The Pentagon on Tuesday unveiled a new online tool for troops and other federal employees to report sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena, or information about related U.S. programs.
Current and former U.S. service members, government workers and contractors can now use an online form to share “direct knowledge of alleged U.S. government programs or activities related to [unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP)] dating back to 1945.”
The form is through the Defense Department’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), office Director Sean Kirkpatrick told reporters Tuesday.
The new reporting mechanism is an addition to AARO’s website, first unveiled in late August, to provide official declassified information on UAPs, including pictures and videos, for the public to view.
The form is not meant for public use, but Kirkpatrick said he understands there’s wide interest in reporting UAP sightings to AARO.
“We are exploring methods for how the public can do so in the forthcoming third phase of the secure reporting mechanism,” he added.
Formerly the Airborne Object Identification and Management Group, AARO was established under last year’s National Defense Authorization Act to broaden the scope of its responsibilities.
Kirkpatrick, whose office is charged with gathering information on UAP incidents stretching back to 1945, said the data will be included in a congressionally mandated report due in June. The report is meant to help investigations into alleged U.S. government programs related to such unexplained incidents.
The form is separate from reporting procedures announced by the Joint Staff in May for service members to report current UAP sightings.
“Operational reporting is different,” he said. “That is, pilot’s flying around, and he sees something in his airspace and he needs to report it. That goes through operational channels.”
It also doesn’t affect Federal Aviation Administration reporting guidance for current observations from civilian pilots, Kirkpatrick noted.
He stressed that any information provided using the form would be “protected as personal and confidential,” as would information revealed in follow-up interviews with AARO officials.
“I’d also like to take this opportunity to strongly encourage any current or former U.S. government employees, military or civilian, or contractors who believe that they have firsthand knowledge of a U.S. government UAP program or activity to please come forward using this new secure reporting mechanism,” Kirkpatrick said. “We want to hear from you.”
The form comes after months of delays and criticism from lawmakers on the lack of information from the Pentagon regarding UAP incidents, how they should be reported and how defense officials have responded to such reported events.
It also comes after explosive testimony from former intelligence official David Grusch at a House hearing in July, when he claimed the Pentagon is covering up evidence related to extraterrestrial craft and lifeforms.
Grusch told the House Oversight Committee that the Pentagon is hiding a long-running program trying to reverse engineer “nonhuman” technology and that he knows “the exact locations” of the materials.
The Pentagon, meanwhile, has denied such claims, and that it has not discovered any verifiable information to substantiate Grusch’s assertions.