DOD: Nearly 800 UAP Reports Received in Past Year
Increasing number of accounts have been connected to Starlink satellite constellations in low earth orbit, DOD said.
An unmanned aerial system [UAS] is observed during Naval exercises off the U.S. East Coast in early 2022. The object in this image was first classified as an unidentified anomalous phenomena [UAP] before being reclassified as a UAS based on additional information and data from other UAP sightings. [Courtesy: DOD]
The Department of Defense (DOD) received nearly 800 reports of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) this past year, its All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) said Thursday in a new report.
The fiscal 2024 annual report is the latest in U.S. government accounting of UAP—the government's term for UFOs. Since 2021, the DOD has expanded efforts to detect and identify UAP that could pose flight risks near military training ranges and installations.
"It is important to underscore that, to date, AARO has discovered no evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology," the report said.
During the most recent reporting period, which spanned from May 1, 2023, through June 1, at least 757 UAP reports were made, with at least 392 of those stemming from FAA civil and commercial UAP reporting logs. Around two-thirds of the total occurred during the reporting period, with the remaining incidents representing delayed reports that occurred from 2021-22.
Of the most recent 757 UAP reports, nearly 94 percent occurred in the air domain, with the remaining 49 events occurring in the space domain, DOD said.
"AARO notes that none of the space domain reports originated from space-based sensors or assets; rather, all of these reports originated from military or commercial pilots or ground observers who reported UAP located at altitudes estimated at 100 kilometers or higher, consistent with U.S. Space Command’s (USSPACECOM) astrographic area of responsibility," the DOD said.
According to AARO officials, there are often simple explanations.
"AARO resolved 118 cases during the reporting period, all of which resolved to prosaic objects such as various types of balloons, birds, and unmanned aerial systems (UAS)," the report said, adding that an additional 174 cases were also resolved and deemed to have similar explanations.
An increasing number of UAP reports have been connected to Starlink satellite constellations in low-Earth orbit, DOD said.
"For example, a commercial pilot reported white flashing lights in the night sky," the report said. "AARO assessed that this sighting of flashing lights correlated with a Starlink satellite launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the same evening about one hour prior to the sighting. This sighting occurred in the known orbital path of the satellites."
Read the Full Fiscal 2024 Consolidated Annual Report on UAP:
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