UAP explained: unidentified anomalous phenomena

What “UAP” means — and how it differs from “UFO”

From the encyclopedia article Unidentified anomalous phenomena, section by section:

1. Legal definitionUnder 50 U.S.C. § 3373, unidentified anomalous phenomena are:
2. Why the name changed"UFO" came into use in 1947. Captain Edward J.
3. Government work on UAPOfficial U.S. interest is much older than the term.
4. DebateSupporters say the new framework helps people report without embarrassment.
5. On the timelineThe timeline below lists events from 1948 to 2023 that refer to UAP.

📖 Term · 13 min readUnidentified anomalous phenomenaThe U.S. government's current term for unidentified objects in the air, in space and underwater.📖 Term · 17 min readUnidentified flying objectAn object in the sky that can't be identified; the older term for UAP.🗓️ Event · 8 min readNavy UAP briefing cardsA Navy briefing card tells staff to say 'UAP', not 'UFO'.

Who investigates UAP

The government offices, programs and independent research groups that have studied UAP:

🏢 Organization · 15 min readAAROThe Pentagon office set up in 2022 to investigate UAP.🏢 Organization · 6 min readUAP Task ForceThe Navy-led Pentagon task force on UAP set up in 2020.🏢 Organization · 6 min readNASA UAP Independent Study TeamA NASA panel that studied unidentified anomalous phenomena in 2022–23.🏛️ Program or study · 10 min readAATIPThe Pentagon UAP effort associated with Luis Elizondo, revealed in December 2017.🏛️ Program or study · 11 min readAAWSAPThe Defense Intelligence Agency's UAP research program of 2008–2010, carried out by Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies.🏛️ Program or study · 5 min readGalileo ProjectAvi Loeb's Harvard-based research project, founded in 2021, searching for evidence of extraterrestrial technology.🏢 Organization · 7 min readScientific Coalition for UAP StudiesA group of scientists and analysts that studies UAP.

Reports, laws and records releases

📄 Document · 7 min read2026 UAP records releaseThe release of government UFO and UAP files that began in May 2026 under a presidential directive.📄 Document · 7 min readAARO Historical Record ReportAARO's 2024 report on government involvement with UAP since 1945.🗓️ Event · 10 min readODNI Preliminary Assessment on UAPThe ODNI's preliminary UAP assessment is published (see the Library record).📄 Document · 8 min readUAP Disclosure ActA 2023 Senate proposal by Chuck Schumer and Mike Rounds to release UAP records.🗓️ Event · 5 min readFY2023 NDAA UAP provisionsThe UAP sections of the 2023 defense bill are published with late changes.🗓️ Event · 5 min readDecember 2022 Pentagon UAP briefingPentagon officials say they've seen no evidence that crashed UAP are from another world.

UAP hearings in Congress

🗓️ Event · 10 min read2022 House UAP hearingRep. Mike Gallagher asks a Pentagon official about the 'Admiral Wilson memo' at a hearing.🗓️ Event · 12 min readHouse Armed Services Committee UFO hearing (1966)The Blue Book chief tells Congress there are no unexplained radar cases, contradicted by records.🗓️ Event · 9 min readGerald Ford's call for UFO hearingsRep. Gerald Ford is told an upcoming UAP study won't be tied to the Air Force.🗓️ Event · 5 min read1978 House SETI hearingA NASA official testifies to the House about searching for extraterrestrial intelligence.🗓️ Event · 5 min readHillenkoetter's 1960 call for hearingsFormer CIA Director Hillenkoetter tells a newspaper UFOs are under intelligent control.🗓️ Event · 5 min readLiberation Times whistleblower hearings reportInsiders tell a journalist that congressional whistleblower hearings are coming.

