Birds, balloons, and other ‘prosaic objects’: annual UFO report fuels allegations of coverup

The report is the latest effort by the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, or AARO, established to identify, catalog, and, when possible, explain what used to be known colloquially as UFOs. And to people who fervently believe the sightings of unexplained things in the sky are evidence of visitors from elsewhere in the universe, it’s an unsatisfying 17-page government document full of numbers and charts that offer no definitive answers.

ARRO has received over 1,600 UAP reports since its creation, 757 of which are from May 1, 2023, to June 1, 2024, the period covered in the latest report. It featured incident reports of 18 cases of drones flying over or near U.S. nuclear infrastructure, weapons, and launch sites.

“None of these resolved cases substantiated advanced foreign adversarial capabilities or breakthrough aerospace technologies,” the office stated. “AARO will provide immediate notification to Congress should AARO identify that any cases indicate or involve a breakthrough foreign adversarial aerospace capability.”

However, 174 of the cases were determined to involve “prosaic objects,” including “balloons, birds, UAS [drones], satellites, and aircraft.”

‘STRONG EVIDENCE’ OF ‘NON-HUMAN HIGHER INTELLIGENCE’: The prosaic tone of the report stands in stark contrast to testimony Wednesday before two House Oversight subcommittees, in which witnesses described accounts of aerial phenomena that defied explanation while alleging a government cover-up.

“We will also hear from the witnesses today allegations of UAP-related misinformation and disinformation by government officials of which they are personally aware and directly experienced,” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) said in her opening remarks. “And we will hear testimony today concerning recent revelations about a purportedly secret UAP program whose existence and findings may have been improperly withheld from Congress.”

“We should not turn a blind eye, but boldly face this new reality and learn from it,” said retired Rear Adm. Tim Gallaudet, who testified he saw a video of an inexplicable flying object during naval training exercises nearly a decade ago but that a video of the 2015 encounter that had been emailed to him, mysteriously disappeared from his email account. The UFO, he said, displayed “flight and structural characteristics unlike anything in our arsenal.”

But the most fantastic testimony came from Luis Elizondo, a former Pentagon official who suggested under questioning that the government has evidence it’s keeping highly classified “to hide the fact that we are not alone in the cosmos.”

“Was anything described that we have possession of bodies?” Elizondo was asked at one point. 

“Sir, I couldn’t answer that. I can tell you anecdotally that it was discussed quite a bit when I was at the Pentagon,” he replied. 

“What do you believe UAPs could be or are?” he was asked. “Strong evidence that they’re non-human higher intelligence,” he replied.

PENTAGON: ‘NO VERIFIABLE EVIDENCE OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL BEINGS’: The Pentagon acknowledges that hundreds of reports remain unexplained and more than 900 unresolved sightings lack sufficient data to draw any conclusions. 

“I want to emphasize that only a very small percentage of reports to AARO are potentially anomalous, but these are the cases that require significant time, resources, and focused scientific inquiry by AARO and its partners,” said Sabrina Singh, deputy Pentagon press secretary. “It is also important to underscore that to date, the department has discovered no verifiable evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology.”

But at the same time, the Pentagon says it takes the threat posed by Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena seriously. 

“Unidentified objects in any domain pose potential threats to safety and security. Reports of unidentified anomalous phenomenon, particularly near national security sites, must be treated seriously and investigated with scientific rigor by the U.S. government,” Jon Kosloski, the new director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, told reporters at the Pentagon. “AARO will follow the science and data wherever they lead. And we are committed to sharing as much information as possible at the unclassified level to inform the public of our activities and findings.” 

FORMER NAVY REAR ADMIRAL TESTIFIES THAT UAP WARNING EMAIL WAS SCRUBBED FROM SERVER

Good Friday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Christopher Tremoglie (@chriswtremo). Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow me on Threads and/or on X @jamiejmcintyre.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP OR READ BACK ISSUES OF DAILY ON DEFENSENOTE TO READERS: This is the last Daily on Defense for the month. Beginning next week  Daily on Defense will be on an extended Thanksgiving break from Nov. 18-29.

