DGI Briefing

OTHER

AI Summary

The DGI Briefing presented by the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) outlines the organization's mission to investigate Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) and improve detection and analysis methods using data and AI. It highlights the challenges in UAP reporting, the importance of data quality, and recent findings related to UAP encounters, including a specific case involving an object observed near Mt. Etna.

Key Findings

- UAP are primarily due to domain-awareness gaps. - Most UAP reports lack sufficient data for conclusive analysis. - AARO's analyses show that only a small percentage of UAP reports display anomalous signatures. - Increased civil reporting is shifting collection bias and revealing new trends. - The Mt. Etna object was assessed with moderate confidence to be a balloon. - AARO is expanding its focus to include space domain UAP.

OCR Text

ALL-DOMAIN ANOMALY RESOLUTION OFFICE (AARO) UNCLASSIFIED ALL-DOMAIN ANOMALY RESOLUTION OFFICE Leveraging Data, Analysis, and AI to Identify UAP Presentation to the Defense Space, Geospatial & Intelligence Leadership Conference UNCLASSIFIED Mr. Tim Phillips Deputy Director, AARO All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office Chief of Staff, AARO Authority: FY24 NDAA, now codified at 44 U.S.C. 2107 Date: 2/6/2025 Released in Full: X Case Number: 330UAP000026 026 Page determined to be Unclassified Reviewed by Chief of Staff, AARO IAW FY24 NDAA, Section 1841(a)(1)(C) Date: 2/6/2025 ALL-DOMAIN ANOMALY RESOLUTION OFFICE (AARO) UNCLASSIFIED UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHENOMENA Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) are sources of anomalous detections in one or more domains (i.e., airborne, seaborne, spaceborne, and/or transmedium) that are not yet attributable to known actors and that demonstrate behaviors that are not readily understood by sensors or observers. “Anomalous detections” include, but are not limited to, phenomena that appear to demonstrate performance characteristics or material properties that exceed the known state-of-the-art. Most anomalous detections reported to AARO lack sufficient data to conclusively assess. Of those that do, most resolve to mundane objects. A UAP encounter may consist of one or more unidentified anomalous objects and may persist over an extended period of time. ▪UAP are primarily attributable to domain-awareness gaps ▪UAP may represent advanced capabilities operating in our domain-awareness gaps 2 UNCLASSIFIED 026 Page determined to be Unclassified Reviewed by Chief of Staff, AARO IAW FY24 NDAA, Section 1841(a)(1)(C) Date: 2/6/2025 ALL-DOMAIN ANOMALY RESOLUTION OFFICE (AARO) 3 UNCLASSIFIED MISSION, VISION, & FUNCTION Congress established AARO to investigate what hazards or threats UAP might present across service, regional, and domain boundaries. MISSION: Minimize technical and intelligence surprise by synchronizing identification, attribution, and mitigation of UAP in the vicinity of national security areas. VISION: Effectively and efficiently detect, track, analyze, and manage anomalous detections and UAP via normalized and systematized DoD, IC, and civil business practices adhering to the highest scientific and intelligence-tradecraft standards with transparency and shared awareness. AARO DIVISIONS AND ORGANIZATION Director Analysis Chief of Staff Operations Science & Technology Strategic Communications UNCLASSIFIED Page determined to be Unclassified Reviewed by Chief of Staff, AARO IAW FY24 NDAA, Section 1841(a)(1)(C) Date: 2/6/2025 026 ALL-DOMAIN ANOMALY RESOLUTION OFFICE (AARO) 4 UNCLASSIFIED UAP ANALYTIC TRENDS AARO analyses confirm only a very small percentage of UAP reports display anomalous signatures. Most anomalous detections reported to AARO demonstrate ordinary characteristics of readily-explainable sources. LACK OF DATA HINDERS COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSES ▪Many cases in AARO's holdings remain unresolved because of a lack of verifiable data. Cases lacking sufficient data to inform a rigorous analysis cannot be resolved. ▪High-quality empirical data is necessary for AARO’s adherence to the scientific method and intelligence tradecraft, modeling, simulation, and peer review. TRENDS CORRELATE TO LOCATION OF REPORTING COMMUNITIES AND SOURCES ▪AARO’s reliance on DoD-sourced reports leads to a collection bias near major range and test facilities, special use airspace, and operational areas. ▪Interagency cooperation and partnerships with civil aviation authorities lessens military-centric collection bias by incorporating reports from commercial pilots, thus broadening collection area over a greater geographic area. INCREASED CIVIL REPORTING SHIFTING COLLECTION BIAS, MORPHOLOGY TRENDS UNCLASSIFIED ▪AARO received more than 100 reports from the FAA, contributing to analyses of UAP trends over the United States and its territorial waters. ▪Most civilian reports lack sufficient data to inform a conclusive analysis—i.e., sightings of “lights” without notes on objects’ morphology/characteristics, geospatial location, or anomalous behaviors. Page determined to be Unclassified Reviewed by Chief of Staff, AARO IAW FY24 NDAA, Section 1841(a)(1)(C) Date: 2/6/2025 026 ALL-DOMAIN ANOMALY RESOLUTION OFFICE (AARO) UNCLASSIFIED MT. ETNA OBJECT 5 ▪Event: In 2018, a US UAS platform captured video of an unidentified object while observing an eruption of Mt. Etna in Italy. The object appeared to pass through the volcano's plume without any impact on its performance, altitude, or trajectory. ▪Findings: AARO, in coordination with IC and S&T partners, assesses with moderate confidence that the object was a balloon drifting with the wind approximately 170 kilometers from the volcano. ▪Analytic Factors: AARO’s IC partner employed full-motion video analysis software, 3D modeling, and pixel examination to assess the object’s performance characteristics. AARO also applied novel spee…

Metadata

Agency
—
Classification
UNCLASSIFIED
Department
NARA
Confidence85
Credibility90

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