Document · 25 June 2021
ODNI Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena
Also known as ODNI UAP report, Preliminary Assessment
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence's Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (25 June 2021), written with the Navy-led UAP Task Force at Congress's request, was the first unclassified U.S. intelligence assessment of UAP.
It examined 144 reports from U.S. government sources, mostly from military aviators between 2004 and 2021, 80 of them observed with multiple sensors. Only one was identified with high confidence, as a large deflating balloon; "the others remain unexplained." In 18 incidents, described in 21 reports, observers saw unusual movement, such as staying stationary in winds aloft, moving against the wind or maneuvering abruptly, and a small amount of data "appear to show" acceleration or signature management, pending further analysis. There were 11 documented near misses, and the report concludes that "UAP clearly pose a safety of flight issue and may pose a challenge to U.S. national security."
It expects resolved cases to fall into five categories: airborne clutter, natural atmospheric phenomena, U.S. government or industry developmental programmes, foreign adversary systems, and "other". Its plain admission that almost all cases were unexplained marked a turning point in official discussion.
Sources: ODNI Preliminary Assessment (2021)
Facts and claims
- documented Covers 144 reports from U.S. government sources between 2004 and 2021, 80 of them observed with multiple sensors. Only one was identified with high confidence (a large, deflating balloon); “the others remain unexplained.” Source: doc-odni-2021-preliminary-assessment.pdf
- documented In 18 incidents, described in 21 reports, observers reported unusual movement, such as staying stationary in winds aloft, moving against the wind or maneuvering abruptly. Under the heading “a Handful of UAP Appear to Demonstrate Advanced Technology”, the report says the task force holds “a small amount of data that appear to show UAP demonstrating acceleration or a degree of signature management”, and is analysing further “to determine if breakthrough technologies were demonstrated.” Source: doc-odni-2021-preliminary-assessment.pdf
- documented The UAPTF had 11 documented reports of pilots experiencing near misses with UAP. The report concludes that “UAP clearly pose a safety of flight issue.” Source: doc-odni-2021-preliminary-assessment.pdf
- documented Any resolved cases are expected to fall into five categories, namely airborne clutter, natural atmospheric phenomena, U.S. government or industry developmental programs, foreign adversary systems, and “other”. Source: doc-odni-2021-preliminary-assessment.pdf
Connected files
Organizations
- Office of the Director of National Intelligence (produced by)
Programs
Incidents
- USS Nimitz “Tic Tac” encounter (covers) — Its reports run from November 2004, the month of the Nimitz encounters, to March 2021
Events
- PLA researchers describe using AI to track rising UAP reports (preceded by) — The PLA paper was reported weeks before ODNI published its preliminary assessment
- ODNI Preliminary Assessment on UAP (published by)
Videos
- Congressional hearings on military reports of Unexplained Aerial Phenomena (UAP) - May 17th, 2022 (discussed in)
Mentioned in documents and records
More documents
- Statement by the Department of Defense on the Release of Historical Navy Videos (April 27, 2020)
- Intelligence Community Directive 906: Controlled Access Programs
- House Oversight Task Force letter requesting UAP videos from the Department of War (31 March 2026)
- Schumer–Rounds UAP Disclosure Act (UAPDA)
- The National Reconnaissance Office at 50 Years: A Brief History (NRO, second edition, 2018)
- CIA's Role in the Study of UFOs, 1947–90 (Gerald K. Haines, Studies in Intelligence, 1997)