UAP / UFO Sources

UAP / UFO Sources#

Reference of authoritative sources tracking unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP, the term that replaced “UFO” in US government usage from 2022 onward), including government programs, civilian networks, declassified document repositories, and academic projects.

The space mixes serious analytical work (US AARO, France’s GEIPAN, academic groups) with civilian reporting networks of varying quality. Operator approach: prefer government / academic primary sources; treat civilian databases as raw data needing curation.

Government programs#

Program

Notes

AARO (US DoD)

All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office; established 2022 under FY22 NDAA; consolidates AATIP / UAPTF / AOIMSG predecessors. Public reports + secure-reporting channel for service members.

ODNI UAP Reports

Annual unclassified report to Congress (since 2021).

NASA UAP Study

2023 independent study panel + UAP Research Director.

GEIPAN (France)

Groupe d’études et d’informations sur les phénomènes aérospatiaux non identifiés; CNES bureau, est. 1977. Public archive.

INTREP (Chile)

Comité de Estudios de Fenómenos Aéreos Anómalos (CEFAA); under DGAC.

Project Blue Book

US Air Force, 1952-1969; declassified; archives at NARA.

Condon Committee

1968 University of Colorado study under USAF contract.

RAF UFO desk

UK MoD; closed 2009; archive at National Archives.

DRDO / IAF

India occasional public statements; no public bureau.

GRAVE (Brazil)

Grupo Aeronáutico de Estudos de Fenômenos Aeroespaciais.

Document archives#

Source

Notes

Project Blue Book Archive

~12,000 cases; National Archives + civilian mirrors (e.g. The Black Vault).

The Black Vault

Civilian-run FOIA archive; 2.5M+ pages of declassified UFO / UAP documents.

CIA FOIA Reading

Includes the CIA’s UFO documents page; declassified collections.

NARA Records

National Archives; Project Blue Book + AAWSAP / AATIP FOIA releases.

GEIPAN online

Public case database since 1977 (https://www.cnes-geipan.fr/). French government, well-curated.

NICAP archive

National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena; 1956-1980 historical archive.

DOPEL (Italy)

Centro Italiano Studi Ufologici archive.

Civilian reporting networks#

Network

Notes

NUFORC

National UFO Reporting Center; US-based phone hotline + web. Largest English-language civilian database.

MUFON

Mutual UFO Network; volunteer field investigators.

CUFOS

Center for UFO Studies (J. Allen Hynek’s org).

UAPx

Civilian-scientific instrumented field expeditions.

SCU

Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies; analyzes cases.

Galileo Project

Avi Loeb’s Harvard-led observational program.

Sky360 / SkyHub

Distributed all-sky camera / sensor networks.

UAPDB

UAP Database aggregator.

Academic / observational#

Group

Notes

Galileo Project

Harvard; observatories with cameras + spectrometers + radar.

UAPx

Multispectral expeditions; peer-reviewed publications.

UNH UAP Course

UNH degree-program-level academic study (Knuth et al.).

AIAA UAP TC

AIAA UAP Integration & Outreach Committee.

SCU

Peer-reviewed publications on case studies + methodology.

Reporting channels#

Channel

Notes

AARO Reporting Tool

(US service members + DoD-affiliated civilians; secure; online at aaro.mil).

FAA SUR

NOTAM-adjacent reports filed via FAA via 7110.65 procedure; transferred to AARO under MoU.

NUFORC

Public-facing US civilian reporting (phone + web).

MUFON Case Mgmt

Public-facing US civilian reporting via web app.

GEIPAN

French civilian reports via CNES web form.

National AOC / Air

Force forms Many countries channel reports through air forces or civil aviation authorities.

Operator notes#

  • Authoritative vs. crowdsourced, GEIPAN and AARO output is government-curated; NUFORC / MUFON databases are raw and full of false positives (planets, satellites, Starlink trains, drones, aircraft). Filter before analysis.

  • Starlink reflection, a major 2020+ source of false UAP reports; cross-reference SatNOGS / Heavens-Above pass times.

  • CelesTrak passes, ~10% of casual UAP sightings explain as ISS / Starlink / iridium-flare / planetary opposition.

  • Drones, since 2017 the dominant explanation in the US for large clusters near military installations.

  • NDAAA + UAP whistleblower protections, US service members may file directly; protected in statute since 2022.

  • Hoax / pareidolia, camera artifacts (sensor lens flare, pelican-style optical aberrations on iPhone night-mode) drive much of online UAP content.

References#

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