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Office of the Secretary of Defense: 026_DGI_Briefing

Department of Defense. Office of the Secretary of Defense. · 2023 · 12 pages · text from the file's own layer

This unclassified briefing from the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office was given by Deputy Director Tim Phillips to the Defense Space, Geospatial and Intelligence Leadership Conference and was released on 2/6/2025. It defines UAP and notes that most reports lack enough data, while most that can be assessed resolve to mundane objects. It says a 2018 Mt. Etna object was likely a balloon. It also describes controlled tests at Camp Grafton, North Dakota, a Space UAP Tiger Team, and Starlink flaring as a cause of reported orbs.

ALL-DOMAIN ANOMALY RESOLUTION OFFICE (AARO) 4
UNCLASSIFIED
UAP ANALYTIC TRENDS
AARO analyses confirm only a very small percentage of UAP reports display anomalous signatures. Most anomalous detections reported to AARO
demonstrate ordinary characteristics of readily-explainable sources.
LACK OF DATA HINDERS
COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSES
▪ Many cases in AARO's holdings remain
unresolved because of a lack of verifiable
data. Cases lacking sufficient data to
inform a rigorous analysis cannot be
resolved.
▪ High-quality empirical data is necessary for
AARO’s adherence to the scientific method
and intelligence tradecraft, modeling,
simulation, and peer review.
TRENDS CORRELATE TO LOCATION OF
REPORTING COMMUNITIES AND SOURCES
▪ AARO’s reliance on DoD-sourced reports
leads to a collection bias near major range
and test facilities, special use airspace,
and operational areas.
▪ Interagency cooperation and partnerships
with civil aviation authorities lessens
military-centric collection bias by
incorporating reports from commercial
pilots, thus broadening collection area over
a greater geographic area.
INCREASED CIVIL REPORTING SHIFTING
COLLECTION BIAS, MORPHOLOGY TRENDS
UNCLASSIFIED
▪ AARO received more than 100 reports
from the FAA, contributing to analyses of
UAP trends over the United States and its
territorial waters.
▪ Most civilian reports lack sufficient data to
inform a conclusive analysis—i.e., sightings
of “lights” without notes on objects’
morphology/characteristics, geospatial
location, or anomalous behaviors.
Page determined to be Unclassified
Reviewed by Chief of Staff, AARO
IAW FY24 NDAA, Section 1841(a)(1)(C)
Date: 2/6/2025026

Cases discussed

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Official release, from the nara collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 12 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.