All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office: Pentagon’s Alien-Hunters?

The United States All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) is an office within the headquarters of the Department of Defense (DOD). Formally established in 2022, the AARO is tasked with investigating reports of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP). In doing so, it consolidates US government efforts to make sense of UAPs that could pose threats to national security across the domains of air, sea, space, and land.

The establishment of the AARO happened amid a broad increase of interest and reported sightings of UAPs. Since its foundation, the AARO has analyzed hundreds of such reports and sightings each year. [source]

Logo for the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office of the U.S. Defense Department

1 History

Prior to 2022, the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF), working under the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), dealt with UAP cases. The establishment of the AARO in 2022 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act widened the scope of responsibilities to monitor submerged and transmedium objects in addition to aerial phenomena. The AARO seeks to expand upon UAPTF’s efforts by standardizing the collection and reporting of UAP sightings. Additionally, its responsibilities include the monitoring of incursions in military installations, operating areas, and training areas. [source, source]

AARO’s establishment was preceded by the 2020 release of three videos by the US Navy that depicted UAPs seen from a fighter jet. [source]

Screenshot of cockpit video showing an anomalous aerial encounter in 2015, US Navy.

2 Organization and Guidance

AARO operates under the Office of the Secretary of Defense and is led by a director who reports directly to senior defense officials and the Deputy Defense Secretary. AARO is guided by an executive council – AAROEXEC. Its goal is to increase information exchange between the military and intelligence community (IC) over unidentified objects and provide guidance and oversight in the areas of:Surveillance, Collection and Reporting

System Capabilities and Design

  • Intelligence Operations and Analysis
  • Mitigation and Defeat
  • Governance
  • Science and Technology  [source, source]

3 Mission and Objectives

The mission of the AARO can be boiled down to synchronizing government efforts to detect, identify, attribute, and analyze unidentified objects of interest in a standardized way, and mitigate any possible threats. Additionally, synchronizing scientific, intelligence, and operational detection pursues the goal of minimizing technical and intelligence surprise. [source]

The AARO also has as an objective the provision of real-time situational awareness to senior military leaders, policy decision-makers, and congress. The AARO aims to enhance collaboration between different military and federal agencies to develop ways to better understand UAPs and other objects of interest. To enhance their analysis, the AARO works together with other agencies, employing diverse sources of intelligence tradecraft: geospatial intelligence, (GEOINT), signals intelligence (SIGINT), measurements and signatures intelligence (MASINT), and human intelligence (HUMINT). [source, source]

To collect data, AARO gathers information mainly from eyewitnesses and video footage. Congress gave it the authority to access all UAP-related information dating back until 1945, including any classified national security information involving military, intelligence, and intelligence-related activities, at all levels of classification regardless of any restrictive access controls, special access programs, or compartmented access programs. AARO’s website allows current and former government employees to securely report information about UAP-related government programs and UAP activity. The office can then get back to the write-in for additional information or to invite the person into a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF) for an interview. [source, source]

Pentagon building of the US Department of Defense.

According to the fiscal 2024 Consolidated Annual Report on UAPs, a total of 1,652 UAP reports were documented, with 757 received during the reporting period from 01 May 2023 to 01 June 2024. This includes 485 incidents occurring within the specified timeframe and 272 reports from earlier years (2021-2022). The majority of incidents (708) were reported in the air domain, while 49 were in space, and none were reported in maritime or transmedium domains.

Reporting trends indicate that unidentified lights and round/spherical/orb-shaped objects made up the bulk of cases with distinct visual characteristics. However, 22.4% of the reports contained insufficient or no information for distinct characterization. Additionally, there appears to be a  continued geographic collection bias based on locations near U.S. military assets and sensors, from where a significant portion of the reports come. That said, the AARO observed an increase 

in UAP reports between 01 May 2023 and 01 June 2024, particularly from civil and commercial aviation sources, highlighting an increased awareness of such phenomena.

The report of UAP incidents includes the examination of patterns that may suggest capabilities associated with foreign adversaries. At the same time, there are no verified indications that any potential adversarial foreign governments may have achieved a breakthrough capability. [source, source]

In a an open hearing on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) before the House Intelligence Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation Subcommittee, Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence Mr. Scott Bray shared this Navy image of a UAP captured during Naval Exercises off the East Coast of the United States in early 2022. The image was captured through night vision goggles and a single lens reflex camera. Based on additional information and data from other UAP sightings , the UAP in this image were subsequently reclassified as unmanned aerial systems.

4 Future Outlook

The AARO has been actively promoting transparency about its UAP findings, including the release of historical documents and guidance on UAP reporting for service members. This trend is likely to continue.

The office will continue to work on its data collection capabilities, including the development of sensors to collect such data. Recently, it deployed the GREMLIN sensor suite – a network of 2D and 3D radar, and long-range electro-optical and infrared telescopes – to a classified national security site to collect data for 90 days in order to establish a baseline for reference and reduce reporting bias. [source, source]

Beyond technical capabilities, AARO will intensify its collaboration with US allies to gather more data for its analysis.

4.1 Whistleblower claims

Whistleblower claims have gained  attention in relation to AARO’s investigations. A prominent testimony came from David Grusch, a former intelligence officer who has alleged that the US government has recovered “non-human” materials and biological entities from crash sites. Grusch claimed that this has been kept secret from Congress and the public. [source]

During a congressional hearing, Grusch stated that he had provided information regarding a covert program focused on retrieving and reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology. In his view, he was concerned for his safety out of the fear of retaliation after his statements.

This did lead to some debate about AARO’s ability to address allegations made by whistleblowers. [source]

Despite multiple invitations from AARO for Grusch to share his insights in a SCIF, he refused to participate, mentioning various security concerns. While it raises questions about the office’s ability to engage with whistleblowers, the lack of evidence for his claims and his reluctance to engage with the AAEO make it difficult to assess the credibility of his narrative. [source]

5 Conclusion

Given its relatively recent establishment, the AARO highlights the US government’s heightened need to better understand UAPs and other unidentified objects. The lack of such understanding could severely impact US national security and put its forces at risk in case of a conflict. As an office within the DOD, AARO’s mission is hence one primarily of military nature. Its authority and efforts to centralize and synchronize anomalies across multiple sources and agencies allow it to contribute to better preparing the US for multi-domain operations. 

Given the increasing number of yearly reports, AARO’s role in the military is likely to gain weight. While it has not (officially) found evidence for extraterrestrial life, its transparency efforts could potentially increase public understanding of unidentified objects and anomalies.

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