The Pentagon is seen on Oct. 21, 2021. (Robert H. Reid/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon on Thursday launched a website that will display elements from completed UFO investigations and allow troops and civilian workers in the Defense Department to report sightings, defense officials said.
“This website will provide information including videos and photos on resolved [unidentified anomalous phenomena] cases as they are declassified and approved for public release,” said Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the top Pentagon spokesman. “The department is committed to transparency with the American people.”
The website is run by the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, which was established at the Pentagon a year ago to investigate, understand and resolve unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs, amid a rise in military-related sightings.
An intelligence report released in January showed the number of UAP sightings involving the U.S. military has increased in recent years.
“Our team of experts is leading the U.S. government’s efforts to address unidentified anomalous phenomena using a rigorous scientific framework and a data-driven approach,” AARO chief Sean Kirkpatrick states on the new website. “Since its establishment in July 2022, AARO has taken important steps to improve data collection, standardize reporting requirements and mitigate the potential threats to safety and security posed by UAP.”
Ryan Graves, left to right, David Grusch and retired Navy Cmdr. David Fravor are sworn in Wednesday, July 26, 2023, at a House Oversight and Reform subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill about unidentified anomalous phenomena. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)
The Pentagon said the website will be a “one-stop shop” for all things related to federal investigations of UAP sightings. The site is still being built, but Ryder said the next phase will allow military service members and civilian workers in the Pentagon to report sightings. He said that’s expected to happen in the near future.
AARO said it will also investigate sightings dating to 1945 reported to the site by current and former federal government employees and contractors. It is not yet known if the site will eventually accept sightings from the American public.
“That is something we will look to do in the future, but I don’t have an estimate right now in terms of when,” Ryder said.
As the government sees it, unidentified anomalous phenomena does not exclusively refer to flying objects. The Pentagon said mysterious objects submerged in water and those that can travel between different domains also fall into the UAP category.
In July, three military veterans who claim to have seen UAPs appeared at a hearing of the House Oversight and Reform Committee and cautioned lawmakers that such mysterious objects are a threat to national security. One of the veterans — former Air Force intelligence officer David Grusch — claimed the government is hiding proof of extraterrestrial life from past UFO crashes. The Pentagon has denied the claim.
Posted to the AARO website on Thursday was an information graphic with data on UAP reporting trends. According to the graphic, most UAP objects sighted between 1996 and 2023 were seen at an elevation of about 20,000 feet. The objects are often round in appearance and white, silver or translucent in color.
