FOIA release DF-2021-00275: Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

(U) EXPLAINING UAP WILL REQUIRE ANALYTIC, COLLECTION
AND RESOURCE INVESTMENT
(U) Standardize the Reporting, Consolidate the Data, and Deepen the Analysis
(U) In line with the provisions of Senate Report 116-233, accompanying the IAA for FY 2021,
the UAPTF’s long-term goal is to widen the scope of its work to include additional UAP events
documented by a broader swath of USG personnel and technical systems in its analysis. As the
dataset increases, the UAPTF’s ability to employ data analytics to detect trends will also
improve. The initial focus will be to employ artificial intelligence/machine-learning algorithms
to cluster and recognize similarities and patterns in features of the data points. As the database
accumulates information from known aerial objects such as weather balloons, high-altitude or
super-pressure balloons, and wildlife, machine-learning can add efficiency by pre-assessing UAP
reports to see if those records match similar events already in the database.
 (U) The UAPTF has started developing interagency analytical and processing
workflows to ensure both collection and analysis will be well informed and
coordinated.
Given the
the UAPTF also plans to explore how best to leverage the capabilities of
non-DoD departments and agencies to enable effective and efficient transfer of data
and among the DoD, and the
law enforcement community.
(U) The majority of UAP data is from U.S. Navy reporting, but efforts are underway to
standardize incident reporting across U.S. military services and other government agencies to
ensure all relevant data are captured with respect to particular incidents and any U.S. activities
that might be relevant. The UAPTF is currently working to acquire additional reporting,
including from the U.S. Air Force (USAF), and has begun receiving data from the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA).
 (U) Although USAF data collection has been limited historically, the USAF began a
6-month pilot program in November 2020 to collect in the most likely areas to
encounter UAP and is evaluating how to normalize future collection, reporting and
analysis across the entire Air Force.
 (U) The FAA captures data related to UAP during the normal course of managing air
traffic operations. The FAA generally ingests this data when pilots and other airspace
users report unusual or unexpected events to the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization. .
 (U) In addition, the FAA continuously monitors its systems for anomalies, generating
additional information that may be of use to the UAPTF. The FAA is able to isolate
data of interest to the UAPTF and has a robust and effective outreach program that
can help the UAPTF reach members of the aviation community to highlight them the
importance of reporting UAP.(b)(1)(b)(3)(b)(3)(b)(3)(b)(3)(b)(1)(b)(3)(b)(1)(b)(3)Approved for release by ODNI on 03-24-2022, FOIA case DF-2021-00275Approved for release by ODNI on 03-24-2022, FOIA case DF-2021-00275