UNCLASSIFIED

ALL-DOMAIN ANOMALY RESOLUTION OFFICE

The US Department of Defense &

the UAP Mission
Seán Kirkpatrick, Ph.D.
Director, AARO

US Department of Defense

Cleared for UNCLASSIFIED

 A L L - D O M A I N A N O M A LY R E S O LU T I O N O F F I C E

UAP Reporting Trends

1996-2023
REPORTED-UAP ALTITUDES TYPICALLY-REPORTED UAP CHARACTERISTICS REPORTED UAP-MORPHOLOGY
100K Weather Balloons
Round,
Morphology
Atypical Orientation Orb, Round,

Appearance
Vector, 0%
60K 0.9% Sphere, 47%
Size 1-4 meters TicTac, 1%
Polygon, 1%
55K 0.0% Square, 1%
Color White, Silver, Translucent Rectangle, 1%
Ambiguous
50K 0.2% Sensor Contact,
Triangle, 2%
19%
10K – 30K feet

Performance
45K 0.5% Altitude Disk, 2%
Cylinder, 2%
40K 1.1% Velocity Stationary to Mach 2 Oval, 3% Other, 7%
Commercial Air Traffic
35K 4.1%
Propulsion No thermal exhaust detected Lights, 16%

30K 6.8%
Radar Intermittent, X-Band (8-12 GHz) REPORTED-UAP HOTSPOTS
Signatures

25K 21.2%

20K 30.3% Radio 1-3 GHz, 8-12 GHz

15K 14.6% Intermittent, Shortwave Infrared,
Thermal
Medium-Wave Infrared
10K 9.8%

5K 10.5%
Mt Everest

2
 UN
ACT RESOL
Middle East, 2022: MQ-9 observed apparent I VE V
-AR ED,
CHI
spherical UAP via electro-optical sensors VE

CHARACTERISTICS
CHARACTERISTICS PERFORMANCE
PERFORMANCE SIGNATURES
SIGNATURES BEHAVIOR
BEHAVIOR EFFECTS

¾UAP characteristics and behavior consistent with

other “metallic orb” observations in the region
¾No demonstration of enigmatic technical
capabilities and no apparent threat to airborne-
asset safety

¾Case in “active archive,” pending discovery of

additional data
¾AARO uses active-archive cases for trend and
statistical analyses

3
Middle East UAP, unresolved (U)
 RES
OLV
Western United States: P-3 on training mission observed E D
several equidistant UAP that it was unable to intercept

CHARACTERISTICS PERFORMANCE SIGNATURES BEHAVIOR EFFECTS

¾Three UAP objects observed, apparently flying at

high velocity
¾Observing craft pursued but was unable to
intercept
¾Analyses of object geospatial positioning conclude
the objects were significantly farther from the
observer than originally estimated
¾Apparent morphology changes result of sensor
autofocus
¾Analyses of air-traffic control data suggest objects
likely commercial aircraft transiting known flight
paths to/from major airports in the region
¾Analyses being validated by AARO’s scientific
partners

4
Western-US UAP, likely commercial airliners and video autofocus effect (U)
AARO S&T Research
¾Assessing existing sensors against typical UAP object
․ Commercial
․ Civil
․ CHARACTERISTICS
NASA PERFORMANCE SIGNATURES BEHAVIOR EFFECTS Sensor Calibration (illustrative)
¾Augment with dedicated sensors for typical UAP object
¾Partnerships with Academia Naturally
․ Exploring signatures to match data Occurring Balloons Drones Projectiles
․ Statistical analytic techniques Object
․ AI/ML analytic techniques
¾Partnerships with labs to explore SOA fundamental physics of X X X

EO
UAP observations, both current and historical reporting
¾Interagency and Allied partnerships for calibration of U.S. and
Allied capabilities X X X

IR
¾Pattern of life analysis provides location prioritization for new
collection

Radar
X X

5
Recommendations for NASA
Expanding NASA/AARO relationship with the new, imbedded NASA Science Advisor
¾ Unclassified crowd-sourced data
following a prescribed format. Imagery
from smartphones is of limited value
given the resolution of the cameras,
but NASA could take lead on
evaluation crowd-sourced metadata.
¾ Large scale, ground based scientific
instrument evaluation. NASA could
examine the efficacy of using large
scale scientific instruments used in such
areas as radio science, radiological
detection, gravimetric, and
geomagnetic measurements for UAP
detection. What are the theoretical
limits of detection for objects similar to
the parameterized UAP target package
provided by AARO?
6
¾ Earth sciences satellites. All NASA &
NOAA earth sensing satellites and data
should be reviewed relative to the
parameterized UAP target. NASA could
lead a M&S effort, developing
representative models of UAP, and then
evaluating detection capability.
¾ Intentional vice coincidental collection.
NASA/NOAA can explore techniques
to integrate tip and cue collection
capabilities across the scientific
architecture (overhead & ground
based) for turning on additional
collection.
¾ Peer reviewed parameterization of
advanced capabilities not yet
engineered. NASA could lead the
elevation of the scientific discourse on
what potential form of advanced flight
and propulsion capabilities would take
on Earth and what signatures would be
presented.
¾ Archived scientific anomalous data
review. NASA could review astronomical
and atmospheric data holdings against
the parameterized UAP target package
to look for anomalous signatures
¾ Distribution of sightings. NASA could
review unclassified observations of
alleged UAP and generate an analogue
map to AARO’s classified distribution
map.
¾ Foreign partnerships. NASA could begin
to build a robust scientific community of
interest to review data, conduct analysis,
and determine the value of unclassified
data sources.
Seán Kirkpatrick, Ph.D.
Director, AARO