While the United States has dominated recent UAP disclosure developments, multiple governments worldwide have investigated and publicly released UAP-related information. This article documents the international public record.
France — GEIPAN
France operates the most established and transparent government UAP investigation program in the world. GEIPAN (Groupe d’Etudes et d’Informations sur les Phenomenes Aerospatiaux Non-identifies) has operated under the French national space agency CNES since 1977. It maintains a publicly accessible online database of UAP case reports and investigation findings. Cases are classified from A (fully explained) to D (unexplained after thorough investigation), with approximately 3-4% remaining as Category D. GEIPAN’s transparency model has been cited by policymakers as a potential framework for U.S. disclosure efforts.
United Kingdom
The UK Ministry of Defence operated a UFO desk within the Defence Intelligence Staff from the 1950s until November 2009. Between 2008 and 2013, the MoD declassified and released its complete UFO files — spanning reports from 1950 through 2009 — through The National Archives. Notable UK cases include the 1980 Rendlesham Forest incident, documented through official memoranda including a report by then-Deputy Base Commander Lieutenant Colonel Charles Halt.
Five Eyes Coordination
Congressional inquiries have addressed UAP information sharing among Five Eyes alliance members (United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand). During the July 2023 House Oversight hearing, questions were raised about whether UAP-related intelligence is shared — or withheld — among allied nations. Australia and Canada have acknowledged receiving UAP reports without establishing dedicated investigation bodies comparable to AARO or GEIPAN. The extent of classified Five Eyes coordination on UAP remains a subject of congressional inquiry.
Latin America
Several Latin American nations have established official UAP investigation bodies or released government files:
Brazil: The Brazilian Air Force has declassified significant UAP case files, including documents related to the 1986 “Night of the UFOs” — an incident in which multiple jets were scrambled to intercept unidentified objects detected on radar over several Brazilian states.
Chile: The Committee for the Study of Anomalous Aerial Phenomena (CEFAA) operates under the Chilean Civil Aviation Authority and has published case investigations.
Peru: The Peruvian Air Force reactivated its Office for the Investigation of Anomalous Aerial Phenomena (OIFAA) in 2013.
Argentina: The Argentine Air Force established the Commission for the Investigation of Aerospace Phenomena (CIAE) as its official UAP investigation body.
Other Notable Developments
Japan (2020): Japan’s Ministry of Defense issued protocols for Self-Defense Forces personnel to record and report UAP encounters, following the U.S. Navy’s establishment of similar reporting guidelines.
Ukraine: During the ongoing conflict, Ukrainian astronomical observatories have published observations of unidentified aerial objects in Ukrainian airspace, noted in scientific publications and distinct from military drone and missile activity.
International Context
Allied military reports have in several cases described objects with characteristics matching those documented by U.S. forces. France’s GEIPAN has operated a public UAP reporting system since 1977 without reported impact on national security operations. UAP intelligence shared through Five Eyes channels is subject to classification agreements that affect what any single member nation can release unilaterally.