Pentagon unveils new UFO website that will be a 'one-stop' shop for declassified info

The Pentagon's office to investigate UFOs revealed on Thursday a new website where the public can access declassified information about reported sightings.

The site will be operated by the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO,) a relatively new Pentagon program established to analyze reports of what the government officially refers to as unidentified anomalous (or aerial) phenomena. The Department of Defense announced the website in a press release, hailing it as a "one-stop shop" for photos and video of UAP approved for public release.

The site will also soon be a place where U.S. government and military personnel can report objects violating U.S. airspace or flying in ways believed to be beyond the capabilities of human technology.

"The department is committed to transparency with the American people on AARO's work on UAP," according to a statement from the defense department. "This website will serve as a one-stop shop for all publicly available information related to AARO and UAP, and AARO will regularly update the website with its most recent activities and findings as new information is cleared for public release."

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In a short message at the top of the website, AARO Director Sean Kirkpatrick said the site is intended to shed light on the work of an office Congress created in July 2022.

AARO was launched after the Office of the Director of National Intelligence identified 144 military UAP encounters since 2004 in a preliminary assessment released in June 2021. That figured jumped this year to more than 500 military UAP reports, many of which cannot be explained as natural occurrences such as unmanned aircrafts or weather balloons.

Astrophysicists caution that otherworldly explanations aren't likely even in the absence of a natural explanation.

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What's on the site now?

The site now includes a handful of videos, some of which have been explained as commercial craft and some of which have been labeled as "unresolved." Each video contains a short description with an explanation by AARO of where it was captured and what characteristics the object is exhibiting.

The site also includes links to an assortment of laws, memos, congressional briefings and press releases related to UAP.

The Pentagon plans to update the website this fall to include a secure tool allowing current and former U.S. government employees, service members and contractors with direct knowledge of government programs or activities to contact AARO directly to make a report.

A mechanism for members of the general public to make reports will be announced in coming months, the defense department said.

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Website follows Congressional hearing on UAP

The website comes at a time of mounting bipartisan pressure on the military and executive branch to release more information about what is known of UAP.

In July, three former military members appeared before a House Oversight subcommittee, where they regaled members of Congress with claims of mystifying flying objects, government cover-ups and a covert spaceship crash retrieval program.

In his testimony, former U.S. intelligence official David Grusch testified that he had been informed about a “multidecade” Pentagon program to recover and study crafts of non-human origin and extraterrestrial lifeforms that have crashed on earth. Though he was unable to present evidence publicly, Grusch, a member of a previous Pentagon task force that investigated UAP, also accused the government of hiding the program from Congress and misappropriating funds to operate it.

The Pentagon has repeatedly denied that such a program exists.

Following the hearing, three Republicans and one Democrat on the House subcommittee sent a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., calling for the establishment of a select committee to investigate UAP further.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also this year introduced legislation that would require the Pentagon to release any information it has gathered about the objects. First introduced in July, the legislation would also require that the defense department release information it had about nonhuman intelligences to an established review board, which would have the authority to declassify the information.

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com.