The United States Department of Defense has announced the establishment of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), which will be focused on detecting and identifying “anomalous, unidentified space, airborne, submerged and transmedium objects.” Previously the Airborne Object Identification and Management Group (AOIMSG), the AARO will now have an expanded scope of responsibilities that involve:
- Surveillance, Collection and Reporting
- System Capabilities and Design
- Intelligence Operations and Analysis
- Mitigation and Defeat
- Governance
- Science and Technology
According to the Pentagon, “The mission of the AARO will be to synchronize efforts across the Department of Defense, and with other U.S. federal departments and agencies, to detect, identify and attribute objects of interest in, on or near military installations, operating areas, training areas, special use airspace and other areas of interest, and, as necessary, to mitigate any associated threats to safety of operations and national security. This includes anomalous, unidentified space, airborne, submerged and transmedium objects.”
Dr. Sean M. Kirkpatrick has been named the director. Kirkpatrick has an extensive background in physics and intelligence, having previously worked for the ??National Reconnaissance Office and CIA. In 2007, he was assigned as Chief Technology Officer in an unnamed joint CIA-DIA program office, where he later became the chief scientist at the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Missile and Space Intelligence Center.
