Marauder System’s Role in UAP Reporting and Military Operations

Marauder System’s Role in UAP Reporting and Military Operations Released to the public on June 27, 2024, this document is an unclassified summary of Report No. DODIG-2023-109, "Evaluation of the DoD’s Actions Regarding Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena." The document is available on The Black Vault's website, documents2.theblackvault.com, and the canonical PDF can be found at documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dod/dodig-eval-uap.pdf. The document was released to The Black Vault through a Freedom of Information Act request, and its release was authorized by the Defense Intelligence Agency. Inspector General U.S. Department of Defense INTEGRITY  INDEPENDENCE  EXCELLENCE Unclassified Summary of Report No. DODIG-2023-109, “Evaluation of the DoD’s Actions Regarding Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena,” August 15, 2023 JANUARY 24, 2024 II │ NOTE: A classified version of the Evaluation of the DoD’s Actions Regarding Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena formed the basis of the unclassified summary. │ 1 Historical Background 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). Military pilots have historically reported many of the reported UAP sightings. Also, the Air Force and Navy have been at the forefront of developing policies, procedures, and mechanisms for reporting UAP. In fact, the DoD has relied heavily on the Services and Components to detect, report, collect, analyze, and identify UAP since the 1940s. 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 2020, as a result of increased concerns of flight crew safety, national security, and adversary technology advances, Congress directed the DoD, through the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, to develop, fund, and staff a formal interagency entity to study, collect data, and report on UAP. On July 20, 2022, the DoD established the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) to be that entity. Chapter 6, title 10, United States Code, establishes the authorities of combatant commanders, who are responsible for detecting, deterring, and preventing threats and attacks against the United States and its territories, possessions, and bases. After a review of the laws, policies, and guidance issued by Congress, the DoD, and other Federal agencies, we determined that, while the Services and Components have an important role to play, the combatant commands would be the logical organizations to detect, report, collect, and identify UAP incidents to AARO. 2 │ Introduction Objective 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). Background The FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) defined UAP as “unidentified anomalous phenomena,” which include: (a) airborne objects that are not immediately identifiable, (b) transmedium objects or devices, and (c) submerged objects or devices that are not immediately identifiable. 1 According to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’ s Preliminary Assessment on UAP, UAP are objects that are not immediately identifiable, lack a single explanation, and fall into one of five potential explanatory categories: airborne clutter, natural atmospheric phenomena, U.S. Government or industry developmental programs, foreign adversary systems, and a catchall “other” category. Senate Armed Services Committee Fiscal Year Reports DoD efforts to identify and understand UAP have been irregular because of competing priorities, lack of substantive progress, and inconclusive findings. However, military pilots have continued to report UAP incidents despite the sporadic efforts of the DoD to identify, report, and analyze the events. As a result, Congressional committees included language about their UAP concerns in the FYs 2019 through 2023 NDAAs and a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Report on the FY 2021 Intelligence Authorization Act. In FY 2019 and FY 2020, Congress noted its concern regarding unidentified and unexplained airborne activity in sensitive areas and required the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security (OUSD[I&S]) and the intelligence community (IC) to establish an interagency task force and develop a plan to investigate and address the activity. 2 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. 3 1 Public Law 117-263, “James M. In