Was a review for UAP records conducted?

• Yes. A review was conducted and records were found.

Will UAP records be transferred to NARA?

• Yes.

Will there be records withheld from public release?

Unidentified flying object (commonly abbreviated as UFO or U.F.O.) is the popular term for any apparent aerial phenomenon whose cause cannot be easily or immediately identified by the observer. The United States Air Force, which coined the term in 1952, initially defined UFOs as those objects that remain unidentified after scrutiny by expert investigators, though today the term UFO is colloquially used to refer to any unidentifiable sighting regardless of whether it has been investigated. UFO reports increased precipitously after the first widely publicized U.S. sighting, reported by private pilot Kenneth Arnold in June 24 1947, that gave rise to the popular terms “flying saucer” and “flying disc.” The term UFO is popularly taken as a synonym for alien spacecraft and generally most discussions of UFOs revolve around this presumption. UFO enthusiasts and devotees have created organizations, religious cults have adopted extraterrestrial themes, and in general the UFO concept has evolved into a prominent mythos in modern culture. Some investigators now prefer to use the broader term unidentified aerial phenomenon (or UAP), to avoid the confusion and speculative associations that have become attached to UFO. Another widely known acronym for UFO in Spanish, French, Portuguese and Italian is OVNI (Objeto Volador No Identificado, with variant regional spellings).

From 1947 to 1969, the Air Force investigated Unidentified Flying Objects under Project Blue Book. The project, headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, was terminated Dec. 17, 1969. Of a total of 12,618 sightings reported to Project Blue Book, 701 remained “unidentified.”

The decision to discontinue UFO investigations was based on an evaluation of a report prepared by the University of Colorado entitled, “Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects;” a review of the University of Colorado’s report by the National Academy of Sciences; previous UFO studies and Air Force experience investigating UFO reports during 1940 to 1969.

As a result of these investigations, studies and experience gained from investigating UFO reports since 1948, the conclusions of Project Blue Book were:

No UFO reported, investigated and evaluated by the Air Force was ever an indication of threat to our national security;

There was no evidence submitted to or discovered by the Air Force that sightings categorized as “unidentified” represented technological developments or principles beyond the range of modern scientific knowledge; and

There was no evidence indicating that sightings categorized as “unidentified” were extraterrestrial vehicles.

With the termination of Project Blue Book, the Air Force regulation establishing and controlling the program for investigating and analyzing UFOs was rescinded. Documentation regarding the former Blue Book investigation was permanently transferred to the Modern Military Branch, National Archives and Records Service, and is available for public review and analysis.

Since the termination of Project Blue Book, nothing has occurred that would support a resumption of UFO investigations by the Air Force. Given the current environment of steadily decreasing defense budgets, it is unlikely the Air Force would become involved in such a costly project in the foreseeable future.

There are a number of universities and professional scientific organizations that have considered UFO phenomena during periodic meetings and seminars. A list of private organizations interested in aerial phenomena may be found in “Encyclopedia of Associations,” published by Gale Research. Interest in and timely review of UFO reports by private groups ensures that sound evidence is not overlooked by the scientific community. Persons wishing to report UFO sightings should be advised to contact local law enforcement agencies.

Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) and Air Force Project Blue Book

From June 1947 through December 1969 the Air Force was primarily responsible for investigating unidentified flying object (UFO) phenomena. Investigations were conducted by the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio until Dec. 17, 1969.

All records of these investigations (known as Project Sign, 1947-1949, Project Grudge, 1949-1952, and Project Blue Book, 1952-1969, were retired to the National Archives and Records Administration and are available to the public on archives microfilm publication T1206 (94 rolls of 35 mm film).

You might also wish to read The Roswell Report: Fact Vs. Fiction in the New Mexico Desert, by Richard L. Weaver and James McAndrew, which was published by the Headquarters United States Air Force through the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington D.C. in 1995.

If you are interested in a UFO incident after 1969 that you think involved the Air Force, you will have to identify the unit or organization involved and direct your inquiry to the appropriate records manager for that unit.

In December 1952 and Janaury 1953, U.S. Air Force pilots from Misawa Air Base intercepted unidentified flying objects. The Misawa Wing Spread, the base newspaper, carried a story about the intercepts on January 23, 1953.

This report represents a joint effort by Col. Richard L. Weaver and 1st Lt. James McAndrew to address the request made by Representative Steven H. Schiff (R-NM) for information regarding an alleged crash of an unidentified flying object (UFO) that occurred in the state in 1947. This publication duplicates the information provided to the Secretary of the Air Force and to the General Accounting Office (GAO). It was written as a result of Colonel Weaver’s and Lieutenant McAndrew’s efforts to locate the records that explain the events of July 1947 leading to what is popularly known as the Roswell Incident. The only information presented here that was not in the report delivered to the Secretary of the Air Force and the GAO is the photograph section. It appears after Colonel Weaver’s final attachment, at the very end of this book. The importance of attachment 32, Lieutenant McAndrew’s synopsis, derives from his description of Project MOGUL, the top-priority classified project of balloon-borne experiments, which provides the explanation for the “Roswell Incident.” Interest abounds surrounding the UFO wave of 1947 which began in the spring and did not dissipate until fall. Interest in UFOs climaxed during the summer, when multiple sightings of such objects occurred.