Congress on the timeline

1. 18 December 2022A journalist says certain congressional committees have been told more than the public. Read the article →
2. 6 December 2022The UAP sections of the 2023 defense bill are published with late changes. Read the article →
3. 14 October 2022Warner's son describes a 'Cosmos Club' as a forerunner of a group like MJ-12. Read the article →
4. 14 October 2022Former Navy Secretary John Warner's son says his father saw something at a Navy test center. Read the article →
5. September 2022Mellon says there are many allegations of an off-the-books aerospace UAP operation. Read the article →
6. 3 August 2022Stanford's Garry Nolan discusses claims that crash materials went to aerospace companies. Read the article →
7. 17 May 2022Rep. Mike Gallagher asks a Pentagon official about the 'Admiral Wilson memo' at a hearing. Read the article →
8. 16 May 2022An official tells Politico a 'secret society' withholds UAP information from Congress. Read the article →
9. 2 October 2021Eric Davis says Energy Department labs analyzed UAP materials for another owner. Read the article →
10. 15 September 2021Researchers ask sources about a name in the alleged Wilson memo. Read the article →
11. 6 September 2019Rep. Mark Walker accuses the Navy of withholding UAP information. Read the article →
12. 12 July 2019DeLonge says To The Stars spent 18 months briefing the Senate and committees. Read the article →
13. 26 February 2019A TV producer sues former officials over a company called InterNASA. Read the article →
14. 18 April 2016Steven Greer names underground facilities he claims are tied to secret programs. Read the article →
15. 5 November 2015The NRO tells a FOIA requester it has no UFO records. Read the article →
16. March 2014A Navy budget document mentions research on metamaterials to control electromagnetic waves. Read the article →
17. 13 February 2009CSETI allegedly briefs Obama officials and senators on breakthrough energy. Read the article →
18. 24 December 2008Puthoff tells Vallée the White House is interested in a meeting about the phenomenon. Read the article →
19. 29 October 2008Kit Green tells Vallée AAWSAP funding could reach $240 million. Read the article →
20. 17 October 2006Eric Davis says George H.W. Bush recalled a briefing about recovered material. Read the article →
21. June 2004Catherine Austin Fitts writes that huge sums are being diverted into secret programs. Read the article →
22. 27 November 2002A federal commission on the aerospace industry delivers its final report to Congress. Read the article →
23. October 2002A three-foot orb is reported moving along fences at a Nevada nuclear weapons storage area. Read the article →
24. 1 September 2002A couple tells Vallée they saw a large collection of UFO files at Norton AFB in 1985. Read the article →

The full Congress timeline →

Whistleblower claims and what they allege

These articles describe what was claimed, by whom, and what officials said in response — the encyclopedia reports claims as claims.

👤 Person · 12 min readDavid GruschFormer intelligence officer who testified in 2023 that the U.S. has recovered non-human craft.🏛️ Program or study · 10 min readCrash retrievalThe alleged recovery of crashed non-human craft by governments.🏛️ Program or study · 6 min readLegacy programA term for alleged long-running secret programs said to hold recovered non-human craft.🏛️ Program or study · 5 min readImmaculate ConstellationAn alleged unacknowledged special access program for UAP imagery, described in Michael Shellenberger's 2024 report to Congress.📖 Term · 3 min readFive observablesLuis Elizondo's list of five unusual flight traits reported in UAP encounters.🗓️ Event · 7 min readSBIRS UAP detections claimChristopher Mellon says a missile-warning satellite system has recorded unidentified objects.

Key people

• Luis ElizondoFormer Army counterintelligence officer who says he ran AATIP.
• Christopher MellonFormer deputy assistant secretary of defense for intelligence who helped release the Navy UAP videos.
• Ryan GravesFormer Navy F/A-18 pilot who testified to Congress about frequent UAP sightings off the East Coast in 2014–15.
• David FravorNavy pilot who saw the 2004 Tic Tac object.
• Alex DietrichNavy pilot who saw the 2004 Tic Tac object.
• Kevin DayRadar operator aboard the USS Princeton in 2004.
• Tim GallaudetRetired Navy rear admiral and former acting NOAA head who testified about UAP in 2024.
• Sean KirkpatrickFirst director of AARO (2022–23).
• Jon KosloskiNSA scientist who became director of AARO in August 2024.
• Chuck SchumerSenate Democratic leader who co-wrote the 2023 UAP Disclosure Act.
• Mike RoundsSouth Dakota senator who co-wrote the UAP Disclosure Act.
• Kirsten GillibrandNew York senator who helped create AARO and chaired a 2023 hearing on its work.
• Marco RubioFormer Florida senator and Secretary of State who pushed for the 2021 UAP report.
• Harry ReidSenate Majority Leader who arranged funding for AAWSAP.
• Tim BurchettTennessee congressman and outspoken advocate of UAP disclosure.
• Anna Paulina LunaFlorida congresswoman who led a 2025 House task force on declassification that held a UAP hearing.
• Avi LoebHarvard astrophysicist who founded the Galileo Project to look for alien technology.
• Garry NolanStanford immunologist who studies UAP-related injuries and claimed materials.
• Ross CoulthartAustralian journalist who reported David Grusch's claims.
• Jeremy CorbellFilmmaker who made documentaries on Bob Lazar and Skinwalker Ranch and released leaked Navy UAP videos.
• George KnappLas Vegas journalist who broke the Bob Lazar story and co-wrote Skinwalkers at the Pentagon.

