How AARO Investigates UAP: Inside the Pentagon's Anomaly Resolution Office
How the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) investigates UAP cases — from initial military intake through technical assessment, geospatial analysis, and the four-status classification (corroborated, anomalous, unresolved, resolved).
The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) is the U.S. Department of War body responsible for receiving, investigating, and resolving UAP reports. Established by Congress in 2022 under the National Defense Authorization Act, AARO replaced the earlier UAP Task Force (UAPTF) and unifies investigation across the Air Force, Navy, intelligence community, and NASA. AARO's case workflow runs from raw military intake through technical assessment to one of four formal status classifications: corroborated, anomalous, unresolved, or resolved. AARO's most-cited 2026 resolution was the U.S. Navy GOFAST clip from 2017, formally resolved as a parallax artifact at approximately 13,000 feet altitude. Director Dr. Jon Kosloski reports through the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security. UAP.WATCH indexes all PURSUE Release 01 cases with their assigned AARO status.
“Through a very careful geospatial intelligence analysis and using trigonometry, we assess with high confidence that the object is not actually close to the water.”
How a UAP report enters AARO
AARO receives UAP reports from multiple intake channels: U.S. military aircrew via Hazard Reports (HAZREPs) and Operational Reports (OPREPs); intelligence-community partners via classified channels; whistleblower reports under the protections established by the FY2024 NDAA; and direct civilian-pilot reports via an online portal at aaro.mil/Report. Each intake report is logged with a unique tracking ID, witness credentials, sensor data (if available), and geographic metadata before being routed for technical review.
The four AARO statuses
AARO assigns every reviewed case one of four status labels. CORROBORATED means the report is supported by multiple credible witnesses or sensors with no clear conventional explanation. ANOMALOUS means the report exhibits flight characteristics or signatures that depart from known aerospace performance — the case is not necessarily extraterrestrial, but is genuinely unexplained. UNRESOLVED means the report cannot yet be assigned to either anomalous or resolved due to insufficient data. RESOLVED means AARO has identified a conventional explanation (parallax, sensor artifact, balloon, drone, atmospheric phenomenon, classified U.S. or foreign aircraft).
Technical assessment methods
AARO technical staff include physicists, geospatial-intelligence analysts, sensor-systems engineers, and atmospheric scientists. Standard analysis includes geospatial trigonometry to reconstruct the actual altitude and trajectory of imaged objects (used decisively to resolve GOFAST in 2026); FLIR/IR sensor artifact analysis; radar cross-section modelling; and comparison against known foreign-state aerospace platforms. Where applicable, AARO consults the FAA, NASA, NOAA, and allied intelligence services. AARO has stated it does not have authority to compel external testimony but does have authority to request voluntary cooperation.
Public communication and PURSUE
AARO communicates findings publicly through formal reports — including the 2024 Historical Record Report Volume I — and through the PURSUE disclosure framework at war.gov/UFO. Cases declassified under PURSUE Release 01 are published with their AARO status. Director Dr. Jon Kosloski has held formal press briefings since taking office in July 2024; these are mirrored on the war.gov/UFO portal. UAP.WATCH provides an independent visualization layer showing every PURSUE-released case with its AARO status, source agency, and underlying primary document.