2022 Annual Report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

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APPENDIX B: AARO ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE AND DUTIES—FY
2022 NDAA
Subsection (a) of section 1683 (Establishment of Office, Organizational Structure, and
Authorities to Address Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) of the National Defense Authorization
Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022 (Public Law 117-81) established an office designated to
replace the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF), later identified as the All-
domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). AARO was established on 20 July 2022.
Subsection (b) of section 1683 delineated that office’s duties. The text of these subsections is as
follows:
(a) Establishment of Office. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Director of National
Intelligence, shall establish an office within a component of the Department of Defense
and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, to carry out the duties of the
Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, as in effect on the day before the date of
enactment of this Act, and such other duties as are required by this section.
(b) Duties. The duties of the Office established under subsection (a) shall include the
following:
(1) Developing procedures to synchronize and standardize the collection,
reporting, and analysis of incidents, including adverse physiological effects,
regarding unidentified aerial phenomena across the Department of Defense and
the Intelligence Community.
(2) Developing processes and procedures to ensure that such incidents from each
component of the Department and each element of the Intelligence Community
are reported and incorporated in a centralized repository.
(3) Establishing procedures to require the timely and consistent reporting of such
incidents.
(4) Evaluating links between unidentified aerial phenomena and adversarial
foreign governments, other foreign governments, or nonstate actors.
(5) Evaluating the threat that such incidents present to the United States.
(6) Coordinating with other departments and agencies of the Federal Government,
as appropriate, including the Federal Aviation Administration, the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Department of
Energy.
(7) Coordinating with allies and partners of the United States, as appropriate, to
better assess the nature and extent of unidentified aerial phenomena.
(8) Preparing reports for Congress, in both classified and unclassified form,
including under section (i).