Every indexed UAP case documented in 2023, drawn from publicly available official government records — NARA RG 615, AARO, NASA, FBI, and DoD PURSUE program releases.
Federal agents witnessed orange orbs described as resembling 'the Eye of Sauron without a pupil', emitting smaller red orbs in groups of 2–4. Rated 'among the most compelling cases in AARO's holdings.'
Object tracked making multiple precise 90-degree turns at approximately 80 mph over Greek airspace. Turns executed with zero radius — inconsistent with any known aircraft. State Dept cable filed via Athens embassy.
An ellipsoid bronze metallic object, 130–195 feet in length, materialized from a bright light and disappeared instantaneously. Rated among the most extraordinary events in the public archive record set.
UAP entered the ocean without deceleration, tracked by sonar at 900m depth for 11 minutes, re-emerged and departed at hypersonic speed. First officially documented transmedium UAP event.
On February 12, 2023, a U.S. Air Force F-16 shot down an unidentified object over Lake Huron, Michigan, on orders from the White House. The incident was part of a four-day period in which the U.S. military shot down four objects over North American airspace following the Chinese balloon shootdown. A classified video recorded by the fighter jet during the intercept is included in the May 2026 Pentagon archive release — the first time cockpit footage from this engagement has been made public.
In April 2023, the Japanese government disclosed to its Parliament (the Diet) that the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) had recorded multiple unidentified aerial objects detected by radar that could not be identified as any known aircraft or drone. The disclosure followed a formal parliamentary inquiry. Japan's Ministry of Defense established new UAP reporting protocols in 2020 and the 2023 disclosure represented the first formal parliamentary acknowledgment of operational UAP detections.
On February 10, 2023, a USAF F-22 Raptor fired an AIM-9X missile and shot down a cylindrical object near Deadhorse, Alaska at approximately 40,000 feet. The object had been tracked by NORAD for approximately 24 hours. President Biden publicly ordered the shootdown. Recovery teams were deployed but could not locate substantial debris. The object's origin and purpose were never publicly identified — the DoD did not attribute it to any nation or program.
On July 26, 2023, the US House of Representatives held a landmark open hearing in which former intelligence official David Grusch testified under oath that the US government had a secret program to retrieve and reverse-engineer non-human craft. Former Navy pilots Ryan Graves and David Fravor testified about UAP encounters. Grusch subsequently filed a formal whistleblower complaint with the DoD Inspector General. The hearing was the most significant congressional UAP transparency event in 50 years.
A USAF MQ-9 Reaper drone operating in the Middle East captured FLIR footage of a donut or torus-shaped metallic object hovering at altitude in 2023. The footage was included in AARO briefing materials and was among the cases presented to congressional oversight staff. The object appeared to have a hole through its center and metallic surface properties visible on infrared imaging.
On February 12, 2023, a USAF F-16 Fighting Falcon shot down an unidentified object over Lake Huron, Michigan at approximately 20,000 feet. The object had been tracked by NORAD. President Biden ordered the shootdown. Recovery operations in Lake Huron proved challenging due to the depth of the lake. The DoD did not publicly attribute the object to any nation or program. This was the fourth object shot down in 9 days.
AARO's first Historical Record report to Congress in 2023 compiled UAP encounters from 1945–2023 and acknowledged for the first time that some cases involved objects 'demonstrating apparent capabilities beyond known US technology.' The report became the first official DoD historical compilation of UAP encounters.
Brazilian Air Force monitoring personnel and CENSIPAM — Brazil's Amazon monitoring center — tracked multiple unidentified orbs performing maneuvers over the protected Amazon Basin. Brazil's Aerospace Defense Command released the encounter as part of their policy of UAP transparency, continuing Brazil's tradition of official disclosure.
Following the Chinese spy balloon shootdown, a series of much smaller objects were intercepted and shot down over Alaska and Canada. F-22 pilots described objects that showed no propulsion, no emission, and demonstrated characteristics inconsistent with any known drone or balloon technology. Pentagon officials could not identify them.
A Korean Air crew reported an unidentified orb hovering in Gimpo Airport's approach corridor. Gimpo ATC confirmed the radar return. US Forces Korea assets monitoring Seoul airspace logged the contact. South Korea's MCRC filed an official report through combined US-ROK channels.
In February 2023, during the same week the US military shot down multiple unidentified objects over North America, Chinese state media reported that PLAAF was tracking an unidentified flying object over Wuhan. Chinese authorities ordered preparations to shoot it down. The simultaneous global UAP shootdown/tracking events in the same week across multiple nations drew significant international intelligence attention. The coordination coincidence remains unexplained.
The most significant public Congressional hearing on UAP in US history, held July 26 2023. Former USAF Intelligence Officer David Grusch testified under oath that the US government operates non-human intelligence craft retrieval programs. Navy pilots Ryan Graves and Commander David Fravor testified about their documented encounters. The hearing was watched by tens of millions and led directly to legislation authorizing AARO's expanded investigation mandate.
On February 10, 2023, a US F-22 Raptor shot down an unidentified object at 40,000 feet over northern Alaska. The object was described by Pentagon officials as cylindrical and roughly the size of a small car, with no discernible propulsion system. Recovery operations in Arctic conditions found no wreckage or identifiable debris. President Biden was briefed. The shootdown was the first of three in four days across North America, raising questions about a new category of unidentified aerial objects operating at aircraft altitudes.
The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) submitted its first Volume 1 historical record report to Congress on October 31, 2023. The report reviewed UAP claims dating back to 1945 and found that many characterized as secret government programs were misidentified classified US programs. However, AARO acknowledged a residual unexplained category and committed to reviewing additional witnesses. The report's conclusions were disputed by UAP researchers and Congressional members who characterized the review as incomplete.
On July 13, 2023, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Mike Rounds introduced the UAP Disclosure Act of 2023 as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. The legislation called for the establishment of a review board with authority to declassify UAP-related government records, modeled on the JFK Assassination Records Review Board. The amendment passed the Senate 56-34 but was significantly weakened in House-Senate conference before the final bill was signed.
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