The U.S. Department of Defense launched a website this week that will give the public access to declassified reports and other information it has gathered about unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), more commonly referred to as UFOs.
The department defines UAP as “sources of anomalous detections” on land, sea and outer space — or any variation of the three — that remain unexplained by modern science and technology.
Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said during a press briefing on Thursday that the website will serve as a “one-stop shop” for any new information and reports on UAP gathered by the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), a department launched by the Pentagon in 2021 following more than 100 anomaly sightings the previous year.
“This website will provide information, including videos and photos, on resolved UAP cases as they’re declassified and approved for public release,” Ryder said, adding that reporting trends, a frequently-asked-questions section, links to official reports, transcripts and press release will also be available on the site.
The website will also feature a UAP reporting mechanism for current or former U.S. government employees, service members or contractors with direct knowledge of UAP-related programs or activities dating back to 1945.
The AARO was established in part through the National Defense Authorization Act, an annual defense policy bill that lawmakers are now seeking to use to make the federal government release more information on UFOs, CBS News reported.
The Pentagon said in April that it was tracking more than 650 potential UFO cases, marking a significant uptick from the 350 reports that were referenced in an unclassified intelligence report on UAP that was released earlier this year, according to CNN. The number of UFO sightings reported earlier this year was also a dramatic increase from the first report on the matter that was released in 2021.
In July, a former Air Force intelligence officer David Grusch, who served on two Pentagon task forces to investigate UFOs, testified before Congress last month as part of an investigation into the reports of UFOs, during which he revealed that the U.S. government has a longstanding program that retrieves crashed unidentified flying objects.
Grusch also said that “non-human” “biologics” were found at the crash sites where those objects were recovered. Following the hearing, a bipartisan group of lawmakers called on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to form a select committee to investigate the federal government’s response to UAP.