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Office of the Secretary of Defense: 015_2023_UAP_Mission_Backgrounder_Paper

Department of Defense. Office of the Secretary of Defense. · 2023 · 3 pages · text from the file's own layer

This backgrounder from the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) sets out the office's mission, its vision and how it is organized. It was released in full on 3/20/2025 under case number 330UAP000015. The paper defines UAP, explains why they matter for national security, and describes AARO's four functional groups, its partners and how it tells UAP apart from known objects. It says testimony from over two dozen individuals has produced no verifiable evidence of programs to reverse-engineer extraterrestrial materials.

UNCLASSIFIED
ALL‐DOMAIN ANOMALY RESOLUTION OFFICE
BACKGROUNDER
UNCLASSIFIED
References: (a) James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act of 2023
(b) Message: Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Reporting and Material‐Disposition General
Administration (Joint Staff, 191452ZMAY23)
(c) Memorandum: Defense Department Response to Tiger Team Information Request re
Unidentified
Anomalous Phenomena (AARO, March 2023)
(U) The Defense Department and
Intelligence Community are committed to ensuring
a unified, coordinated, and integrated approach to
mitigating safety and security threats from UAP.
The All‐domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO)
mission is to minimize technical and intelligence
surprise by synchronizing scientific, intelligence, and
operational detection, identification, attribution,
and mitigation of unidentified, anomalous objects in
the vicinity of national security areas.
(U) The Office’s vision is to create an
environment in which unidentified, anomalous
objects are effectively and efficiently detected,
tracked, analyzed, and managed by way of
normalized DoD, IC, and civil business practices; by
adherence to the highest scientific and intelligence‐
tradecraft standards; and with greater transparency
and shared awareness. Realization of this vision
relies on cohesive management by OSD and ODNI,
by which the Department and IC apply AARO
strategic guidance and direction to optimize the
effectiveness and efficiency of the UAP Mission
within and across the Department and mission
partners.
(U) What are UAP? Unidentified anomalous
phenomena (UAP) are sources of anomalous
detections in one or more domain (i.e., airborne,
seaborne, spaceborne, and/or transmedium) that
are not yet attributable to known actors and that
demonstrate behaviors not readily understood by
sensors or observers. “Anomalous detections”
include but are not limited to phenomena that
demonstrate apparent capabilities or material that
exceed known performance envelopes. A UAP may
consist of none, one, or more unidentified
anomalous objects and may persist over an
extended period of time.
(U) What is the significance of UAP? The US
Government has observed UAP in or near the
territory and/or operating areas of the United
States, of its allies, and of its adversaries, and
observing, identifying, and potentially mitigating
UAP has become a growing priority for US
policymakers, lawmakers, and warfighters. The
All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office
Chief of Staff, AARO
Authority: FY24 NDAA, now codified at 44 U.S.C. 2107
Date: 3/20/2025
Released in Full: X
Case Number: 330UAP000015
Page determined to be Unclassified
Reviewed by Chief of Staff, AARO
IAW FY24 NDAA, Section 1841(a)(1)(C)
Date: 3/20/2025
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Official release, from the nara collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 3 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.