one, or more unidentified anomalous objects and may persist over an extended period of time.
(U) What is the significance of UAP? The US Government has observed UAP in or near the territory and/or operating areas of the United States, of its allies, and of its adversaries, and observing, identifying, and potentially mitigating UAP has become a growing priority for US policymakers, lawmakers, and warfighters.
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potentially ubiquitous presence of UAP defines the national security implications of those anomalies, which range from operational hazards and threats to technological and intelligence surprise to adversaries' strategic miscalculations.
(U) What are the Department's statutory requirements, pertaining to UAP? Ref (a) directs the AARO to perform UAP-Mission management, data and information acquisition and analyses, and report mission statuses and issues to Congress. AARO's statutory requirements are outlined in Appendix A.
(U) How is AARO organized to address the potential hazards and threats from UAP? AARO relies on organic and mission-partner expertise, and it is task organized around four key functions for optimal performance and targeted collaboration: operations, analyses, science and technology, and strategic communications.
— the Operations Group synchronizes and sequences Theater, IC, and other capabilities for optimized, cross-functional UAP detection, tracking, mitigation, and recovery;
— the Analytic Group delivers peer-reviewed conclusions through deliberate syntheses of scientific and intelligence method, tradecraft, tools, and expertise;
— the Science and Technology Group reveals and exploits elusive and enigmatic signatures through advanced technologies and focused, cross-sector partnerships; and
— the Strategic Communications Group drives shared awareness across mission partners, oversight authorities, and stakeholders—normalizing cross-sector partnerships and building trust with transparency.
(U) What are AARO's key Defense Department partnerships? UAP are most often reported by the Department's services and commands, and they are most often analyzed by service-managed centers and combat support agencies. AARO works closely with the Joint Staff to develop, publish, and implement UAP reporting requirements for the services and commands (e.g., ref (b)); to guide UAP operational planning; and to cultivate inter-component operational cohesion. AARO also works directly with service-managed centers (e.g., the National Air and Space Intelligence Center), in the development of analytic methods and tools and in the exploitation and analysis of recovered UAP objects and material.
(U) How does AARO distinguish UAP from other, known phenomena? AARO distinguishes UAP from known objects 1) by maximizing what could be known about the reported phenomena through robust data collection from military, intelligence, civil, industrial, private, and foreign sources; 2) by rigorous scientific and intelligence phenomenological examination of the following reported about the object:
characteristics (e.g., size, shape, color);
— performance (e.g., velocity, maneuverability);
— signatures (e.g., light, sound, radioactive); and
— behavior (e.g., reactions to observation, scanning).
(U) What is AARO's position on media reporting of extraterrestrial theories or proofs?
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AARO values its collaboration with academia and the scientific community and considers it critical to the Office's success. AARO neither rejects the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligence nor presumes phenomena not immediately understood are evidence of such. AARO applies rigorous scientific methodology to the UAP data it collects and analyzes, including peer-reviewed academic and scientific research.
(U) AARO is committed to following the data and its investigation wherever it leads. Working with DoD OGC and other investigative partners, AARO has established a safe and secure process for individuals to come forth with information—even that which is potentially classified—to aid AARO in its congressionally-mandated historical review of records and testimonies. To date, AARO’s review of testimony from over two dozen individuals has not led to any verifiable information to substantiate claims that any programs to reverse-engineer extraterrestrial materials have existed in the past or exist currently. AARO’s historical review of records and testimonies is ongoing and due to Congress by June 2024, and it welcomes the opportunity to speak with any former or current government employee or contractor who believes they have information relevant to the historical review.
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