Office of the Secretary of Defense: 015_2023_UAP_Mission_Backgrounder_Paper

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potentially ubiquitous presence of UAP defines the
national security implications of those anomalies,
which range from operational hazards and threats
to technological and intelligence surprise to
adversaries’ strategic miscalculations.
(U) What are the Department’s statutory
requirements, pertaining to UAP? Ref (a) directs the
AARO to perform UAP‐Mission management, data
and information acquisition and analyses, and
report mission statuses and issues to Congress.
AARO’s statutory requirements are outlined in
Appendix A.
(U) How is AARO organized to address the
potential hazards and threats from UAP? AARO
relies on organic and mission‐partner expertise, and
it is task organized around four key functions for
optimal performance and targeted collaboration:
operations, analyses, science and technology, and
strategic communications.
 the Operations Group synchronizes and
sequences Theater, IC, and other capabilities
for optimized, cross‐functional UAP detection,
tracking, mitigation, and recovery;
 the Analytic Group delivers peer‐reviewed
conclusions through deliberate syntheses of
scientific and intelligence method, tradecraft,
tools, and expertise;
 the Science and Technology Group reveals and
exploits elusive and enigmatic signatures
through advanced technologies and focused,
cross‐sector partnerships; and
 the Strategic Communications Group drives
shared awareness across mission partners,
oversight authorities, and stakeholders—
normalizing cross‐sector partnerships and
building trust with transparency.
(U) What are AARO’s key Defense
Department partnerships? UAP are most often
reported by the Department’s services and
commands, and they are most often analyzed by
service‐managed centers and combat support
agencies. AARO works closely with the Joint Staff to
develop, publish, and implement UAP reporting
requirements for the services and commands (e.g.,
ref (b)); to guide UAP operational planning; and to
cultivate inter‐component operational cohesion.
AARO also works directly with service‐managed
centers (e.g., the National Air and Space Intelligence
Center), in the development of analytic methods
and tools and in the exploitation and analysis of
recovered UAP objects and material.
(U) How does AARO distinguish UAP from
other, known phenomena? AARO distinguishes UAP
from known objects 1) by maximizing what could be
known about the reported phenomena through
robust data collection from military, intelligence,
civil, industrial, private, and foreign sources; 2) by
rigorous scientific and intelligence
phenomenological examination of the following
reported about the object:
 characteristics (e.g., size, shape, color);
 performance (e.g., velocity, maneuverability);
 signatures (e.g., light, sound, radioactive); and
 behavior (e.g., reactions to observation,
scanning).
(U) What is AARO’s position on media
reporting of extraterrestrial theories or proofs?
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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