The U.S. Department of Defense established the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) in December 2022, dedicating resources to investigate Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) reports and assess potential threats to national security. This militarized focus on the unknown emerges as European states continue to fortify borders against human movement, often with deadly consequences.
In Germany, the Central Research Network for Extraordinary Celestial Phenomena (CENAP) reports clearing some 14,000 UFO cases. Director Hansjürgen Köhler describes the group as the busiest reporting centre in the German-speaking world. The organization receives between three and six reports daily, indicating a significant public and institutional engagement with unexplained aerial sightings.
Militarized Focus on the Unknown
Köhler noted that the work began with "youthful recklessness" in 1973, when he and others started examining the UFO subject after calls consistently reached an observatory. They obtained microfilms from the United States from the Second World War era, showing flying objects considered inexplicable phenomena. "We realised that even back then, during the war, there were repeated natural phenomena," Köhler stated, highlighting a long history of state and public attention to these sightings.
Recent releases of so-called UFO files by the Pentagon have brought the topic back into the spotlight. The Pentagon formally confirmed the authenticity of three recordings from 2004 and 2015 in April 2020, about 6 years and 4 months ago, following the U.S. Navy's earlier release of videos showing unidentified flying objects, now mostly referred to as UAP. This official confirmation underscores the state's sustained interest in these phenomena.
The AARO, set up about 3 years and 8 months ago within the U.S. Department of Defense, has a clear mandate: investigate UAP reports, assess potential threats to national security, and review past cases. This institutionalisation of UAP investigation reflects a significant allocation of state resources towards speculative aerial phenomena, while the human security crisis at Europe's borders escalates.
Debunking Distractions, Ignoring Real Crises
One of the recordings, the Gimbal video, was made in January 2015, about 11 years and 7 months ago, during a training flight by a U.S. Navy F/A-18 off the coast of California. The infrared footage shows an unidentified object appearing to rotate on its own axis, commented on in astonishment by the pilots. While the Pentagon confirmed the recording's authenticity, it has not clearly established the object’s exact identity.
Köhler, however, remains convinced the video shows nothing more than a balloon. He explained its apparently rapid movement as a relative motion between the aircraft and the balloon. He also pointed out that the F/A-18 has had issues with its electronic tracking systems since its introduction by the U.S. Navy, receiving nine updates to control these problems, and still experiences misreadings, including in speed indications.
Social media platforms, including X, amplify tall tales, Köhler said, noting that the debunking often disappears. He questioned the narrative of daily extraterrestrial visitors, stating, "I do not deny that there is life out there. But are we really to believe that they travel across galaxies with highly advanced technology to our blue planet and then crash of all places here above the desert?" This focus on speculative, often debunked, threats contrasts sharply with the documented realities of border violence and migrant deaths.
People can use free astronomy apps to identify what they are seeing in the sky. Köhler listed aircraft, helicopters, rocket stages, satellites, meteors, bright fireballs, planets, bright stars, various types of balloons, and even decorative foil balloons from children’s birthday parties and weddings, as well as lasers used by event organizers, among the things he has identified. Some cases remain unexplained, he noted, due to missing key information such as date, time, place, direction, and visual material, highlighting the meticulous, resource-intensive nature of these investigations.