HAPPENING TODAY: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin departs today for his 12th visit to the Indo-Pacific region, with stops in Australia, the Philippines, Laos, and Fiji. Austin will represent the U.S. at the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus, which is a format for dialog between Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia, and the United States.

SURGING AID TO UKRAINE: In the remaining 10 weeks of the lame-duck Biden administration, the Pentagon is rushing to fulfill the president’s promise to deliver the remainder of $5.5 billion in weapons and ammunition that Congress has authorized for transfer to Ukraine. 

“The president made clear that he wants to spend down the authority that Congress has allocated and authorized before he leaves office, Sabrina Singh said at yesterday’s Pentagon briefing. “So we’re going to work very hard to make sure that happens.”

“You’ve seen us roll out very large packages … actually, I’d say a range of packages on a pretty frequent basis, almost, you know, almost weekly,” Singh said. “It is a short time …  just under 70 days. This Department can do incredible work in that amount of time.”

BOLTON’S BITING BROADSIDE: Trump’s former national security adviser, turned pertinacious critic, is not holding back when it comes to the president-elect’s most controversial Cabinet nominations, starting with Tulsi Gabbard, as the nation’s top spymaster.

“Well, I thought it was the worst cabinet-level appointment in history until we then heard about the Matt Gaetz appointment,” John Bolton said on CNN, where he makes regular appearances to excoriate his former boss. 

“Really, my reaction was that this is like the legend of Caligula, the Roman emperor who wanted to nominate his horse as a Roman consul. You had to be a Roman senator at the time to be a consul. And it was intended to show how demeaned and degraded the Roman Senate had become,” Bolton said. “So now we’re going to see whether the American Senate can stand up and reject two people who are totally unqualified, unfit professionally, and really lacking in the moral characteristics, the character that you need to hold these jobs. I think this vote should be 100-0 against both of them.”

BYRON YORK OPINION: MATT GAETZ ‘A TERRIBLE PICK’ FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL

HEGSETH’S ‘A WELL-KNOWN CHARACTER’: Nobody is disparaging retired Army Maj. Pete Hegseth’s military service which spanned 20 years and included tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, for which he received two Bronze Stars. However, many question whether a junior officer, whose claim to fame is a provocative Fox News host, who lacks any government service or experience managing a massive bureaucratic organization is the right fit for the Pentagon.

“Pete is a well-known character in the community, and he is absolutely and totally unqualified for this job. Maybe the most unqualified nominee in the history of the job, back to when it was the secretary of war. And the reaction from the Pentagon has been overwhelmingly shocked, flabbergasted, outraged,” said Paul Rieckhoff, an Iraq War veteran and CEO of Independent Veterans of America, who says he’s known Hegseth for a long time. “He’s more of a culture warrior than he is an administrator and someone who can effectively lead the Pentagon.”

While familiar to Fox viewers, several members of Congress said they had never heard of Hegseth until Trump announced him as his pick for defense secretary. “I did not know who Pete Hegseth was until about 20 minutes ago,” Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) confessed upon hearing the nomination. But since then, he’s been boning up on Hegseth’s bona fides. 

“I’ve learned a lot of things that make it all the more alarming,” Smith said in a Wednesday appearance on MSNBC. “He fundamentally doesn’t seem to approach these issues with much seriousness, and I understand that, he’s a pundit. Okay? That’s what pundits can do. They pontificate, they take ideas off the top of the head and they throw them out there for purposes of discussion. That’s fine. But if you’re going to run the Pentagon, you don’t need to be a pundit. You need to understand policy and you need to have actual concrete plans. So it is really concerning.” 

“Everything I’ve heard in the last 24 hours shows me that he’s a shoot-from-the-hip guy, doesn’t have a clear policy agenda, who is simply there to do Donald Trump’s bidding,” Smith said.