Dr. J. Allen Hynek worked with the U.S. Air Force, leading investigations of UFO sightings under Projects Sign and Blue Book. (The Hynek UFO Report book cover)

Shown is a report made on Oct. 12, 1949, at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., of an unidentified flying object, IAW OSI Letter No. 85. (OSI District Files; 17th District: Kirkland AFB, N.M.; OSI File Designation 24-185-17)

Shown are photographs taken in New Mexico by an Airman on Oct. 21, 1949, of an aerial phenomena and reported to OSI. (OSI District Files; 17th District: Kirkland Air Force Base, N.M.; OSI File Designation 24-185-17)

Reports 1-12 were monthly classified status reports of the Air Force’s investigations and findings related to UFO sightings, which were declassified in 1967. (U.S. Air Force Projects Grudge and Bluebook Reports 1-12; Published by NICAP 1968; Preface)

In 2022, the United States Africa Command submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of thirty-one seconds of video footage from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform.

The footage shows an apparent heat signature with characteristics consistent with those of a physical object. However, AARO cannot determine whether the observed signature originates from a physical source, either as a thermal emission or a thermal reflection, or other source, such as a heat differential in the environment or sensor display error. The available data is insufficient to evaluate the phenomenon’s performance characteristics.

In an open hearing on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena before the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 19, Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), shared a video that depicts an apparent silver, orb-like object cross the sensor’s field of view. This clip was taken by an MQ-9 in the Middle East, and while AARO assesses the object in the clip is not exhibiting anomalous behavior, the object remains unidentified. This video is a representative example of many of the cases AARO receives where there is limited data surrounding the observation. These cases are retained in AARO’s active archive pending the discovery of additional information/data that may lead to case resolution.

In a an open hearing on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) before the House Intelligence Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation Subcommittee on May 17, 2022, Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence Mr. Scott Bray shared this video from July of 2019 that captures multiple objects, initially identified as UAPs, harassing Navy ships participating in Naval Exercises off Sothern California. The video, taken by Sailors onboard one of the ships, was captured through night vision goggles and a single lens reflex camera. Based on additional information and data from other UAP sightings, the UAPs in this video were subsequently reclassified as unmanned aerial systems.

The House Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence and Counterproliferation hears testimony on unidentified aerial phenomena. Witnesses include Ronald S. Moultrie, undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, and Scott W. Bray, deputy director of Naval Intelligence.

In an open hearing on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena before the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 19, Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), shared videos depicting an unidentified object with an apparent atmospheric wake or cavitation trailing it as it moved across the sensor’s field of view from left to right. An MQ-9 forward-looking infrared video sensor captured this footage in South Asia as it was recording another MQ-9. After analysis of the full motion video, inclusion of additional footage with a longer focal length, and analysis of commercial flight data in the region, AARO assesses that the object likely is a commercial aircraft and that the trailing cavitation is a sensor artifact resultant of video compression. Case resolution is pending final review. This video is the additional footage with a longer focal length. The apparent back and forth motion is an artifact of the longer focal length and the sensor attempting to zoom in on the fast moving UAP, rather than the MQ-9.

In a public meeting of NASA’s Independent Study Team on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) on May 31, 2023, Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), shared a video depicting three unidentified objects recorded on infrared video in 2021 from a military range in the western United States. Analysis of the full motion video, combined with commercial flight data in the region, led AARO to assess that the objects were three separate commercial aircraft flying at a great distance from the infrared sensor. The radar tracks for commercial aircraft aligned with the objects, which were only seen as small dots due to their significant distance from the sensor.

In 2024, the United States Africa Command submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of one minute and eighteen seconds of video footage from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform.

AARO assesses, with high confidence, that the objects depicted in the video are almost certainly (≥95% likelihood) a group of migratory birds. AARO bases its assessment on the objects’ strong morphological consistency with other resolved imagery depicting birds and the objects’ flight behavior corresponding to known migration routes. An external Intelligence Community partner concurred with AARO’s assessment.

Satellite flaring is an optical phenomenon which occurs when sunlight reflects off a satellite’s surfaces, such as antennas or solar panels. This brief animation shows how the effects of satellite flaring can be misinterpreted as unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP).

This video shows a Systems Toolkit digital reconstruction of “The Puerto Rico Object” unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) event as seen from above. The reconstruction shows the aircraft’s flight path, an onboard infrared sensor’s look angle to the ground, and the objects’ assessed flight path. This reconstruction demonstrates that the objects traveled in a straight line at wind speed over land.

On April 26, 2013, an infrared sensor onboard a U.S. Customs and Border Protection aircraft captured footage of a UAP event over the Rafael Hernandez Airport near Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. AARO assesses with high confidence that the objects did not demonstrate anomalous speeds or flight behaviors.

The United States European Command submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of twenty-five seconds of video footage from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform in 2023. AARO assesses, with high confidence, that the objects depicted in the video are almost certainly (>95% likelihood) birds. AARO bases its assessment on the objects’ strong morphological consistency with other resolved imagery featuring birds and the objects’ behavioral characteristics strongly aligning with those of birds, e.g. maintaining relative positioning for energy conservation during flight, pulsating infrared return at a frequency consistent with wing beats.

The United States European Command submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of thirty seconds of video footage from a commercially available cellular device’s rear-facing digital camera in 2024. The video footage associated with this report is insufficient for AARO to render a determination on its subject matter. This unresolved report contributes to AARO’s historical and locational trend analyses.

The United States European Command submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of ten minutes and thirty seconds of video footage from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform in 2024. AARO assesses, with high confidence, that the footage depicts the presence of a physical object. The object’s morphological features, performance characteristics, and behaviors are unremarkable and do not warrant further analysis. AARO will continue to investigate this case should further information become available to enable a more conclusive attribution. This unresolved report contributes to AARO’s historical and locational trend analyses.