Pentagon releases its long-awaited 2022 UFO report

The Pentagon and the seal of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
The Pentagon and the seal of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. (Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images/Public Domain)

The Pentagon's long-awaited 2022 report on unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAP, is finally here. 

The unclassified "2022 Annual Report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena" was published by the Pentagon's Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) on Thursday (Jan. 12) after a months-long delay. The report was mandated by the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act and was created by ODNI's National Intelligence Manager for Aviation and the newly-established All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). Input was gathered from various intelligence community agencies and military intelligence offices, the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Department of Energy (DoE), and NASA.

In all, the report covers some 510 cataloged UAP reports gathered from agencies involved in the report and the branches of the United States military. The document notes that the majority of these were gathered from U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force personnel who reported them through official channels. Ultimately, the unclassified report concludes that, while UAP "continue to represent a hazard to flight safety and pose a possible adversary collection threat," many of the reports "lack enough detailed data to enable attribution of UAP with high certainty."

Related: Pentagon establishes office to track UFOs in space

Out of these 510 total UAP reports, ODNI assessed 366 that had been newly identified since AARO's creation. Of these, 26 were characterized as uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS), or drones, 163 were attributed to balloons or "balloon-like entities," and six were found to be airborne "clutter" such as birds or airborne plastic shopping bags. 

That leaves 171 reported UAP sightings that remain "uncharacterized and unattributed," according to ODNI's report. "Some of these uncharacterized UAP appear to have demonstrated unusual flight characteristics or performance capabilities, and require further analysis," the report adds.

While there are no definite Earth-shattering conclusions about the origins of the UAP (as unidentified flying objects, or UFOs, have recently been rebranded) seen in the incidents analyzed in ODNI's unclassified report, the document highlights a growing emphasis on airspace safety, prompted in part by the recent proliferation of drones  — some of which might represent intelligence-gathering efforts by the United States' adversaries. 

"UAP events continue to occur in restricted or sensitive airspace, highlighting possible concerns for safety of flight or adversary collection activity," ODNI states in the report, adding that the agency continues "to assess that this may result from a collection bias due to the number of active aircraft and sensors, combined with focused attention and guidance to report anomalies." 

In other words, military aviators in controlled airspace may be reporting more UAP/UFOs in these areas because there are naturally more sensors scanning the skies around military facilities and training ranges.

Additionally, the report notes that factors such as weather conditions, lighting and atmospheric effects can affect the observation of presumed UAP. The office therefore operates "under the assumption that UAP reports are derived from the observer's accurate recollection of the event and/or sensors that generally operate correctly and capture enough real data to allow initial assessments."

However, the report notes that some of the cataloged UAP incidents covered in the report may have been caused by operator or equipment error or faults with the sensors used that detected UAP in these events. 

"It is clear that there is an urgent and critical need to improve aerospace safety by dedicating scientific research into UAP," said Ryan Graves, former Navy F/A-18 pilot and chair of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics' Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena Integration & Outreach Committee (UAPIOC), in a statement following the release of the ODNI's report. "We must stop unscrupulous speculation, break stigma, and invest in science to address this national safety threat," Graves added.

While improving flight safety in both domestic and military airspace is the principal motivation underlying the creation of the report, the document notes that "there have been no reported collisions between U.S. aircraft and UAP" to date. Furthermore, there have also been no UAP encounters "confirmed to contribute directly to adverse health-related effects to the observer(s)," contrary to many claims made in recent years.

While far from a smoking gun of any kind, the ODNI's report shows that the U.S. government appears to be taking UAP and airspace safety issues seriously following years of media sensationalism surrounding a handful of highly publicized encounters reported by U.S. Navy aviators in training ranges off the coast of Southern California. 

To date, the Pentagon asserts that these cases remain unexplained. 

Editor's note: This story was updated at 4:30 p.m. EST on Jan. 12 to include statements from Ryan Graves.

