The U.S. Department of Defense has created a new hub for the public to view any declassified information the military has on UFOs, or unidentified anomalous phenomena as the DoD prefers to call them. The new site, aaro.mil, launched on Thursday, serving as a repository of cases resolved by the Pentagon’s All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office.
The Pentagon referred to the new site a “one-stop shop for all publicly available information related to AARO and UAP.”
“This website will provide information, including photos and videos, on resolved UAP cases as they are declassified and approved for public release,” the Department of Defense said in a release. “The website’s other content includes reporting trends and a frequently asked questions section as well as links to official reports, transcripts, press releases, and other resources that the public may find useful, such as applicable statutes and aircraft, balloon and satellite tracking sites.”
Subscribe to Task & Purpose Today. Get the latest military news and culture in your inbox daily.
The military has been gradually acknowledging the existence of UAPs — not pointing to any extraterrestrial element but acknowledging that pilots and other personnel have spotted phenomena they cannot identify. Earlier this year, AARO Director Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick said that the office is investigating hundreds of reported cases. Many have been resolved and found to be mundane situations. At the time Kirkpatrick noted that part of why so many of the cases are classified is because of how they were recorded — on military aircraft or sensors — and not because of what they showed. The resolved cases will be available to read or view on the new website.
“This website will provide information, including videos and photos, on resolved UAP cases as they’re declassified and approved for public release,” Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters on Thursday. “The website’s other content includes reporting trends and frequently-asked-questions section, as well as links to official reports, transcripts, press releases and other resources that the public may find useful. The department is committed to transparency with the American people on AARO’s work on UAPs.”
Service members and civilian Department of Defense employees with findings will be able to submit their reports to the AARO via the site in the “relatively near future,” Ryder said. As for civilians, they currently can’t, although the Pentagon has not ruled out adding that feature in the future.
The All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office was set up in July 2022, the successor organization to the Department of the Navy’s previous office investigating UAPs. Kirkpatrick is set to give an update to Congress on the office’s findings “relatively soon,” Ryder said.
The latest on Task & Purpose
- Navy destroyer USS Howard’s commanding officer fired
- New ship named after legendary Navy SEAL and Alaska Native
- Women in special operations say bias, double standards are daily realities
- Families of Marines killed in Osprey crash push for more answers
- Two service members arrested after fatal stabbing in Germany