Nearly 300 UAP Reports in Less Than a Year, DOD Tells Congress

Many of the unidentified anomalous phenomena incidents were near restricted military airspace.

Thursday, October 19, 2023 at 02:24 PM ET

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Image of a screen capture of a UAP observed during a flyby captured by a U.S. Navy pilot in the cockpit of a Navy fighter jet [Courtesy: U.S. Navy]

Key Takeaways:

The All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) received 291 new UAP reports in an eight-month period, with the majority occurring in restricted military airspace due to a "collection bias."
Most reported UAPs displayed ordinary characteristics, with 79% having no lights and about a quarter being orb or spherical in shape, typically 1-4 meters, white, and found at 20,000-25,000 feet.
None of these UAP reports suggested a direct threat to flight safety or were positively attributed to foreign activities, although investigations into some "interesting signatures" continue.

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There were 291 reports of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) in an eight-month period, mostly in restricted military airspace, the Defense Department’s All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) told Congress.

The Fiscal 2023 annual report, submitted to Congress on Wednesday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and Department of Defense, spans incidents reported from August 31, 2022, to April 30, 2023. In 2021, the Department of Defense (DOD) expanded efforts to detect and identify unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP)—the government’s term for UFOs—that could pose flight risks near military training ranges and installations.