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Brett Tingley
Managing Editor, Space.com

Brett is curious about emerging aerospace technologies, alternative launch concepts, military space developments and uncrewed aircraft systems. Brett's work has appeared on Scientific American, The War Zone, Popular Science, the History Channel, Science Discovery and more. Brett has English degrees from Clemson University and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. In his free time, Brett enjoys skywatching throughout the dark skies of the Appalachian mountains.

  • bwana4swahili
    If aliens are advanced enough to make it to Earth, they are definitely advanced enough not to be seen with our primitive technology.
    Reply
  • Phillip Davis
    Admin said:
    The ODNI's report shows that the U.S. government appears to be taking UFOs and airspace safety issues seriously.

    Pentagon releases its long-awaited 2022 UFO report : Read more
    I reviewed the report summary today. Though what I held onto for several years was verified by an experienced photographer for possible tampering at the the Tampa Free Press, by my insisting it, and was found 100 percent valid, it never hit the world news wires; no surprise to me. But it is only the tip of my discoveries to date. See the article and photos published September 2 2022 here> https://www.tampafp.com/ufos-on-camera-and-up-close-fourth-in-series/
    Reply
  • billslugg
    All I see are some blurry pictures. Could be anything, airplanes, planets, stars, whatever.
    No testimony or photograph will ever prove ET visitation.
    Only a physical sample that can be subjected to isotopic analysis will convince scientists.
    Reply
  • Siber6
    billslugg said:
    All I see are some blurry pictures. Could be anything, airplanes, planets, stars, whatever.
    No testimony or photograph will ever prove ET visitation.
    Only a physical sample that can be subjected to isotopic analysis will convince scientists.
    A flesh and blood species that can navigate between star systems may not be impossible, but IMO very unlikely. I think it’s more likely another species may have evolved locally to some advanced staged, but even that sound crazy? We ourselves are rocket building primates but I highly doubt we physically will ever leave the solar system, our machines will be the explorers? Maybe advanced drones have been sent here from some distant place?
    Reply
  • billslugg
    If another species had evolved to our level of sophistication we would find their trash dumps and soap operas everywhere so I sort of doubt it.

    Our species nor any species will never travel to the next star system and return within current human lifetimes, the laws of physics pretty much rule it out. Even the use of antimatter would not do it. Too much energy is required. For example, if you elected to take a 20 gram fountain pen with you on the trip, the energy budget would have to increase by the same amount of energy a Saturn V rocket used to orbit the lunar module.

    It is entirely possible that advanced drones have been sent to the Solar System. Drones don't care about transit time and energy budgets. They could well be all over the place spying on us.
    Reply
  • Turtle
    Now we have a "Director of National Intelligence" and he has an Office? That shouldn't sound so ludicrous, but it does. I just had to laugh. "Od-knee" Watch they don't direct this intelligence toward the idea of hostile aliens and a big spending spree.

    As far as potential collisions, money would be wiser spent getting rid of the threat of collisions at sea with overboard shipping containers. Smaller vessels can be sunk by running into those things.
    Reply
  • Phillip Davis
    billslugg said:
    All I see are some blurry pictures. Could be anything, airplanes, planets, stars, whatever.
    No testimony or photograph will ever prove ET visitation.
    Only a physical sample that can be subjected to isotopic analysis will convince scientists.
    Well you did not test them the publisher and an experienced photographer did and found no alteration of the originals. You would need a closer inspection which can be arraigned.
    Reply
  • billslugg
    No amount of inspection can determine if the pictures are real. No amount of "realness" can prove they are ET. Only a tangible piece of an ET craft that one can hold in their hand and measure with equipment is convincing.
    Reply
  • Phillip Davis
    UFO or UAP means exactly what is indicated....unknown. Never said it was ET please get it right sir.
    Reply
  • Phillip Davis
    I can only base my assumptions on observations and what I have filmed by video and photos which defy my own understanding as an aviator with hundreds of flight hours and as a Flight Instructor; flying through the Atmosphere. As to whether we are alone in the Universe I find it highly unlikely that our mere spec of a planet, based on universal numerical odds, that we are all alone. I liken the earth as a grain of sand where all the sand of earth is a representation of the Universe.
    Reply