DoD renews UFO identification effort
Drones of all types are tested at Yuma Proving Ground, but Public Affairs Officer Mark Schauer reports many UAP sightings are wrongly attributed to the base's activites. (Photo: US Army)
Following the report on unidentified aerial phenomena in June 2021, the US DoD has established the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group.
Deputy Secretary of Defense, Kathleen Hicks, announced plans to establish the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group (AOIMSG) as the successor to the USN’s Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) Task Force.
The AOIMSG will synchronise efforts across the department and the broader US government to detect, identify and attribute objects of interest in special use airspace.
It will also assess and mitigate any associated threats to the safety of flight and national security.
To provide oversight of the AOIMSG, an Airborne Object Identification and Management Executive Council, to be comprised of DoD and Intelligence Community membership, will offer a venue for interagency representation.
Incursions by any unidentified airborne object into special use airspace poses safety of flight concerns, operations security concerns and national security challenges.
This decision is the result of planning efforts to address the challenges associated with assessing UAP occurring on or near DoD training ranges and installations.
This announcement is particularly topical in 2021, as the DNI released a preliminary assessment report on unidentified aerial phenomena in June
The report also identified the need to make improvements in processes, policies, technologies and training to improve our ability to understand UAP.
More from Defence Notes
-
![Eurosatory 2026: New public security needs drive personal protection equipment modernisation]()
Eurosatory 2026: New public security needs drive personal protection equipment modernisation
European law enforcement and public security agencies are entering a new cycle of investment in personal protection equipment (PPE), driven by evolving threat profiles, officer welfare requirements and advances in materials technology.
-
![The speed of relevance: how companies can navigate the new era of European defence procurement]()
The speed of relevance: how companies can navigate the new era of European defence procurement
European militaries face a rapidly evolving security landscape and defence production must accelerate to meet surging demand for platforms and equipment. Industry needs to adapt to ensure it gets its products into the hands of the end user, Evelyn Rafferty, Senior Director Aerospace and Defence - Europe at Plexus told Shephard’s Gerrard Cowan.
-
![Eurosatory 2026: Milrem Robotics puts forward multi-layered defence concept for NATO’s eastern flank]()
Eurosatory 2026: Milrem Robotics puts forward multi-layered defence concept for NATO’s eastern flank
Autonomous systems developer Milrem has evolved a model for an interoperable robotised approach to the Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative (EFDI), showing how uncrewed systems could provide a multi-layered defence architecture in the air and on land along NATO’s eastern borders.
-
![Eurosatory 2026 to highlight changing defence and security priorities]()
Eurosatory 2026 to highlight changing defence and security priorities
Eurosatory 2026 will reflect a defence and security sector shaped by conflict, rising government spending, uncrewed systems, multidomain networks and growing demand for sovereign capabilities.
-
![Delays, departures and drama cloud UK defence programmes ahead of absent DIP]()
Delays, departures and drama cloud UK defence programmes ahead of absent DIP
The UK defence secretary’s departure suggests that the long-delayed Defence Investment Plan is unlikely to meet the funding demands of the armed forces, with consequences for procurement and the UK’s standing at a NATO summit weeks away.
