Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force

The Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF) was a 2020–2022 Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) program setup at the behest of then Acting Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee Marco Rubio to detect, analyze, and catalog Unidentified Aerial Phenomenas (UAPs) that could potentially pose a threat to U.S. national security.Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (June 17, 2020) US CongressSenators want the public to see the government’s UFO reports by Bryan Bender (June 23, 2020) PoliticoEstablishment of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (August 14, 2020) U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense The existence of this program, like its predecessor, the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), which it may have been a direct continuation of, was publicly disclosed in a New York Times story co-written by Ralph Blumenthal and long-term UFO propagandist Leslie Kean.No Longer in Shadows, Pentagon’s U.F.O. Unit Will Make Some Findings Public by Ralph Blumenthal and Leslie Kean (July 23, 2020) New York Times The UAPTF's highly anticipated 2021 report was a damp squib and the program was soon superseded by the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).
==The multi-agency task force is ongoing==
In a May 18, 2020 email, Pentagon spokesperson Sue Gough confirmed that, "The U.S. Navy and the Department of Defense take [UAP] reports very seriously and investigate each and every report. Documented reports of sightings by military personnel form the basis for the investigation process. The investigation of UAP sightings by the multi-agency task force is ongoing," seemingly contradicting previous claims that such investigation had ceased with the conclusion of Advanced Aerospace Weapon Systems Applications Program (AAWSAP) in 2012.The Pentagon's Investigation of Navy UAP Reports by Roger Glassel (May 18, 2020) Blue Blurry LinesDoD Officially Acknowledges Unidentified Aerial Phenomena 'Task Force' by John Greenwald (May 22, 2020) The Black Vault Research by Tim McMillan later confirmed UAPTF briefings led by the likes of Ufology luminary Hal Puthoff on the findings of AAWSAP and AATIP going back to 2018.‘Fast Movers’ and Transmedium Vehicles – The Pentagon’s Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force by Tim McMillan (December 2, 2020) The Debrief (archived from December 2, 2020) A leaked UAP photo from one of these briefings bares an uncanny resemblance to a mylar balloon.Leaked UFO Photo Surfaces Showing Purported “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena” by Tim McMillan (December 3, 2020) The Debrief 
Senator Rubio's June 17, 2020, report on the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, commended this UAPTF on its efforts "to standardize collection and reporting on unidentified aerial phenomenon, any links they have to adversarial foreign governments, and the threat they pose to U.S. military assets and installations," and instructed the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to publish a report, "on unidentified aerial phenomena (also known as ‘‘anomalous aerial vehicles’’), including observed airborne objects that have not been identified," within 180 days. The program, headed by Brennan McKernan,‘We’ve got to get an answer': UFOs catch Congress’ interest by Andrew Desiderio (June 23, 2021) Politico was then officially established on August 4, 2020 under the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, by Deputy Secretary of Defense David L. Norquist, despite having seemingly already been in existence for sometime.The DoD Has Officially Announced It Has a UAP Task Force by Micah Hanks (August 18, 2020) The Debrief
==Release the damp squib==
The UAPTF's much anticipated report, entitled Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial PhenomenaPreliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (June 25, 2021) Office of the Director of National Intelligence and weighing in at an impressive 9 pages, was released on June 25, 2021, to decidedly mixed reviews.Up in the air! US government's UFO report stirs range of reactions by Leonard David (June 28, 2021) Space.com For the report the UAPTF analyzed 144 incidents from 2004 to 2021 of which they successfully managed to resolve one as a large deflating balloon, leaving the other 143 still unidentified.5 explanations for 144 mysterious flying objects in the government UFO report by Rachel Feltman (June 25, 2021) Popular ScienceGovernment Releases Highly Anticipated Report On Unidentified Aerial Phenomena by Tim McMillan and Micah Hanks (June 25, 2021) The Debrief A success rate that led to some consternation from commentators:
The UAPTF drew up a list of possible UAP classifications, which stopped mercifully short of aliensdidit (but only just):
*Airborne Clutter (including birds, balloons, drones, plastic bags, etc.)
*Natural Atmospheric Phenomena (including ice crystals, moisture, and thermal fluctuations)
*Classified U.S. Government or Industry Developmental Programs
*Foreign Adversary Systems (deployed by China, Russia, another nation, or a non-governmental entity)
*Other (beyond the analysis of current science)
Rubio called it, "an important first step in cataloging these incidents, but it is just a first step." Any and all future steps would, however, be taken by the UAPTF's soon to be formed replacement: the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).
==This comedy of errors==
The reasons for UAPTF's abject failure became clearer in June, 2022, when OG UFO propogandist George Knapp revealed that the task force had been led by former AAWSAP member Jay Stratton with TV's Travis Taylor of Ancient Aliens and The Secrets of Skinwalker Ranch fame as its so-called "chief scientist".Pentagon UFO study led by researcher who believes in the supernatural by Keith Kloor (June 29, 2022) Science Magazine (archived from July 22, 2022)
Following the accusations implicated Stratton and the UAPTF in co-opting and re-characterizing reports of foreign drones and spy balloons going as far back as 2019 in order to advance their UFO agenda,Congress told of likely Chinese spy balloon threat as early as 2019 by Tom Rogan (March 1, 2023) Washington Examiner distracting the media and Congress from a genuine foreign espionage threat.
==References==
Category:Government incompetence
Category:Ufology