DODIG-2023-109 Unclassified Summary: Evaluation of DoD Actions Regarding UAP, 2023-08-15

“Unclassified Summary of Report No. DODIG-2023-109, "Evaluation of the DoD's Actions Regarding Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena," August 15, 2023. JANUARY 24, 2024”

“A classified version of the Evaluation of the DoD's Actions Regarding Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena formed the basis of the unclassified summary.”

“Over the past decades, the DoD has initiated infrequent and inconclusive efforts to identify and understand the origin, capabilities, and intent of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP).”

“The DoD's first official UAP-focused activities occurred in December 1947, when the U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff established PROJECT SIGN to investigate the first recorded observations of unidentified flying objects.”

“From 1947 to 1949, Air Force personnel investigated 243 reported UAP sightings.”

“In 1952, the U.S. Air Force Director of Intelligence initiated PROJECT BLUE BOOK to investigate unidentified flying objects.”

“Between 1952 and 1969, Air Force personnel investigated over 12,000 reported sightings.”

“The DoD did not officially look at UAP again until mid-2000, when select members of Congress initiated and funded a program to study UAP, called the Advanced Aerospace Weapon Systems Applications program, under the direction of the Defense Intelligence Agency.”

“Since then, the DoD has attempted to establish several programs for coordinating DoD-wide UAP reporting; however, none of the programs were ever fully implemented.”

“In the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Report on the FY 2021 Intelligence Authorization Act, the Senate Select Committee identified concerns that the U.S. Government did not have a unified, comprehensive process in place for collecting and analyzing intelligence on UAP.”

“in August 2020 the DoD established a UAP Task Force (UAPTF) to develop standardized reporting requirements for UAP encounters.”

“In June 2021, the UAPTF and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued the congressionally mandated Preliminary Assessment on UAP”

“which stated that UAP reporting data are largely inconclusive, as well as a consolidation of reports across the U.S. Government is inconsistent.”

“In a November 2021 memorandum, the Deputy Secretary of Defense directed the OUSD(I&S) to establish the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group (AOIMSG) as the successor to the UAPTF to synchronize efforts across the DoD and with other Federal departments and agencies to detect, identify, and characterize objects of interest in special use airspace.”

“The AOIMSG did not reach operational capability and the Deputy Secretary disestablished it on July 15, 2022.”

“On July 20, 2022, the DoD established the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) to be that entity.”

“The objective of this evaluation was to determine the extent to which the DoD, Military Services, Defense agencies, and Military Department Counterintelligence Organizations (MDCOs) took intelligence, counterintelligence, and force protection actions to detect, report, collect, analyze, and identify unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP).”

“the DoD has not used a coordinated approach to detect, report, collect, analyze, and identify UAP;”

“DoD Components have largely excluded geographic combatant commands, which are responsible for detecting, deterring, and preventing threats and attacks against the United States and its territories, possessions, and bases in their respective areas of responsibility, in developing UAP policies and procedures”

“The DoD has not issued a comprehensive UAP response plan that identifies roles, responsibilities, requirements, and coordination procedures for detecting, reporting, collecting, analyzing, and identifying UAP incidents.”

“Officials from the Military Services and MDCOs stated that they have been waiting for the DoD to issue comprehensive UAP guidance before developing their own guidance.”

“an Air Force Remotely Piloted Aircraft and Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Technical Advisor stated that the Air Force designated UAP as a "Special Interest Item," which requires aircrews to document and report UAP observations within 24 hours of engine shutdown and mission completion using the Marauder system.”

“An Army Senior Advisor for Science and Technology and Innovation stated that Army personnel also use the Air Force's Marauder system to document and report UAP observations because the Army has not developed its own UAP-specific processes.”

“The Military Services and MDCOs have sent some UAP incident reports to AARO, but the DoD does not currently formally require them to do so.”

“We recommend that the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, in coordination with the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office Director, issue a Department of Defense policy to integrate unidentified anomalous phenomena roles, responsibilities, requirements, and coordination procedures into existing intelligence, counterintelligence, and force protection policies and procedures.”

“The Under Secretary noted that the findings that inform the recommendation appear to be based on observations that largely predate the establishment of AARO [organizationally aligned under the OUSD(I&S)] on July 20, 2022.”

“We recommend that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff issue guidance to the geographic combatant commanders regarding unidentified anomalous phenomena detection, reporting, collection, analysis, and identification within their area of responsibility. At a minimum, the guidance should include tools to help commands determine the threats posed by unidentified anomalous phenomena.”

“Further, the Joint Staff issued guidance to the geographic combatant commanders on unidentified anomalous phenomena detection, reporting, collection, analysis, and identification within their area of responsibility.”

“The informal response from the Joint Staff fully addressed the recommendation. Therefore, the recommendation is resolved and closed.”

“We conducted the work on this evaluation from May 2021 through June 2023 in accordance with the "Quality Standards for Inspection and Evaluation," published in January 2012 by the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency.”

“We interviewed senior officials and requested UAP-related data and organizational policies, procedures, and guidance from the following DoD organizations: OUSD(I&S), AARO, Military Services (Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force), Military Service Intelligence Components (Army G2, Navy N2, Air Force A2), MDCOs (Army Counterintelligence, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Office of Special Investigations), Defense intelligence agencies (Defense Intelligence Agency, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, National Reconnaissance Office, and National Security Agency)”