AARO Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) Volume I

SECTION I: Introduction
This report represents Volume I of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office’s
(AARO) Historical Record Report (HR2) which reviews the record of the United States
Government (USG) pertaining to unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP). In completing this
report, AARO reviewed all official USG investigatory efforts since 1945, researched classified
and unclassified archives, conducted approximately 30 interviews, and partnered with
Intelligence Community (IC) and Department of Defense (DoD) officials responsible for
controlled and special access program oversight, respectively. AARO will publish Volume II in
accordance with the date established in Section 6802 of the National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23); Volume II will provide analysis of information acquired by AARO
after the date of the publication of Volume I.
Since 1945, the USG has funded and supported UAP investigations with the goal of
determining whether UAP represented a flight safety risk, technological leaps by competitor
nations, or evidence of off-world technology under intelligent control. These investigations were
managed and implemented by a range of experts, scientists, academics, military, and intelligence
officials under differing leaders—all of whom held their own perspectives that led them to
particular conclusions on the origins of UAP. However, they all had in common the belief that
UAP represented an unknown and, therefore, theoretically posed a potential threat of an
indeterminate nature.
AARO’s mission is similar to that of these earlier organizations. AARO methodology
applies both the scientific method and intelligence analysis tradecraft to identify and help
mitigate risks UAP may pose to domain safety and to discover, characterize, and attribute
potential competitor technological systems.
A consistent theme in popular culture involves a particularly persistent narrative that the
USG—or a secretive organization within it—recovered several off-world spacecraft and
extraterrestrial biological remains, that it operates a program or programs to reverse engineer the
recovered technology, and that it has conspired since the 1940s to keep this effort hidden from
the United States Congress and the American public.
AARO recognizes that many people sincerely hold versions of these beliefs which are
based on their perception of past experiences, the experiences of others whom they trust, or
media and online outlets they believe to be sources of credible and verifiable information. The
proliferation of television programs, books, movies, and the vast amount of internet and social
media content centered on UAP-related topics most likely has influenced the public conversation
on this topic, and reinforced these beliefs within some sections of the population.
The goal of this report is not to prove or disprove any particular belief set, but rather to
use a rigorous analytic and scientific approach to investigate past USG-sponsored UAP
investigation efforts and the claims made by interviewees that the USG and various contractors
have recovered and are hiding off-world technology and biological material. AARO has
approached this project with the widest possible aperture, thoroughly investigating these
7
assertions and claims without any particular pre-conceived conclusion or hypothesis. AARO is
committed to reaching conclusions based on empirical evidence.
Lastly, AARO thanks all participants in this review who made this report possible, to
include the interviewees who came forward with information.
SECTION II: Executive Summary
AARO found no evidence that any USG investigation, academic-sponsored research,
or official review panel has confirmed that any sighting of a UAP represented extraterrestrial
technology. All investigative efforts, at all levels of classification, concluded that most sightings
were ordinary objects and phenomena and the result of misidentification. Although not the focus
of this report, it is worthwhile to note that all official foreign UAP investigatory efforts to date
have reached the same general conclusions as USG investigations.
• Although many UAP reports remain unsolved or unidentified, AARO assesses that if
more and better quality data were available, most of these cases also could be
identified and resolved as ordinary objects or phenomena. Sensors and visual
observations are imperfect; the vast majority of cases lack actionable data or the data
available is limited or of poor quality.
• Resources and staffing for these programs largely have been irregular and sporadic,
challenging investigatory efforts and hindering effective knowledge transfer.
• The vast majority of reports almost certainly are the result of misidentification and a
direct consequence of the lack of domain awareness; there is a direct correlation
between the amount and quality of available information on a case with the ability to
conclusively resolve it.
