UAP Glossary

The U.S. Department of Defense office created in 2022 to serve as the central hub for detecting, identifying, and attributing UAP. Responsible for collecting reports from military and intelligence personnel, coordinating with other agencies, and publishing findings. As of 2026, has processed over 2,000 cases.

A secret U.S. government program that ran from 2007 to 2012, funded at $22 million, studying UAP. Run out of the Defense Intelligence Agency. Its existence was publicly revealed in December 2017. Luis Elizondo claimed to have run the program before resigning in protest over lack of urgency.

A claimed experience in which an individual reports being taken against their will by non-human entities. Among the most contested and least evidenced category of UAP-adjacent reports. TruthCapsuleTV applies high skepticism to abduction claims due to the absence of corroborating physical evidence.

Military term used in some official reports to describe an unidentified aerial object that demonstrates anomalous characteristics — behavior that cannot be explained by known aircraft or natural phenomena. Used in the USS Nimitz incident report.

Classification system developed by astronomer J. Allen Hynek. CE1: sighting within 500 feet. CE2: physical evidence left behind. CE3: entity observed. CE4: abduction. CE5 (added later by Steven Greer): human-initiated contact. CE1 and CE2 reports are considered more credible due to physical corroboration potential.

A 1977 mass-encounter event in Colares, Brazil, in which hundreds of residents reported lights and objects causing fear and alleged physical injuries. The Brazilian military launched Operation Saucer to investigate. One of the most significant international UAP cases on record due to official documentation and multi-witness scope.

The alleged recovery of a non-human craft or its debris by a government or military entity. Widely discussed in UAP research; officially unconfirmed. AARO has stated it has found no credible evidence of recovered non-human materials, though whistleblower testimony has kept the subject active in congressional discussions.

The process by which governments formally acknowledge the existence or nature of UAP/UFO evidence previously withheld. In UAP research, often used to mean the full public release of classified files, recovered materials, or findings. True disclosure is a spectrum — partial releases, declassified documents, and congressional hearings are all steps along it.

The U.S. agency responsible for national security and the military. AARO operates within the DoD. Many of the most significant UAP cases involve military personnel and sensor data collected under DoD operations.

Bob Lazar claimed in 1989 that a stable isotope of Element 115 was the fuel source for the propulsion systems of reverse-engineered alien craft at S-4. At the time, Element 115 did not exist on the periodic table. Moscovium (Element 115) was synthesized in 2003 and added to the periodic table in 2016 — though no stable isotope has been confirmed to date.

The proposition that some UAP are craft of extraterrestrial origin — i.e., built and operated by intelligent beings from another planet, star system, or dimension. The ETH is one of several competing explanations; others include classified human technology, natural phenomena, atmospheric plasma, and sensor artifacts.

U.S. law that allows individuals to request access to federal government records. Many significant UAP documents have been obtained via FOIA requests, including Project Blue Book files, CIA UFO studies, and DIA correspondence. FOIA is a primary tool for independent UAP researchers.

One of three UAP videos officially declassified and released by the U.S. Navy in 2020. Captured by an F/A-18 pilot in 2015 off the U.S. East Coast, it shows an object rotating in a way that appears inconsistent with known aircraft. The name comes from the rotating motion visible in the footage.

One of three officially declassified Navy UAP videos, filmed in 2015 off the U.S. East Coast. Shows an object traveling at high speed at low altitude over the ocean. Subsequent analysis suggests the apparent speed may be a parallax effect — illustrating the importance of sensor data interpretation.

An alleged classified UAP collection program named in whistleblower testimony to Congress in 2024. Reportedly involves a systematic collection of UAP sensor data from military assets. The program's existence has not been officially confirmed by the DoD.

An alternative to the ETH proposing that UAP originate from other dimensions, realities, or temporal planes rather than other star systems. Associated with researchers like Jacques Vallée. Less mainstream than the ETH but taken seriously by some physicists and researchers due to UAP behavior inconsistent with conventional space travel.