Meanwhile, plenty of videos of Hegseth’s antics have surfaced on social media, including an old clip where an axe-throwing stunt goes awry, and another video from his Fox job where he jokes that “Germs are not a real thing. I can’t see them, therefore they’re not real,” and claims he hasn’t washed his hands in 12 years. And then there’s the July 4th video, where, with his many tattoos on full display, he hawks American-made AK-47 ammunition. 

PETE HEGSETH, TRUMP’S ANTI-WOKE DEFENSE SECRETARY PICK, IS READY TO ROIL THE PENTAGON

CABINET WATCH: Six new names added on the growing list of Trump nominees and appointees to report this morning, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of health and human services and former Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) as veterans affairs secretary. Here’s the updated line-up: 

• Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), secretary of state 
• Pete Hegseth, secretary of defense
• Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), attorney general
• Todd Blanche, deputy attorney general
• Jay Clayton, U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York.
• Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence
• John Ratcliffe, CIA director
• Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL), national security adviser
• Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD), secretary of homeland security
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of health and human services 
• Former Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), veterans affairs secretary
• Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) ambassador to the United Nations.
• Mike Huckabee, ambassador to Israel
• Steven Witkoff, special envoy to the Middle East
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of health and human services
• Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), interior secretary 
• Susie Wiles, White House chief of staff
• Stephen Miller, deputy White House chief of staff for policy
• William McGinley, White House counsel
• Dean John Sauer, solicitor general 
• Tom Homan, ‘border czar’
• Former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), EPA administrator

THE RUNDOWN:

Washington Examiner: Pete Hegseth, Trump’s anti-woke defense secretary pick, is ready to roil the Pentagon

Washington Examiner: Trump and Hegseth on collision course with senior military leaders

Washington Examiner: Joint Chiefs Chairman tops hit list if Hegseth confirmed as Pentagon chief

Washington Examiner: Cory Mills calls Hegseth an outsider: ‘Exactly what we want’

Washington Examiner: Iran signals willingness to negotiate nuclear program safeguards following Trump reelection

Washington Examiner: Senate debates whether it will play Trump’s game with recess appointments

Washington Examiner: Everything you need to know about Trump VA nominee Doug Collins

Washington Examiner: Trump picks RFK Jr. for HHS secretary

Washington Examiner: Trump ending CBP One migrant app could have unintended border consequences

Washington Examiner: House Republicans confront math problem after Trump erodes their majority

Washington Examiner: Judges delay two Jan. 6 trials, citing Trump victory

Washington Examiner: US reaches trilateral agreement to increase production of polar icebreakers

Washington Examiner: Former Navy rear admiral testifies that UAP warning email was scrubbed from server

Washington Examiner: Opinion: How Trump can fix the broken intelligence community

Washington Examiner: Byron York Opinion: Matt Gaetz ‘a terrible pick’ for attorney general

Politico: Michael Anton and Sebastian Gorka in The Running for Deputy National Security Adviser

AP: Judge Sets Date for 9/11 Defendants to Enter Pleas, Deepening Battle over Court’s Independence

Wall Street Journal: US Must Be Prepared to Expand Nuclear Weapons Force, Biden Officials Say

Breaking Defense: Could Trump Establish a Space National Guard? Officials and Experts Say It’s Likely

AP: Russian Defense Official Visits China’s Premier Military Showcase in a Sign of Unity

DefenseScoop: ‘The Truly Anomalous’: New AARO Chief Unveils Pentagon’s Annual UAP Caseload Analysis, New Efforts

Air & Space Forces Magazine: Integration is the ‘Manhattan Project’ Facing Air Force Leaders

SpaceNews: Kratos to Develop Ground System for US Missile Defense Satellites

Wall Street Journal: Boeing Hires Northrop Executive to Revamp Pentagon Projects

Breaking Defense: ‘Glimpse Into the Future’: US Central Command Plans to Fly MQ-25 Unmanned Refueler

Stars and Stripes: ‘Pilot Error’ Behind Japanese Osprey Damage; Tiltrotors Resume Flights

Air & Space Forces Magazine: As Military Suicide Deaths Rise, DOD Hopes For ‘Unprecedented Investment’ In Prevention

