Editing All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (section)

==History==
{{See also|Unidentified flying object#20th century and after|Investigation of UFO reports by the United States government}}

=== AATIP (2007–2012) ===
In 2007, the [[United States Defense Intelligence Agency]] set up an unclassified but low-profile program titled the [[Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program]] (AATIP). This was in response to several reports of unidentified craft identified by the US military. The program was closed in 2012, following its cessation of funding, and the Navy and Intelligence Services continued its work.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=McVittie |first=Chris |date=January 2023 |title="I don't mean extradimensional in a woo-woo sense": Doing non-explanation in discussions of unidentified aerial phenomena |journal=Language & Communication |volume=88 |pages=90–98 |doi=10.1016/j.langcom.2022.11.005 |s2cid=254332899 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

===UAPTF (2017–2022)===
In December 2017, the [[United States Department of Defense]] confirmed the existence of a defense program used to collect data on military [[UFO]] sightings,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Knuth |first=KH |date=September 25, 2019 |title=Estimating Flight Characteristics of Anomalous Unidentified Aerial Vehicles. |journal=Entropy |volume=21 |issue=10 |pages=939|doi=10.3390/e21100939 |pmc=7514271 |doi-access=free }}</ref> despite the disbandment of the [[Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program]] in 2012. Like its predecessor program, the UAP Task Force is managed by the [[Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence]] in collaboration with the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]].

After the June 2020 Senate hearing, Senator [[Marco Rubio]] requested the release of video footage of [[Unidentified flying object|unexplained aerial vehicles]] collected by the [[United States Navy]], including the [[Pentagon UFO videos]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Senators want public to see Pentagon UFO reports, citing "inconsistent" information sharing|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ufo-pentagon-reports-senators-want-regulate/|access-date=July 23, 2020|website=www.cbsnews.com|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Senate Intelligence Committee Confirms the US Navy Has a UFO Task Force|url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/jgx573/senate-intelligence-committee-confirms-the-us-navy-has-a-ufo-task-force|access-date=July 23, 2020|website=www.vice.com|language=en}}</ref>

On June 24, 2020, the [[United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence|Intelligence Committee]] voted to require [[United States Intelligence Community]] and the [[United States Department of Defense]] to publicly track and analyze data collected on unexplained aerial vehicles.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Williams|first=Erika|date=June 24, 2020|title=Senate Panel Votes to Let Public Access UFO Records|url=http://www.courthousenews.com/senate-panel-votes-to-let-public-access-ufo-records/|access-date=July 23, 2020|language=en-US}}</ref> A report from the task force will be issued to the Intelligence Committee 180 days after the passage of the intelligence authorization act.<ref>{{cite news |last=Spocchia|first=Gino|title=Pentagon UFO unit to publicly release some findings after ex-official says 'off-world vehicle' found|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/ufo-pentagon-statement-findings-vehicle-research-a9636481.html|date=June 24, 2020|work=[[The Independent]] |access-date=July 2, 2020}}</ref><ref name="Blumenthal">{{cite news |last=Blumenthal |first=Ralph |title=No longer in the shadows, Pentagon's UFO unit will make some findings public|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/ct-nw-nyt-pentagon-ufo-unit-20200723-b3akzzy44zdgxc3bmhgko6nkgm-story.html|date=July 23, 2020|work=[[The New York Times]]/[[The Baltimore Sun]] |access-date=July 23, 2020}}</ref>

The program was officially approved on August 4, 2020, by the [[Deputy Secretary of Defense]] [[David Norquist]] and announced on August 14, 2020. "The mission of the task force is to detect, analyze and catalog UAPs that could potentially pose a threat to U.S. national security."

Brennan McKernan was the director of the UAPTF.<ref>{{cite news |title='We've got to get an answer': UFOs catch Congress' interest |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/23/ufos-catch-congress-interest-lawmakers-495778 |work=POLITICO |language=en}}</ref>

===AARO (2022–present) ===
{{anchor|AOIMSG}}{{UnitedStatesCode|50|3373}} ([[National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022|NDAA 2022]] and [[James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023|NDAA 2023]]) directs the Secretary and DNI to establish an office to carry out the duties of the UAPTF.

The successor to the UAPTF was established on November 23, 2021, as the [[Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group]] (AOIMSG).<ref name= aiomsg>[[Kathleen Hicks]] [https://media.defense.gov/2021/Nov/23/2002898596/-1/-1/0/ESTABLISHMENT-OF-THE-AIRBORNE-OBJECT-IDENTIFICATION-AND-MANAGEMENT-SYNCHRONIZATION-GROUP.PDF (23 November 2021) Establishment of the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group]</ref> Oversight and direction of the AOIMSG was to be an Executive Council, formerly the Airborne Object Identification and Management Executive Council (AOIMEXEC). The AOIMEXEC was to be co-chaired by the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security ([[Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence|USD(I&S)]]) and the Director of Operations, [[Joint Staff]], and was to designate an acting director for the AOIMSG.<ref name= aiomsg/> In July 2022, DoD announced the successors to AOIMSG and AOIMEXEC to be AARO and AAROEXEC, respectively. AARO is the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office. The UAPTF is disestablished, with its resources transferred to AARO.<ref name= aiomsg/> {{UnitedStatesCode|50|3373a}} ([[Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022|IAA 2022]]) requires quarterly [[classified information|classified]] reporting to Congress beginning no later than June 2022.<ref name= wallai >Wallai tech [https://www.jpost.com/omg/article-735664 (28 Mar 2023) Could aliens be investigating us? It's more likely than you think] Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, Avi Loeb report 7 Mar 2023 "aliens likely want to explore rocky planets with liquid water"</ref>

