The Pentagon has opened a new portal for professionals to submit UFO reports, now officially known as Unidentified Abnormal Events or UAP, and for the rest of us to learn about publicly released reports.

The work of AARO.mil, the website of the Anomaly Resolution Office in All Areas, is still in progress. For example, the promised online form to contact AARO is marked “Coming Soon”. But the version released today features eight videos showing the UAP, as well as links to archives of congressional reports and briefings, press releases, and other resources.

“The website will serve as a one-stop shop for all publicly available information regarding AARO and UAP,” said BBC Brig. This was announced during a briefing today by General Pat Ryder, the Department of Defense press secretary.

The new website setup is just one sign that the UAP issue is gaining attention and credibility in the Pentagon. DefenseScoop reported this week that Under Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks has assumed the direct leadership of the AARO and its director, Sean Kirkpatrick.

The purpose of the move was to accelerate the development of AARO and the launch of its website. “I believe transparency is a critical component of AARO’s work, and I am committed to sharing AARO’s findings with Congress and the public, consistent with our responsibility to protect critical national defense and intelligence capabilities,” said Hicks, who played a leading role in the creation. AARO last year, according to DefenseScoop’s report.

Once the website is fully ready for prime time, it will act as a secure channel for current or former government employees, military personnel and contractors to save UAP reports. A press release from the Department of Defense announced that the secure reporting tool will be available this fall. “The mechanism by which the public can submit reports will be announced in the coming months,” the Pentagon said.

Civilian pilots were encouraged to report seeing UAP to air traffic controllers. AARO said it will receive pilot reports on the UAP, known as PIREPs, from the Federal Aviation Administration.

AARO lists three UAP categories:

• Immediately unidentified objects in the air.
• Transmedia objects or devices.
• Submerged objects or devices that are not immediately identifiable and exhibit behavior or performance characteristics that indicate that the objects or devices may be related to objects or devices in the first two categories.

The AARO states that the Department of Defense considers UAPs to be “the source of anomalous detections in one or more areas (i.e., in the air, at sea, in space, and/or through the environment) in one or more areas exhibiting behavior that cannot yet be attributed to known entities.” This is not easily understood by sensors or observers.”

The website does not directly mention the possible extraterrestrial origin of the UAP. One reason government officials and lawmakers are increasingly worried about UAPs is that they could mean an invasion of Russia or China. A prime example of this is a Chinese spy balloon that flew over the United States before it was shot down by an Air Force fighter jet.