Air & Space Forces Magazine: Air Force Electronic Warfare Chief Sees Limits to AI

Air & Space Forces Magazine: Weaponizing Space 

New York Times: Opinion: Trump’s Way Could Win the Contest With China Once and for All

THE CALENDAR: 

FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 15 

10 a.m. — Henry Stimson Center virtual discussion: “Post U.S. Election: Compromise or Confrontation with Iran?” with Fatemah Aman, Middle East Institute nonresident senior fellow; Nicole Grajewski, fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Nuclear Policy Program; Naysan Rafati, International Crisis Group; Iran senior analyst; and Behnam Ben Taleblu, Foundation for Defense of Democracies senior fellow https://www.stimson.org/event/post-u-s-election

9 a.m. 999 Ninth St. NW — American Bar Association Standing Committee on Law and National Security 34th Review of the Field of National Security Law Continuing Legal Education Conference: “National Security Law in the Era of Great Power Competition,” with former Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), chairwoman of the Commission on the National Defense Strategy; and White House special adviser on Artificial Intelligence Ben Buchanan https://events.americanbar.org/event

10 a.m. —  CSIS “Smart Women, Smart Power Initiative” virtual briefing: “Countering China and Russia: The Hidden Advantages of Women, Peace, and Security,” with Kathleen McInnis, director, Smart Women, Smart Power Initiative; Kyleanne Hunter, director, RAND Women, Peace, and Security Initiative; and Monica Herrera, acting director for international humanitarian policy and senior gender adviser, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy https://www.csis.org/programs/smart-women-smart-power

10 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Wilson Center Cold War International History Project discussion: “Triggering the Cold War: New Perspectives on Misperceptions and Misjudgments,” with Zhihua Shen, director of the East China Normal University at Shanghai’s Center for Cold War International History Studies https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/triggering-cold-war

11 a.m. 1957 E St. NW — George Washington University Institute for Korean Studies Korea Policy Forum: “Perspectives on the U.S.-Republic of Korea Alliance after the U.S. Presidential Election,” with former ROK Foreign Affairs Minister Park Jin https://calendar.gwu.edu/event/korea-policy-forum

12:30 p.m. 1957 E St. NW — George Washington University discussion: “The 2024 Elections in Europe and the U.S.: Implications for Democracy and Foreign Policy,” with William Drozdiak, global fellow at the Wilson Center Global Europe Program; Idrees Kahloon, Washington bureau chief for The Economist; and Kimberly Morgan, GWU professor of political science and director of GWU’s European and Eurasian Studies Program https://calendar.gwu.edu/event/the-2024-elections-in-europe

TUESDAY | NOVEMBER 19

3:15 p.m. G-50 Dirksen — Senate Armed Services Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee hearing: “Activities of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office” http://www.armed-services.senate.gov

2 p.m. 226 Dirksen — Senate Judiciary Privacy, Technology, and the Law Subcommittee hearing: “China’s cybersecurity threat” http://judiciary.senate.gov

WEDNESDAY | NOVEMBER 20

10 a.m. — House Committee on Homeland Security hearing: “Worldwide Threats,” with testimony from DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas; FBI Director Christopher Wray; and  Bret Holmgren, acting director, National Counterterrorism Center https://homeland.house.gov/hearings

THURSDAY | NOVEMBER 21

10 a.m. 342 Dirksen — Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing: “Threats to the Homeland,” with testimony from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas; FBI Director Christopher Wray; and Bret Holmgren, acting director of the National Counterterrorism Center http://www.hsgac.senate.gov

MONDAY | NOVEMBER 25

11 a.m. — Brookings Institution virtual book discussion: Bombing to provoke: Rockets, missiles, and drones as instruments of fear and coercion, with Michael O’Hanlon, senior fellow, Brookings; Sarah Kreps, Cornell University; Bruce Riedel, nonresident senior fellow, Center for Middle East Policy, Brookings; and Jaganath “Jay” Sankaran, nonresident fellow, Brookings https://www.brookings.edu/events/bombing-to-provoke