EDITORIAL GUIDE
~6 min read
How to Use AARO's UAP Case Resolution Database — A Researcher's Guide
The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) maintains a publicly accessible UAP case resolution database at its official website. The database is the most significant ongoing public disclosure mechanism for UAP investigations by the U.S. government — updated continuously since 2022 as AARO processes submissions from across the defense and intelligence community. Understanding how to read the database, what the resolution categories mean, and how AARO's case determinations relate to the PURSUE archive and NARA RG 615 is essential for anyone conducting research into the official UAP record.
What the AARO Database Contains — Scope and Coverage
AARO's case resolution database covers UAP reports submitted through official U.S. government reporting channels — primarily from military and intelligence personnel, but also from Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reports and some commercial aviation sources. The database does not include civilian sightings reported to organizations like MUFON or to local police. This is a significant limitation to understand: the AARO database represents only the institutionally documented, government-sourced subset of the broader UAP observation record.
The database's temporal scope starts at 2004, which corresponds to the USS Nimitz encounter — the case that effectively launched the modern military UAP reporting system. Reports before 2004 appear in the historical record (Project Blue Book, NARA RG 615's older holdings) but are not part of AARO's active resolution pipeline. The database is searchable by date range, reporting domain (air, sea, ground, space), and resolution status. Each case entry includes a case identification number, the reporting date, the general location (often a region rather than specific coordinates for operational security reasons), the number of witnesses, and the resolution determination.
Resolution Categories — What 'Resolved' and 'Unresolved' Actually Mean
AARO uses several resolution categories that require specific interpretation. 'Resolved' does not mean 'explained as natural phenomenon' — it means AARO has made a determination, which may include classification as foreign adversary technology, domestic program activity, or a conventional object (bird, balloon, aircraft). Cases categorized as 'Attributable to Sensor Anomalies' indicate AARO determined the report was caused by sensor malfunction or environmental effects rather than a physical object.
The most operationally significant category is 'UAP Unresolved' — cases where AARO has completed its analysis and cannot provide a conventional explanation consistent with the available data. As of 2026, approximately 2–5% of all processed cases fall into the unresolved category, but this percentage is misleading: the unresolved cases include virtually all of the high-sensor-corroboration events. The resolved-as-conventional majority consists primarily of reports with single-sensor data or civilian-origin reports. The multi-sensor military encounter reports — the cases corresponding to the Nimitz, Roosevelt, and PURSUE-era material — are concentrated in the unresolved category. Researchers should focus their attention on AARO's unresolved cases and specifically on cases marked as having multiple independent sensor confirmations.
How to Cross-Reference AARO Cases with PURSUE Files
The PURSUE files (DoD declassified UAP documents released via war.gov since 2025) and the AARO case resolution database are parallel but distinct record systems. PURSUE files are the documentary record — actual mission reports, FLIR footage, cables, and analyses. AARO's database is the investigative determination record — what AARO's analysts concluded about specific cases.
Some PURSUE files include AARO case identification numbers in their metadata, enabling direct cross-reference. Others — particularly files from the Release 01 and Release 02 batches — are historical documents from before AARO existed and do not carry AARO case numbers. The most effective research workflow is: (1) identify a PURSUE file of interest from the release browse page, (2) note the incident date and location, (3) search AARO's database for that date range and location, (4) compare the PURSUE file's content with AARO's resolution determination. When AARO lists a case as 'unresolved' and the corresponding PURSUE file includes FLIR footage, radar data, and crew testimony, the combination represents the highest-evidential-weight record type in the public archive.
Database Limitations and What Is Not in AARO's Records
Several significant limitations shape what researchers will and will not find in AARO's database. First, historical cases: AARO's database does not contain the Project Blue Book archive (12,618 cases, 1952–1969) — those are in NARA's declassified holdings. Second, legacy program records: cases potentially involving Special Access Programs or alleged retrieval operations would not appear in AARO's standard case database even if AARO had been briefed on them. This is the gap that figures like David Grusch and Karl Nell reference — the alleged programs they describe would be managed at a classification tier above what AARO's standard case database covers.
Third, international cases: AARO's mandate covers U.S. government-sourced reports; encounters by allied militaries are not systematically included even when they involve U.S. partners. The Belgian UFO Wave 1990 and the Tehran Intercept 1976 — both involving non-U.S. assets — are not in AARO's active database. Fourth, pre-reporting era gaps: Pilots who observed UAP before the Navy's 2019 formal reporting policy update were often not filing reports because of stigma concerns. Ryan Graves has estimated that the pre-2019 encounter rate was substantially higher than the reported rate. These gaps mean AARO's database represents a structured subset, not a complete record, of the government's UAP knowledge.