AARO found no empirical evidence for claims that the USG and private companies
have been reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology. AARO determined, based on all
information provided to date, that claims involving specific people, known locations,
technological tests, and documents allegedly involved in or related to the reverse-engineering
of extraterrestrial technology, are inaccurate. Additional claims will be addressed in Volume
II. AARO successfully located the USG and industry programs, officials, companies,
executives, and documents identified by interviewees. In many cases, the interviewees named
authentic USG classified programs well-known and understood to those appropriately accessed
to them in the Executive Branch and Legislative Branch; however, the interviewees mistakenly
associated these authentic USG programs with alien and extraterrestrial activity. AARO has
reached the following, high confidence conclusions related to:
• UAP Nondisclosure Agreements (NDA): AARO has found no evidence of any
authentic UAP-related NDA or other evidence threatening death or violence for
disclosing UAP information.
8
• A CIA Official Allegedly Managed UAP Experimentation: The named, former
CIA official was not involved in the movement of extraterrestrial technology. The
same former CIA officer signed a memo rejecting a claim made by interviewees that
he managed the movement of and experimentation on off-world technology.
• Alleged UAP Intelligence Community Document: An alleged 1961 Special
National Intelligence Estimate that was “leaked” to online sources and suggests the
extraterrestrial nature of “UFOs,” is inauthentic.
• “Aliens” Present During a DoD Technology Test: AARO reviewed information
related to an account of an interviewee overhearing a conversation about a technology
test at a military base where “aliens” allegedly were observing, and AARO judges that
the interviewee misunderstood the conversation.
• Claim That a Military Officer Touched an Off-World Craft: An interviewee
claim that a named former military officer explained in detail how he physically
touched an extraterrestrial spacecraft is inaccurate. The claim was denied on the
record by the named former officer who recounted a story of when he touched an
F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter that could have been misconstrued by the
interviewee, though the named former officer does not recall having this conversation
with the interviewee.
• Test of Off-World Technology: An interviewee claim that he witnessed what he
believed to be the testing of extraterrestrial technology at a USG facility almost
certainly was an observation of an authentic, non-UAP-related, technology test that
strongly correlated in time, location, and description provided in the interviewee’s
account.
• UAP Disclosure Study: Interviewees’ claims that between 2004 and 2007 the White
House requested a research institute in Virginia study the theoretical societal impacts
of disclosing that UAP are extraterrestrial in origin; AARO confirmed the study was
conducted, but it was not requested by the White House.
• Named Companies Allegedly Experimenting on Alien Technology: AARO has
found no evidence that U.S. companies ever possessed off-world technology. The
executives, scientists, and chief technology officers of the companies named by
interviewees met with the Director of AARO and denied on the record that they have
ever recovered, possessed, or engaged in reverse-engineering of extraterrestrial
technology.
• Experimentation on Alleged Extraterrestrial Spacecraft Sample: AARO has
concluded that a sample from an alleged crashed off-world spacecraft that AARO
acquired from a private UAP investigating organization and the U.S. Army is a
manufactured, terrestrial alloy and does not represent off-world technology or possess
any exceptional qualities. The sample is primarily composed of magnesium, zinc,
9
and bismuth with some other trace elements, such as lead. This assessment was based
on its materials characterization.
AARO assesses that all of the named and described alleged hidden UAP reverseengineering programs provided by interviewees either do not exist; are misidentified authentic,
highly sensitive national security programs that are not related to extraterrestrial technology
exploitation; or resolve to an unwarranted and disestablished program. AARO created a
secure process in partnership with the highest-level security officials within the DoD, IC, and
other organizations to research and investigate these programs; AARO was granted full,
unrestricted access by all organizations. It is important to note that none of the interviewees had
firsthand knowledge of these programs—they were not approved for access to nor did they work
on these efforts—which likely resulted in misinterpretation of the programs’ origins and purpose.
• The interviewees and others who have mistakenly associated authentic sensitive
national security programs with UAP had incomplete or unauthorized access to
these programs; discussion of these programs outside of secure facilities presents a
high risk of exposing national security information.
• One named program was a UAP-related Prospective Special Access Program (PSAP)
called KONA BLUE that was proposed to the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) and supported by individuals who believed the USG was hiding off-world
technology. The program was never approved by DHS and its supporters never
provided empirical evidence to support their claims.
