ODNI's First Statutory Annual UAP Report, 2022

Brief

As mandated by Section 1683 of the FY 2022 NDAA, ODNI and the newly established All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) jointly report 510 cumulative UAP cases, 144 from the 2021 preliminary assessment plus 366 additional. Of those 366, initial multi-agency characterization flagged 163 as balloon-like, 26 as UAS-like, and 6 as clutter, leaving 171 uncharacterized cases that include some exhibiting unusual flight characteristics. AARO, stood up 20 July 2022 as successor to the UAPTF, holds whole-of-government authority spanning DoD, the IC, FAA, NASA, NOAA, and allied partners. No U.S. aircraft collisions with UAP and no confirmed adverse health effects on observers have been recorded to date.

Metadata

Agency

Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) / DoD

Release

2022-10-31

Type

PDF • .pdf

Length

12 pages

Classification

UNCLASSIFIED

Programs

AARO, UAPTF, NIM-Aviation

Tags

balloon-like, UAS-like, transmedium, restricted airspace, unusual flight characteristics, AARO, UAPTF, 2022, multi-domain

Key points

• Total UAP reports catalogued as of 30 August 2022 reached 510: 144 from the 2021 preliminary assessment, 247 new reports, and 119 backfilled reports from before the March 2021 cutoff.p.3
• Of 366 newly identified reports, 163 were characterized as balloon or balloon-like, 26 as UAS or UAS-like, and 6 as clutter; 171 remain uncharacterized and unattributed.p.6
• AARO was formally established on 20 July 2022 as the UAPTF's successor, with authority to coordinate UAP efforts across DoD, the IC, and non-IC agencies including FAA, NASA, NOAA, DHS, and DOE.p.5
• Increased reporting rate is attributed to reduced stigma and greater awareness of UAP as a potential flight-safety hazard or adversary collection platform.p.3
• UAP events continue to concentrate in restricted or sensitive airspace, consistent with a collection bias from higher sensor and aircraft density in those zones.p.3
• Some uncharacterized UAP appear to have demonstrated unusual flight characteristics or performance capabilities requiring further analysis.p.6
• No reported collisions between U.S. aircraft and UAP; no encounters confirmed to produce adverse health effects in observers.p.7
• The FY 2022 NDAA expanded the UAP definition to include air, sea, and transmedium objects, not just airborne phenomena.p.4
• The report was compiled with input from 18 agencies and offices including DIA, FBI, NRO, NGA, NSA, FAA, NASA, NOAA, and DOE.p.4
• AARO is required to produce quarterly reports with greater analytical detail for policymakers, separate from this annual statutory report.p.4

Verbatim

• AARO and ODNI assess that the observed increase in the UAP reporting rate is partially due to a better understanding of the possible threats that UAP may represent, either as safety of flight hazards or as potential adversary collection platforms, and partially due to reduced stigma surrounding UAP reporting.

  p.3

• UAP events continue to occur in restricted or sensitive airspace, highlighting possible concerns for safety of flight or adversary collection activity.

  p.3

• AARO was established as the UAPTF's successor entity on 20 July 2022.

  p.5

• Some of these uncharacterized UAP appear to have demonstrated unusual flight characteristics or performance capabilities, and require further analysis.

  p.6

• The majority of new UAP reporting originates from U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force aviators and operators who witnessed UAP during the course of their operational duties and reported the events to the UAPTF or AARO through official channels.

  p.6

• To date, there have been no reported collisions between U.S. aircraft and UAP.

  p.7

• there have also been no encounters with UAP confirmed to contribute directly to adverse health-related effects to the observer(s).

  p.7

• Transmedium Objects or Devices: Objects or devices that are observed to transition between space and the atmosphere, or between the atmosphere and bodies of water, that are not immediately identifiable.

  p.12

Most interesting

• The 247 new reports filed in roughly 17 months following the 2021 preliminary assessment already outnumber the 144 reports accumulated across the preceding 17 years, a near order-of-magnitude acceleration in reporting rate.
• The report formally defines 'Range Fouler' as a distinct UAP subcategory. Navy aviator terminology for UAP that interrupt pre-planned military training in restricted airspace.
• NDAA reporting requirements (Appendix A) explicitly mandate tracking UAP near nuclear assets: strategic nuclear weapons, nuclear-powered ships and submarines, nuclear fuel storage, and Nuclear Regulatory Commission-regulated facilities.
• AARO's whole-of-government mandate is unusually broad, explicitly listing foreign allies and partners alongside domestic agencies as coordination targets.
• The glossary distinguishes between a UAP 'event' (the full occurrence), a UAP 'incident' (a specific part of the event), and a UAP 'report' (the formal documentation with chain of custody), precision that implies prior reporting had conflated these categories.