Acronyms & Key Terms

AARO

All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office

U.S. Department of Defense office established in July 2022 to synchronize efforts across the DoD and other federal agencies to detect, identify, and attribute anomalous, unidentified objects in air, sea, space, and transmedium domains, and to mitigate any associated threats to safety of operations and national security.

AATIP

Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program

Informal designation sometimes used after the end of AAWSAP in 2012 for continued internal DoD work reviewing UAP reports. It was not an official standalone DoD program. Its existence was publicly revealed by the New York Times in December 2017.

AAWSAP

Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program

Defense Intelligence Agency-managed program (2008-2012) funded by Congress to assess long-term foreign advanced aerospace threats, including unidentified aerial phenomena. The program received $22 million over five years.

ASA

Americans for Safe Aerospace

Nonprofit organization founded by former Navy F/A-18 pilot Ryan Graves to advocate for improved UAP reporting mechanisms for military and civilian aviators.

FOIA

Freedom of Information Act

Federal law enacted in 1966 that grants the public the right to request access to records from any federal agency. Widely used by researchers and journalists to obtain UAP-related government documents.

ICIG

Intelligence Community Inspector General

Independent oversight office responsible for conducting audits, inspections, and investigations across the U.S. intelligence community. In 2022, the ICIG found David Grusch’s UAP-related complaint “credible and urgent.”

NDAA

National Defense Authorization Act

Annual legislation authorizing the budget and expenditures of the U.S. Department of Defense. Several recent NDAAs have included UAP-related provisions, including the establishment of AARO and proposed disclosure mechanisms.

NHI

Non-Human Intelligence

Term used in public congressional testimony and disclosure discussions to refer to intelligences or entities not of human origin. Used in the proposed UAP Disclosure Act of 2023 and in sworn testimony before the House Oversight Committee.

NORAD

North American Aerospace Defense Command

Binational U.S.-Canadian military organization responsible for aerospace warning, aerospace control, and maritime warning for North America. Maintains radar and sensor networks relevant to aerial object detection.

SAP

Special Access Program

Highly restricted classified program requiring additional safeguards and need-to-know access beyond standard classified information. SAPs impose compartmentalized access controls on sensitive defense and intelligence activities.

SCU

Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies

Research organization composed of scientists and engineers that publishes technical analyses of UAP cases using publicly available data, including reports on the Aguadilla and Nimitz incidents.

UAP

Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena

Official U.S. government term (expanded in 2022 from “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena”) for airborne, transmedium, submerged, or space objects or events that cannot be immediately identified. This is the current standard term used in legislation and official reporting.

UAPTF

Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force

Pentagon task force established in August 2020 under the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security to detect, analyze, and catalog UAP that could potentially pose a threat to U.S. national security. It was succeeded by AARO in 2022.

USAP

Unacknowledged Special Access Program

Highly classified U.S. government program whose existence is not formally acknowledged publicly. A subset of Special Access Programs with extreme compartmentalization. Referenced in congressional UAP discussions regarding alleged legacy retrieval programs.