Alleged documents surfacing in the 1980s claiming the existence of a secret U.S. government committee managing UFO crash retrievals and extraterrestrial contact since 1947. The FBI investigated and concluded the documents were fabricated. Widely considered a hoax by serious researchers, but still circulates in popular UFO culture.

Annual U.S. legislation setting the DoD budget and policies. Key UAP provisions — including AARO's creation, mandatory reporting requirements, and the Schumer-Rounds disclosure amendment — have been added to or stripped from NDAA bills. Following NDAA amendments is essential for tracking the legislative disclosure timeline.

A November 2004 encounter off San Diego in which U.S. Navy pilots reported and filmed an unidentified white object (nicknamed "Tic-Tac") with anomalous flight characteristics — no visible propulsion, rapid acceleration, and unusual hovering. Considered the benchmark UAP case due to multi-sensor data, trained military witnesses, and official acknowledgment. See: Edition 001.

A term increasingly used in official and semi-official UAP contexts to describe potential intelligence behind UAP that is not human in origin. Deliberately agnostic about whether NHI is extraterrestrial, interdimensional, or something else entirely. Used by David Grusch in his 2023 congressional testimony.

The U.S. intelligence community's coordinating body, which published the landmark June 2021 UAP assessment acknowledging 144 UAP cases from 2004–2021 and confirming that most could not be explained. The ODNI report marked the first official government acknowledgment that UAP represent a genuine intelligence and safety concern.

Common reference to AARO and its predecessors (AATIP, UAPTF). The Pentagon has housed UAP investigation efforts since at least 2007. The current incarnation (AARO) has a broader all-domain mandate and is required to report to Congress.

A U.S. Air Force program running from 1952–1969 that investigated UFO reports. Examined over 12,000 sightings; officially labeled 701 as "unidentified." Concluded in 1969 with the Condon Report finding no evidence of a national security threat. Critics argue Blue Book was designed to debunk rather than investigate.

A July 1947 crash near Roswell, New Mexico, initially reported by the Army Air Force as a "flying disc" before being reclassified as a weather balloon. The subject of intense speculation for decades. The U.S. government later attributed it to Project Mogul — a classified balloon program. Remains culturally significant but evidentiary foundation is heavily disputed.

A facility allegedly located near Papoose Lake, Nevada, described by Bob Lazar as the site where he worked on reverse-engineered alien spacecraft. S-4 is purportedly a sub-site of Area 51. Its existence has never been officially confirmed, and Lazar's employment records remain disputed.

The career and social risk historically associated with military personnel reporting UAP encounters. Reduced stigma — through official policy changes and institutional encouragement — has directly increased the number of reported cases. The 2021 ODNI assessment explicitly noted that stigma-related underreporting was a significant data gap.

A UAP observed moving seamlessly between different environmental domains — air, water, and space — without apparent deceleration or structural change. The Pentagon's current UAP definition explicitly includes trans-medium objects. Several recent Navy reports describe objects entering and exiting ocean water at high speed.

The current preferred government and military term for objects or phenomena in the air that cannot be identified as known aircraft or natural events. Replaced "UFO" in official usage because it's descriptive rather than implying any specific origin. The DoD has further expanded the definition to include sub-surface and trans-medium phenomena.

A U.S. Navy-led task force established in 2020 to investigate UAP and produce the 2021 ODNI preliminary assessment. Predecessor to AARO. Its June 2021 report — which acknowledged 144 UAP cases and stated most could not be explained — is widely considered the pivotal moment in modern government UAP transparency.

The classic term for any airborne object that cannot be identified by an observer. Used since the 1950s in both popular and official contexts. Though largely replaced by "UAP" in government usage, UFO remains the dominant term in public discourse and is used interchangeably on this site.

A current or former government or military official who discloses alleged classified UAP information, typically under legal whistleblower protection provisions. The most significant recent example: David Grusch, a former AARO official who testified to Congress in 2023 claiming the U.S. possesses recovered non-human craft and biological material. His claims remain officially unconfirmed.