Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena
Overview
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence Preliminary Assessment on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) is the first unclassified intelligence community assessment examining UAP reports from U.S. military sources. Published in June 2021, the report analyzed 144 UAP incidents reported by U.S. government sources between 2004 and 2021. This assessment preceded the May 2022 House Intelligence Committee hearing, the first public congressional hearing on UAP in over 50 years.
Issuing Authority
- Agency: Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI)
- Parent Organization: U.S. Intelligence Community
- Date Issued: June 25, 2021
- Classification: Unclassified (Public Release)
- Document Type: Preliminary Assessment
- Legal Authority: Intelligence Authorization Act for FY2021
Key Topics Covered
- Analysis of 144 UAP reports from U.S. government sources
- Five potential explanatory categories: airborne clutter, natural atmospheric phenomena, U.S. government or industry developmental programs, foreign adversary systems, and other
- 18 incidents described as demonstrating unusual flight characteristics
- Lack of sufficient data to identify all UAP incidents
- Potential national security implications
- Recommendations for expanded data collection and analysis
Official Source
- ODNI Publication Page →
- Preliminary Assessment (PDF)PDF — Official ODNI document