In June 2020 the US Office of Naval Intelligence established the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF) to study unidentified aerial phenomena—a.k.a. UFOs. Now, a little more than a year-and-a-half later, the Department of Defense (DoD) and the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) have formed a new squad for investigating UFOs (UAP) that’ll serve as a successor to the UAPTF: the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group. Or AOIMSG. (So. Many. Initialisms.)
The New York Post reported on the formation of the AOIMSG, which the DoD recently announced. A press release from the DoD notes the AOIMSG will “synchronize efforts across the [DoD] and the broader U.S. government to detect, identify and attribute objects of interest” in restricted U.S. airspace. The DoD notes the task force will also aim to “assess and mitigate any associated threats to safety of flight” and national security.
The Department of Defense
Establishment of the AOIMSG comes following a UAPTF report from June 2021 that noted—amongst other interesting tidbits—that between 2004 and 2021, there had been 144 UFO reports from members of the US government. Eighty of those reports apparently involved “multiple” sensors.
Not only did the UAPTF report 144 instances of UFOs, but prominent UFO stories have also surfaced over recent years. Blink-182 frontman Tom Delonge posted several UFO videos online in 2019, and the Navy eventually authenticated them. Likewise, leaked government images from 2018 reveal a “cube-like” UFO. (One of those images is above.)
At this point it seems that next steps will involve implementing guidance on how to report UFOs. Which sounds great, because we all know UFO reporting is often quite sketchy. Although those videos from DeLonge—one of which is above—definitely make us wonder what’s possible with drone technology. Because if that’s not a drone, we’re not sure what it is. Hopefully the UAPTF will be able to tell us.
