AARO_Mission_Brief_2025.pdf

ALL-DOMAIN ANOMALY RESOLUTION OFFICE (AARO)
ALL-DOMAIN ANOMALY 
RESOLUTION OFFICE
UNCLASSIFIED
The U.S. Defense Department & The UAP Mission 
Dr. Jon Kosloski
Director, AARO
Last updated: JUNE 2025
UNCLASSIFIED
25-P-0881

ALL-DOMAIN ANOMALY RESOLUTION OFFICE (AARO)
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 
appearing to demonstrate capabilities or material properties exceeding 
the known state-of-the-art.
UAP may consist of one or more objects and may persist over …

ALL-DOMAIN ANOMALY RESOLUTION OFFICE (AARO)
3
AARO UAP ATTRIBUTION-PERFORMANCE MATRIX
UNCLASSIFIED
UNCLASSIFIED
(UNCLASSIFIED)
(UNCLASSIFIED)

ALL-DOMAIN ANOMALY RESOLUTION OFFICE (AARO)
4
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-tra…

ALL-DOMAIN ANOMALY RESOLUTION OFFICE (AARO)
5
SUBMITTING A REPORT TO AARO
▪Military and DoD civilian personnel should report through their command or 
service per GENADMIN Joint Staff J3 Washington DC 191452ZMAY23 
“Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Reporting and Material Disposition.”
▪Civilian pilots are encouraged to promptly report UAP sightings to air 
traffic control. AARO receives UAP-related Pilot Reports from the Federal 
Aviation Administration.
OTHER REPORTS TO AARO
AARO accepts reports of U.S. Government programs or activities related to UAP 
from current or former U.S. Government e…

ALL-DOMAIN ANOMALY RESOLUTION OFFICE (AARO)
6
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.
UNCLASSIFIED
UNCLASSIFIED
LACK OF DATA HINDERS 
COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSES
SENSOR BIAS 
INFLUENCES REPORTING
INCREASED CIVIL REPORTING MAY SHIFT 
COLLECTION BIAS AND TRENDS
▪Many cases in AARO's holdings remain 
unresolved because of a lack of verifiable 
data. Cases lacking sufficient data to inform a 
rigorous analysis canno…

ALL-DOMAIN ANOMALY RESOLUTION OFFICE (AARO)
AARO’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO NATIONAL SECURITY
▪
Developing sensors for UAP detection and tracking
▪
Developing protocols for rapid response to anomalies
▪
Advancing scientific understanding of UAP
▪
Synchronizing increased domain awareness in space, 
skies, and sea
▪
Disseminating guidance on UAP reporting for DoD and 
intelligence personnel
▪
Resolving UAP reports that impact national security, 
personnel protection, or counterintelligence missions
▪
Reducing and mitigating technical surprise by 
adversaries 
7
UNCLASSIFIED
UNCLASSIFIED

ALL-DOMAIN ANOMALY RESOLUTION OFFICE (AARO)
8
CASE - MIDDLE EAST “ORB”
CHARACTERISTICS AND PERFORMANCE
▪In 2022, an electro-optical sensor aboard an MQ-9 Reaper 
UAS platform operating in the Middle East recorded a 
spherical object.
▪The object’s characteristics and behavior are consistent 
with other “metallic orb” observations in the region.
▪The object did not appear to demonstrate anomalous 
performance characteristics. 
▪The object did not threaten airborne-asset safety.
▪AARO holds this case in its “Active Archive,” pending 
discovery of additional data.
▪AARO uses Active Archive cases …