Every claim on this site comes from a credible source, and the source is always shown so you can check it yourself. How we check
Credible TheoriesTheories with evidence, sourced Surprise me
Visitors From Elsewhere · Declassified Files · Mind and Psi Research · US Department of Defense (AARO)

The AARO Report: What the Pentagon Found in Its Own UFO History

The Pentagon's UAP office reviewed US government UFO history back to 1945 and found no evidence of alien technology, or of a program hiding it.

EvidenceDocumentedThe original document is public and linked below.
What this means

Primary records exist: an original document, a published text, an official file or a dated report. We link to them. This level says the record exists and what it says, not that every claim in it is true.

See all five labels

The short answer

AARO's Historical Record Report, Volume I, released March 8, 2024, reviewed US government UAP history from 1945 to October 2023. It found no evidence that any sighting was extraterrestrial technology, or of any program reverse-engineering it.

The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) is the Defense Department office responsible for UAP. Its "Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), Volume I" is dated February 2024. It was released on March 8, 2024, together with a statement from Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder. The unclassified report runs 63 pages and covers the period from 1945 through October 2023.

Its central finding reads: "AARO found no evidence that any USG investigation, academic-sponsored research, or official review panel has confirmed that any sighting of a UAP represented extraterrestrial technology." It also found no empirical evidence that the government or private companies had been reverse-engineering alien technology. It concluded that most sightings were ordinary objects that had been misidentified, such as drones, weather balloons, spy planes, satellites, rockets and planets.

The report responded directly to claims made publicly in 2023. AARO assessed that "the inaccurate claim that the USG is reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology and is hiding it from Congress is, in large part, the result of circular reporting from a group of individuals who believe this to be the case, despite the lack of any evidence." It also reviewed older studies, noting that the 1953 Robertson Panel had discussed "the complete lack of the recovery of any 'hardware'" from unexplained sightings.

The strangest section covers KONA BLUE. Interviewees told AARO it was "a sensitive DHS compartment to cover up the retrieval and exploitation of 'non-human biologics.'" AARO found it was only a proposal. After the DIA cancelled its AAWSAP/AATIP program, supporters pitched the Department of Homeland Security on a new program. It "would restart UAP investigations, paranormal research (including alleged 'human consciousness anomalies') and reverse-engineer any recovered off-world spacecraft that they hoped to acquire." DHS leadership turned it down.

Questions people ask about AARO Historical Record Report, Volume I

What did the AARO report conclude?

AARO found no evidence that any US government investigation, academic research or review panel had confirmed a UAP sighting as extraterrestrial technology. It found no empirical evidence of reverse-engineering alien technology, and concluded most sightings were misidentified ordinary objects such as drones, weather balloons, spy planes, satellites, rockets and planets.

What is KONA BLUE?

Interviewees told AARO that KONA BLUE was a secret Homeland Security compartment to cover up the retrieval of "non-human biologics." AARO found it was only a proposal, pitched after the DIA cancelled its AAWSAP/AATIP program, to fund UAP and paranormal research and reverse-engineer any off-world craft its backers hoped to acquire. DHS leadership turned it down.

Where can I read the AARO report PDF?

The report, dated February 2024 and released March 8, 2024, is listed on AARO's Congressional/Press Products page at aaro.mil, alongside the Pentagon press statement. The 63-page unclassified PDF itself is hosted by the Department of Defense. Both are linked in the sources on this page.

Sources

  1. AARO Congressional/Press Products (AARO Historical Record Report: Volume 1; 2024, and Pentagon press statement, March 8, 2024), All-domain Anomaly Resolution OfficePrimary text
  2. Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), Volume I, AARO, February 2024 (official PDF, U.S. Department of Defense)Primary text
  3. Pentagon finds 'no evidence' of alien technology in new UFO report, NPR, March 8, 2024Reference

Quotations come from public-domain translations. Links open the free online copy or the reference page.

Updated