What is UAP?
A plain-English guide to the term the US government now uses instead of “UFO,” who investigates it, and what is — and isn’t — established.
UAP vs UFO
UAP stands for unidentified anomalous phenomena (earlier: “unidentified aerial phenomena”). It replaced “UFO” in official language because it is broader — covering the air, space and sea — and because it does not presume a physical craft or an extraterrestrial origin. An “unidentified” report simply means the available data was not enough to identify what was seen.
Who investigates
The Department of Defense’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), created in 2022, collects and analyzes reports from military and government sources. NASA convened an independent study team on UAP, which reported in 2023 that the available data was insufficient to draw conclusions and recommended better data collection.
What the evidence shows so far
Most reports that are resolved turn out to be balloons, drones, aircraft, satellites or sensor artifacts. A small share remain unresolved, usually because of poor data. Officials have publicly said they have not verified evidence of extraterrestrial technology; some former officials make stronger claims that remain unproven. We report on both, clearly labelled.
Keep reading
The UAP disclosure timeline · Government & Policy coverage · How we label evidence