Overview
In 2019, the United States Navy introduced new procedures for reporting encounters with Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP). The updated guidance established a formal process for Navy personnel to document and report unexplained aerial objects encountered during military operations and training exercises.
The announcement marked the first significant change in official U.S. military reporting procedures concerning unidentified aerial phenomena in decades. It reflected growing concern within the Department of Defense that unexplained objects operating in military airspace represented potential aviation safety hazards and possible national security risks.
The reporting procedures were developed following a series of encounters by Navy aviators that had occurred primarily between 2014 and 2015, many of which involved advanced sensor systems aboard F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft operating from the U.S. East Coast.
The updated guidance represented an important shift away from the historical stigma surrounding UFO reporting and encouraged military personnel to submit reports through official channels.
Background
Following the closure of Project Blue Book in 1969, there had been no publicly acknowledged, standardised military process for reporting unidentified aerial encounters across the U.S. armed forces.
Although military personnel continued to report unusual sightings internally, many aviators stated that uncertainty over reporting procedures and concern about professional stigma discouraged formal documentation.
Following the revelations surrounding the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) in December 2017, increased public attention and congressional interest prompted the Navy to review its procedures for documenting unexplained aerial encounters.
Officials recognised that unidentified objects operating within military training ranges required systematic analysis regardless of whether they ultimately proved to be foreign technology, sensor anomalies or genuinely unidentified phenomena.
Updated Reporting Procedures
In April 2019, several media organisations reported that the Navy was implementing new guidance for pilots and other personnel to report UAP encounters.
The revised procedures:
- Established formal channels for reporting unidentified aerial encounters.
- Standardised the collection of observational and sensor data.
- Required reports to be submitted through operational chains of command.
- Enabled information to be analysed by intelligence and aviation safety officials.
- Sought to remove institutional stigma surrounding the reporting of unusual aerial events.
Navy officials emphasised that reports should be made whenever unidentified aircraft or objects entered military operating areas, regardless of whether they appeared threatening.
The procedures were designed to improve situational awareness while ensuring that potentially significant intelligence information was preserved.
Public and Government Response
News of the updated reporting procedures generated widespread media attention and was viewed by many observers as evidence that the U.S. military was taking unidentified aerial encounters more seriously.
Navy spokesperson Joseph Gradisher confirmed that the service was establishing a new process to investigate reports because of the potential safety and security implications of unidentified objects operating near military aircraft.
Members of Congress also expressed increasing interest in understanding the nature of reported incidents, contributing to a broader reassessment of government oversight concerning UAP investigations.
The revised procedures helped normalise reporting among military personnel and laid the administrative groundwork for later government initiatives.
Historical Significance
The Navy's updated reporting procedures are widely regarded as one of the earliest institutional reforms of the modern UAP disclosure era.
Their significance includes:
- Creation of a formal military reporting system for UAP.
- Recognition of UAP as an aviation safety and national security issue.
- Reduction of reporting stigma among military personnel.
- Improved collection of operational and sensor data.
- Foundation for subsequent investigations by the UAP Task Force and later the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).
Although the procedures did not represent confirmation of the nature of any reported objects, they demonstrated that the U.S. military considered unidentified aerial encounters worthy of systematic documentation and analysis.