uap.watch
// COMPARISON //

AARO vs the UAP Task Force — Pentagon UAP Investigation Bodies Compared

AARO (All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office) succeeded the Navy UAP Task Force in 2022. AARO is congressionally mandated, all-domain, and unifies investigation across Air Force, Navy, intelligence, and NASA.

The U.S. government has had multiple UAP investigation bodies over the decades; the two most relevant to the modern record are the Navy UAP Task Force (UAPTF, 2020–2022) and AARO (All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, 2022–present). UAPTF was a Navy-led ad-hoc body established under the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security; AARO is a congressionally-mandated, all-domain body established under the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. UAPTF produced the June 2021 Preliminary Assessment to Congress (the so-called "ODNI Report") covering 144 incidents from 2004 to 2021. AARO publishes the formal Annual UAP Report and conducts the case-by-case resolution work — including the 2026 GOFAST resolution. AARO also administers PURSUE Release 01 in cooperation with the Department of War.

“AARO is the central body for investigating UAP reports under 50 U.S.C. § 3373.”

Side-by-side

// UAP TASK FORCE (UAPTF) //
ACTIVE
August 2020 – November 2022
AUTHORITY
Navy / Office of the Under Secretary of Defense
SCOPE
Aerial only
KEY PRODUCT
June 2021 Preliminary Assessment (144 cases)
STATUS TODAY
Dissolved; superseded by AARO
// AARO //
ESTABLISHED
December 2022 (NDAA)
AUTHORITY
Congressionally mandated under 50 U.S.C. § 3373
SCOPE
All-domain (air, space, surface, underwater)
KEY PRODUCTS
Annual UAP Report, Historical Record Report, PURSUE Release
STATUS TODAY
Active; central UAP body

What changed in 2022

The 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) elevated UAP investigation from a Navy-led ad-hoc body to a congressionally-mandated all-domain office under 50 U.S.C. § 3373. This change unified investigation across the Air Force, Navy, intelligence community, and NASA, and required AARO to publish an annual public UAP report and a Historical Record Report covering 80 years of U.S. government UAP records.

Why the upgrade mattered

UAPTF was air-only; AARO covers air, space, surface, and underwater (trans-medium) phenomena. UAPTF's reporting was largely classified; AARO's public reporting is statutory. The 2026 GOFAST resolution, the Historical Record Report, and the PURSUE Release 01 catalog are all AARO-era products that would not have existed under the UAPTF structure. The UAP Task Force should be understood as the bridge between earlier Navy efforts (UAPTF predecessor: the 2017 Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP)) and the current AARO regime.

// PRIMARY SOURCES //
// RELATED COMPARISONS //