On August 30, 2023, the AARO's public website was launched, without an email address or phone number for military and civilian UAP reports, as previously mandated by NDAA legislation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thedebrief.org/the-all-domain-anomaly-resolution-office-has-finally-launched-its-official-website-heres-whats-missing|title=The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office Has Finally Launched Its Official Website. Here’s What’s Missing.|work=The Debrief.|access-date=31 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-08-10 |title=UFO reporting hotline is MIA |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/10/pentagon-ufo-reporting-00110566 |access-date=2023-08-16 |website=POLITICO |language=en}}</ref>

On November 7, 2023, it was reported that [[Sean M. Kirkpatrick]] will step down as director of AARO effective December 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Seligman |first=Lara |date=2023-11-07 |title=Pentagon UFO boss to step down next month |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/07/pentagon-ufo-boss-00125883 |access-date=2023-11-08 |website=POLITICO |language=en}}</ref> Timothy A. Phillips, on assignment from the [[Office of the Director of National Intelligence]], is the Deputy Director.<ref name= timothyPhillips >US DoD announcement [https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3583493/department-of-defense-announces-the-deputy-director-all-domain-anomaly-resoluti/ (8 Nov 2023) Department of Defense Announces the Deputy Director, All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office]</ref> Sean Kirkpatrick left the position of AARO Director on 1 December 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vincent |first=Brandi |date=2023-11-30 |title=Pentagon's UAP investigation chief to depart Dec. 1 |url=https://defensescoop.com/2023/11/30/pentagons-uap-investigation-chief-to-depart-dec-1/ |access-date=2023-12-01 |website=DefenseScoop |language=en-US}}</ref>

On August 26, 2024, Jon T. Kosloski was named the director of AARO, replacing acting director Timothy Phillips.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Department of Defense Announces the New Director, All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office |url=https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3884318/department-of-defense-announces-the-new-director-all-domain-anomaly-resolution/ |access-date=2024-08-29 |website=U.S. Department of Defense |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Dr. Jon T. Kosloski |url=https://www.defense.gov/About/Biographies/Biography/Article/3884328/dr-jon-t-kosloski/ |access-date=2024-08-29 |website=U.S. Department of Defense |language=en-US}}</ref>

==== 2024 AARO report ====
[[File:AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1 2024.pdf|thumb|250px|Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) Volume 1]]
On March 6, 2024, the DOD cleared for publication the AARO "Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) Volume 1", which according to the Washington Post, "covered all official U.S. investigatory efforts from 1945 to the present and examined classified and unclassified government archives."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Harris |first1=Shane |last2=Lamothe |first2=Dan |title=Pentagon report finds no evidence of alien visits, hidden spacecraft |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240309014004/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/03/08/no-ufo-aliens-pentagon-report/ |website=The Washington Post |access-date=9 March 2024}}</ref>  

The report noted a “proliferation of television programmes, books, movies, and the vast amount of internet and social media content centred on UAP-related topics“ but concluded that official investigations had not found any empirical evidence that reported sightings represented “off--world technology” or any classified program that had not been reported to Congress, hidden alien technology or extraterrestrial artifacts.<ref name="Barnes">{{cite web |last1=Barnes |first1=Julian |title=Pentagon Review Finds No Evidence of Alien Cover-Up |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/08/us/politics/pentagon-ufo-alien-review.html?unlocked_article_code=1.bU0.70yG.kYdcqyjW8N6m&smid=url-share |website=nytimes.com |publisher=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=9 March 2024}}</ref><ref name="Wendling">{{cite web |last1=Wendling |first1=Mike |title=US says UFO sightings likely secret military tests |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68515515 |website=bbc.com |access-date=9 March 2024}}</ref>

The report detailed 20th-century UAP investigations, including Projects Saucer, [[Project Sign|Sign]], [[Project Grudge|Grudge]], Twinkle, and [[Project Blue Book|Blue Book]]; more recent investigations included [[AAWSAP]], [[AATIP]], UAPTF, and AARO itself.<ref>Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), pp 13-25</ref>  The report revealed for the first time that elements within the US government had proposed to create a Special Access Program under the Department of Homeland Security, to be named "Kona Blue", to reverse engineer any extraterrestrial craft that came into its possession.  Advocates of the proposal "were convinced that the U.S. government was hiding UAP technologies", but DHS leaders rejected the proposal as "without merit";  AARO's report similarly rejected the claims of Kona Blue's advocates.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Seligman |first1=Lara |last2=Hudson |first2=Lee |title=US once considered a program to reverse-engineer alien spacecraft, Pentagon report reveals |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/08/us-alien-spacecraft-program-pentagon-report-00146013 |access-date=9 March 2024 |work=Politico |date=8 March 2024}}</ref>