What Is AARO? The U.S. All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office Explained
An introduction to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), the U.S. Department of Defense office established in 2022 to investigate unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), including its mission and the official records and reports it publishes.
The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) is the U.S. Department of Defense office responsible for investigating unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP). This guide explains what AARO is, what it does, and the official records it publishes.
What AARO is
AARO was established in July 2022 by the Department of Defense, in coordination with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). It succeeded earlier efforts including the UAP Task Force and sits within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security. Its creation and mandate are tied to the National Defense Authorization Acts of recent years.
AARO’s mission
AARO’s stated mission is to detect, identify, and attribute objects of interest in, on, or near military installations, operating areas, airspace, and other domains, and to resolve UAP reports, in order to mitigate potential threats to safety and national security. It operates a mechanism for current and former U.S. government personnel and contractors to report UAP.
What AARO publishes
AARO maintains a public website (aaro.mil) and publishes several categories of official material, indexed by this archive:
- Case resolution reports for specific incidents (for example, the “GoFast” video).
- Consolidated annual reports on UAP, issued jointly with ODNI.
- The Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with UAP (Volume I, 2024).
- Official UAP imagery and a UAP reporting trends page.
- An electronic FOIA reading room and a UAP Records section.
What AARO has reported so far
In its historical record report, AARO stated that it found no verifiable evidence that any UAP sighting reflected extraterrestrial technology, and no empirical evidence that the U.S. government or private companies have reverse-engineered such technology. Its case resolutions have generally attributed analyzed incidents to ordinary objects and effects. See the linked records for the official sources.