US Defense Department sees increase in reports of unidentified objects

From May 1, 2023, to June 1, 2024, the US Department of Defense’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) received 757 unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) reports. 

UAP are any objects in air, sea or space that defies scientific explanation. 

The Defense Department uses the term UAP to describe unidentified phenomena. The US Air Force began using the term unidentified flying objects, or UFO, in 1952. In 2022, the Department more frequently began to use UAP, which then stood for unidentified aerial phenomena. However, that term didn’t include underwater objects so the new term with the same acronym now stands for unidentified anomalous phenomena. 

Of the reports received during May 1, 2023 and June 1, 2024, 485 featured UAP incidents that occurred during the reporting period. The remaining 272 reports featured UAP incidents that occurred between 2021 and 2022 but were not reported to AARO until this reporting period and consequently were not included in previous annual UAP reports.

In 2023, an Office of the Director of National Intelligence assessment said there were 510 UAP reports as of 30 August 2022, which covered 17 years’ of reporting. The increase is attributed to increased data collection since the establishment of AARO in 2022 and its efforts to reduce the stigma in reporting sightings.

AARO has resolved hundreds of cases in its holdings to commonplace objects such as balloons, birds, drones, satellites and aircraft. A very small percentage of reports to AARO are potentially anomalous. 

The Office continues to see a density of UAP reports near US military assets and sensors. However, this density has been reduced somewhat by an increase in commercial pilot reporting in the continental United States.

AARO director Jon Kosloski said the Office has discovered “no verifiable evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity or technology” and that “none of the cases resolved by AARO [has] pointed to advanced capabilities or breakthrough technologies”. 

Over 900 reports lack sufficient scientific data for analysis and are retained in an active archive. These cases may be reopened and resolved should additional information emerge to support analysis. 

“Unidentified objects in any domain pose potential threats to safety and security. Reports of UAP, particularly near national security sites, must be treated seriously and investigated with scientific rigour by the U.S. government,” Kosloski said. 

AARO is working to expand UAP reporting to more of the interagencies, like the Federal Aviation Administration. AARO also intends to speed up the declassification process of UAP reports and is hiring more declassification experts.