• In 2021, without sufficient justification, the scope of an IC Controlled Access
Program was expanded to protect UAP reverse-engineering. This program never
recovered or reverse-engineered any UAP or extraterrestrial spacecraft. This IC
program was disestablished due to its lack of merit.
AARO assesses that the inaccurate claim that the USG is reverse-engineering
extraterrestrial technology and is hiding it from Congress is, in large part, the result of
circular reporting from a group of individuals who believe this to be the case, despite the lack
of any evidence. AARO notes that although claims that the USG has recovered and hidden
spacecraft date back to the 1940s and 1950s, more modern instances of these claims largely stem
from a consistent group of individuals who have been involved in various UAP-related
endeavors since at least 2009.
• Many of these individuals were involved in or supportive of a cancelled DIA program
and the subsequent but failed attempt to reestablish this program under DHS, called
KONA BLUE.
AARO assesses that UAP sightings and reports of these sightings to USG organizations
and claims that some UAP constitute extraterrestrial craft and that the USG has secured and
is experimenting on extraterrestrial technology have been influenced by a range of cultural,
political, and technological factors. AARO bases this conclusion on the following factors:
10
• The aggregate findings of all USG investigations to date have not found even one
case of UAP representing off-world technology.
• None of the programs mentioned by interviewees are UAP reverse-engineering
programs, and all the authentic programs have been properly notified and reported to
Congress through the congressional defense and/or intelligence committees.
• AARO has no evidence for the USG reverse-engineering narrative provided by
interviewees and has been able to disprove the majority of the interviewees’ claims.
Some claims are still under evaluation.
• AARO determined that a piece of metal alleged to be recovered from an off-world
spacecraft is ordinary, of terrestrial origin, and possesses no exceptional qualities.
Several factors—domestic and international—most likely influenced sightings, reports,
and the belief by some individuals that there is sufficient proof that some UAP represent
extraterrestrial technology. AARO’s examination of the historical context of UAP
investigations from 1945 to the present reveals that these factors—some common to and distinct
between the earlier era of UAP investigations (pre-2009) and the modern era (post-2009)—
undoubtedly influenced the direction of these investigations, the volume of and spikes in
sightings, and the overall public interest, concern, and debate. These periods are divided into
pre- and post-2009 timeframe because this is the year of the standup of the Advanced Aerospace
Weapons System Application Program (AAWSAP) and Advanced Aerospace Threat
Identification Program (AATIP) efforts. Prior to AAWSAP/AATIP there was about a 40 year
gap in UAP investigation programs since the termination of Project BLUE BOOK in 1969.
• Common contextual factors between earlier and modern investigations include a
rapidly evolving and dynamic national security environment, concern about
technological surprise, intense secrecy related to government military programs,
public interest in UAP, perceived bureaucratic barriers, and the persistent lack of
quality data.
• Some contextual factors that were distinct between earlier and modern investigations
include: differences in the level of public trust in the government; the large volume of
popular culture content related to UAP; the perception within some segments of the
population that the USG is hiding extraterrestrial technology; unauthorized
disclosures of classified programs mistaken for UAP observations; the proliferation of
online sources that reinforce these beliefs; the impact that social media has had on
circular reporting; and the rapid spread of misinformation.
AARO assesses that some portion of sightings since the 1940s have represented
misidentification of never-before-seen experimental and operational space, rocket, and air
systems, including stealth technologies and the proliferation of drone platforms. From the
1940s to the 1960s especially, the United States witnessed a boom in experimental technologies
driven by World War II and the Cold War.
11
• Many of these technologies fit the description of a stereotypical Unidentified Flying
Object (UFO). It is understandable how observers unfamiliar with these programs
could mistake sightings of these new technologies as something extraordinary, even
other-worldly.
• Along with these conventional technology research areas, the USG started the
Manhattan Project in 1942. This program operated in secrecy and led to the
establishment of several “secret cities” across the United States to support the
development of the nuclear bomb. Any misunderstanding stemming from the intense
secrecy surrounding this and similar programs could have been misconstrued for
other efforts.