Every person in the encyclopedia →

🏛️ Official UAP records

Government documents in the Disclosure Library that deal with UAP, newest first:

• Briefing Notes for Mr. Walter ElderCIA · Released Aug 7, 2026This document contains briefing material prepared for Mr. Walter N. Elder, Executive Assistant to the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), regarding a November 19, 1964, incident allegedly involving uniden…
• “Apollo 16 Scientific Debriefing”NASA · Released Jun 12, 2026At 32:41, the speaker makes an off-handed comment, “Could be an alien starbase or something, I don’t know” when discussing correlations between experimental data sets. 
• “Apollo 16 Scientific Debriefing”NASA · Released Jun 12, 2026This debriefing includes presentations from principal investigators of various Apollo experiments. The principal investigators describe preliminary results of their work to educate the Apollo crews about what they’ve ob…
• U.S. Air Force Analysis of Flying Objects in the United States, 101-172Department of War · Released Jun 12, 2026Includes a "Check-List - Unidentified Flying Objects" that contains details about the incident. Many summaries also include witness lists or statements and other narrative reports or descriptions. 
• U.S. Air Force Analysis of Flying Objects in the United States, 1-100Department of War · Released Jun 12, 2026Includes a "Check-List - Unidentified Flying Objects" that contains details about the incident. Many summaries also include witness lists or statements and other narrative reports or descriptions. 
• USNavy-Report-of-Flying-Discs 1948Department of War · Released Jun 12, 2026This document is a memorandum from the Commandant of the 5th Naval District, and it cites a memorandum related to "flying discs" from the Chief of Naval Operations. The memorandum requests that naval stations report inc…
• US Army-Flying-Saucer-Study 1949Department of War · Released Jun 12, 2026This file contains an Evaluation Study of the Phenomenon (Flying Saucers) prepared at the request of the Plans & Operations Divisions of the General Staff, U.S. Army (P&O, GSUSA) to determine if the origin could be trac…
• Project Blue Book Special Report No. 14 (Analysis of Reports of Unidentified Aerial Objects)CIA · Released Jun 12, 2026This is the USAF Project Blue Book with a CIA cover sheet stating the document is "Official Record Copy." With the exception of the handwritten note on the first page, the content of this document has been available on …
• FD-302, Unidentified Aerial Object Observation Report, 2026FBI · June 2026This document is an FBI FD-302, a form the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) uses to record interviews. This FD-302 records a 2026 interview with two Federal Special Agents, in which the interviewees describe an inc…
• Triangular UAP AARO Memorandum for Record, 2026Department of War · June 2026This document is a memorandum for record documenting an AARO witness debrief concerning reported unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) observations at a sensitive national security site in the western United States ove…
• Mercury Atlas 7, May 24, 1962NASA · Released May 22, 2026During the fourth crewed spaceflight and second orbital flight of Project Mercury, Mercury-Atlas 7 (MA-7), Aurora 7 pilot Scott Carpenter describes white particles in view that appear to move at “random” and “look exact…
• James Tuck Correspondence, 1970sDepartment of Energy · Released May 22, 2026Personal correspondence to and from James Tuck, a Los Alamos National Laboratory-affiliated physicist, regarding his interest in unidentified anomalous phenomena circa 1970s.
• Enhanced PANTEX ImageryDepartment of Energy · Released May 22, 2026A Pantex Unidentified Object Incident Report that includes an enhanced image from ground surveillance radar tower.
• 65 HS1-834228961 62-HQ-83894 SUB AFBI · Released May 8, 2026The FBI's 62-HQ-83894 case file includes investigative records, eyewitness testimonies, and public reports concerning Unidentified Flying Objects and flying discs documented between June 1947 and July 1968. The records …

All official UFO files →

🗓️ Latest UAP developments on the timeline

1. 23 October 2026The U.S. Department of War released batch 7 of its official UFO / UAP files under PURSUE, including 28 documents. On the timeline →
2. 18 September 2026The U.S. Department of War released batch 6 of its official UFO / UAP files under PURSUE, including 15 videos, 59 documents and 1 audio recording. On the timeline →
3. 7 August 2026The U.S. Department of War released batch 5 of its official UFO / UAP files under PURSUE, including 16 videos, 3 photos and renderings and 22 documents. On the timeline →
4. 10 July 2026The U.S. Department of War released batch 4 of its official UFO / UAP files under PURSUE, including 19 videos, 3 photos and renderings, 13 documents and 4 audio recordings. On the timeline →
5. 12 June 2026The U.S. Department of War released batch 3 of its official UFO / UAP files under PURSUE, including 6 videos, 9 photos and renderings, 54 documents and 3 audio recordings. On the timeline →
6. 22 May 2026The U.S. Department of War released batch 2 of its official UFO / UAP files under PURSUE, including 50 videos, 6 documents and 7 audio recordings. On the timeline →
7. 8 May 2026The U.S. Department of War released batch 1 of its official UFO / UAP files under PURSUE, including 27 videos, 14 photos and renderings, 116 documents and 1 audio recording. On the timeline →
8. 19 December 2022George Knapp says he knows of at least four 'legacy' UAP programs. Read the article →
9. 18 December 2022A journalist says certain congressional committees have been told more than the public. Read the article →
10. 17 December 2022Pentagon officials say they've seen no evidence that crashed UAP are from another world. Read the article →
11. 6 December 2022The UAP sections of the 2023 defense bill are published with late changes. Read the article →

The whole UAP timeline → UFO news →

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