Pentagon Opens Office to Study UFOs

The Pentagon has announced the opening of an office to investigate reports of unidentified flying objects. It will be known as the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).

Its area of responsibility, according to a Pentagon press release, will include "surveillance, collection and reporting, system capabilities and design, intelligence operations and analysis, mitigation and defeat, management, science and technology."

The mission of the AARO will be to synchronize efforts across the Department of Defense, and with other U.S. federal departments and agencies, to detect, identify and attribute objects of interest in, on or near military installations, operating areas, training areas, special use airspace and other areas of interest, and as necessary, to mitigate any associated threats to safety of operations and national security. This includes anomalous, unidentified space, airborne, submerged and transmedium objects.

The office was influenced by revelations of various unidentified aerial phenomena made by the Ministry of Defence following lobbying and leaks. Witnesses have reported seeing UFOs. For instance, a recent Navy video showed a UFO disappearing into the water.

The office will be headed by the Undersecretary of Defence for Intelligence and Security and will be headed by Dr Sean M Kirkpatrick, chief scientist at the Centre for Missile and Space Intelligence of the Defence Intelligence Agency.

Earlier, the first congressional hearing on UFOs in half a century was held, after which UFOs became known as "unidentified aerial phenomena" or UAPs.