AARO's First SASC Briefing, April 2023

Brief

The five-page slide deck, cleared for open publication April 17, 2023, represents AARO's first formal public statistical baseline on UAP morphology (1996-2023), with orb/round/sphere shapes comprising 52% of reports and typical objects measuring 1-4 meters at 10,000-30,000 feet with no detected thermal exhaust. The centerpiece is a 2022 Middle East case in which an MQ-9 Reaper's electro-optical sensors recorded a spherical metallic orb whose characteristics matched a regional pattern; the case remains unresolved in AARO's active archive. A second 2023 South Asia case, also MQ-9-sourced, is assessed as likely a commercial airliner, with its anomalous apparent wake attributed to a video-compression algorithm artifact. No enigmatic technical capabilities were demonstrated in either case.

Metadata

Agency

All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), U.S. Department of Defense

Release

2023-04-19

Type

PDF • .pdf

Length

5 pages

Classification

UNCLASSIFIED

Programs

AARO

Tags

metallic orb, spherical UAP, MQ-9 Reaper, electro-optical, Middle East, 2022, South Asia, 2023, AARO, active archive, video-compression artifact, infrared, X-Band radar

Key points

• Orb, round, or sphere morphology accounts for 52% of UAP reports in the 1996-2023 dataset, the single largest reported shape category.p.2
• Typical UAP characteristics baseline: 1-4 meters, white/silver/translucent, 10,000-30,000 feet altitude, stationary to Mach 2 velocity, no thermal exhaust detected.p.2
• Radar signature described as intermittent, X-Band (8-12 GHz); radio signatures 1-3 GHz and 8-12 GHz; thermal signatures intermittent shortwave and medium-wave infrared.p.2
• Middle East 2022: MQ-9 electro-optical sensors recorded a spherical UAP consistent with other 'metallic orb' observations in the region; case is unresolved and held in active archive.p.3
• AARO uses active-archive unresolved cases as inputs for trend and statistical analyses rather than closing them.p.3
• The Middle East orb showed no demonstration of enigmatic technical capabilities and posed no apparent threat to airborne-asset safety.p.3
• South Asia 2023: the apparent anomalous trail behind the UAP is assessed as cavitation-like and, more specifically, as a video-compression algorithm artifact, not a physical phenomenon.p.4
• South Asia object morphology and traffic-control data analysis suggest a commercial aircraft on known flight paths; analytic findings are pending peer review by mission partners.p.4

Verbatim

• UAP characteristics and behavior consistent with other "metallic orb" observations in the region

  p.3

• AARO uses active-archive cases for trend and statistical analyses

  p.3

• The "trail" appears to be cavitation, similar to those caused during propulsion

  p.4

• Visible trail is a camera-software artifact

  p.4

• Video-compression algorithms overlay captured image on previous frame and resolve differences in the gray, infrared gradient

  p.4

• Analyses of the morphology and traffic-control data suggest the object is commercial aircraft transiting known flight paths

  p.4

Most interesting

• Vector-shaped UAP account for 23% of reports, second only to orbs, suggesting a significant subset of sightings may involve conventional aircraft seen edge-on or at odd aspect angles.
• The 1996-2023 reporting trend chart spans nearly three decades, predating the 2017 public UAP disclosure moment, meaning AARO had access to legacy data well before the office formally existed.
• Both featured cases use the same platform, MQ-9 Reaper drone, suggesting the aircraft is a primary source of UAP sensor data in theater operations.
• The South Asia case is a rare public demonstration of a UAP sighting being actively debunked in a congressional briefing, with the technical mechanism (video-compression frame-overlay) spelled out explicitly.
• The metallic orb case is designated 'UNRESOLVED, IN ACTIVE-ARCHIVE' rather than 'closed' or 'unexplained,' reflecting AARO's formal taxonomy distinguishing ongoing data collection from definitive conclusions.
• No thermal exhaust is detected on typical UAPs despite velocity ranges reaching Mach 2, a signature gap that distinguishes them from known propulsion systems.
• The briefing was cleared for open publication two days before the April 19 testimony, indicating the declassification decision was made in tight coordination with the hearing schedule.