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An AARO Information Paper
AARO and the Declassification Process
September 2025
The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) is the U.S. Department of War
office established to investigate and resolve report of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP).
AARO is responsible for receiving, processing, and adjudicating UAP reports, and routinely
accesses classified information—including that collected by U.S. Government systems—to
complete its review of UAP reports. The processes governing the classification of information
are complex and can be misunderstood. Our national defense requires that certain information be
classified to protect our citizens, our democratic institutions, our homeland security, and our
interactions with foreign nations. Nevertheless, as established by law and in accordance with
direction from the Secretary of War, AARO places a heavy emphasis on transparency in
facilitating the declassification and release of information so the public can see the results of
AARO’s reviews for themselves.
What are UAP?
UAP are as-yet-unknown objects that exhibit potentially anomalous characteristics and
are seen or recorded in space, the sky, or the ocean. The vast majority of UAP reports are
eventually determined to be mundane objects—such as balloons, satellites, and birds—after
further review. A small percentage of reported UAP exhibit potentially anomalous characteristics,
and AARO expends most of its review efforts on these UAP reports.
For the public, UAP sightings raise a profound and enduring question: Are we alone in
the universe? Another question often follows: What does the U.S. Government really know about
UAP? Though AARO has found no evidence of extraterrestrial beings or technology to date, the
office considers all available evidence in conducting its analyses.25-P-1219
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一份 AARO 信息文件
AARO 与解密流程
2025 年 9 月
全域异常解决办公室(AARO)是美国战争部(Department of War)设立的办公室,负责调查和解决不明异常现象(UAP)报告。AARO 负责接收、处理和裁定 UAP 报告,并例行访问机密信息——包括由美国政府系统收集的信息——以完成其对 UAP 报告的审查。管理信息密级的流程复杂,且容易被误解。我们的国防要求对某些信息予以保密,以保护我们的公民、我们的民主制度、我们的国土安全,以及我们与外国的往来。尽管如此,正如法律所确立并根据战争部长(Secretary of War)的指示,AARO 高度重视透明度,推动信息的解密与公开,使公众能够亲自了解 AARO 的审查结果。
什么是 UAP?
UAP 是尚未查明的物体,表现出潜在的异常特征,并在太空、天空或海洋中被目击或记录。绝大多数 UAP 报告经进一步审查后,最终被确定为寻常物体——例如气球、卫星和鸟类。一小部分被报告的 UAP 表现出潜在的异常特征,AARO 将其大部分审查精力用于这些 UAP 报告。
对公众而言,UAP 目击引出了一个深刻而持久的问题:我们在宇宙中是否孤独?随之而来的往往是另一个问题:美国政府对 UAP 究竟了解多少?尽管迄今为止 AARO 尚未发现任何外星生命或外星技术的证据,但该办公室在进行分析时会考虑所有可用的证据。
25-P-1219
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Figure 1: A screenshot from 2:53 of the video titled “Al Taqaddum Object” (popularly known as “the
jellyfish video”), available to view online at https://www.dvidshub.net//video/960331/al-taqaddum-object.
Why is so much UAP-related information classified?
Classification is a mechanism the U.S. Government uses to safeguard sensitive
information related to national security. For the Department of War, this sensitive information
could include military objectives, locations, and capabilities, as well as vulnerabilities and
intelligence sources and methods. For example, if an F-35 fighter jet pilot uses the aircraft’s
camera to take an image of an ordinary object (a soda can, for example), that image could be
classified for reasons other than the subject of the image (here, the soda can) and instead due to
the use of the fighter jet’s camera. The image could contain information that meets the standards
for classification due to its relationship to a sensitive capability that is itself classified. For
instance, the raw image may include information about the resolution, metadata, or other
sensitive information that could be used to deduce that camera’s capabilities and limitations. If
an adversary were to combine this information with other information about the aircraft, that
adversary might be able to draw conclusions about how to elude detection by those aircraft
because that adversary would now better understand the capabilities of the F-35’s sensors.
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图 1:视频《Al Taqaddum 物体》(俗称“水母视频”)第 2 分 53 秒的一帧截图,可在线观看:https://www.dvidshub.net//video/960331/al-taqaddum-object。
为什么如此多与 UAP 相关的信息被列为机密?
保密是美国政府用于保护与国家安全相关的敏感信息的一种机制。对战争部而言,此类敏感信息可能包括军事目标、位置和能力,以及弱点和情报来源与方法。例如,如果一名 F-35 战斗机飞行员使用飞机的摄像头拍摄一个普通物体(例如一个汽水罐)的图像,该图像可能因图像主体(此处即汽水罐)以外的原因而被列为机密,而是由于使用了战斗机的摄像头。该图像可能包含符合保密标准的信息,因为它与一项本身即为机密的敏感能力相关。例如,原始图像可能包含有关分辨率、元数据或其他敏感信息,这些信息可被用于推断该摄像头的能力与局限。如果对手将此信息与关于该飞机的其他信息相结合,该对手或许能够就如何躲避这些飞机的探测得出结论,因为该对手此时已更好地了解了 F-35 传感器的能力。
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Much like the soda can example above, UAP imagery is often classified to protect
sensitive information associated with the platform, location, or methods used to captured it. This
includes commonplace images of birds, balloons, commercial drones, and natural phenomena,
which are frequently reported to AARO as UAP. Even when AARO resolves a case as
unremarkable, the underlying data may remain classified if it originates or is derived from
sensitive sources or methods.
In addition to considering the classified nature of sensitive sources or methods, AARO is
also vigilant of U.S. and allied operational security. In characterizing and resolving UAP, AARO
must balance its commitment to transparency with its national security mission to increase
domain awareness to avoid strategic surprise.
How does AARO declassify UAP-related information?
AARO cannot declassify information on its own because the classified information
relevant to the UAP reports was created by other government entities outside of AARO – for
example, the Military Departments. The office that originally created the information has the
primary authority to declassify it. As such, AARO experts must work with the owners of
classified information across the U.S. Government every day to facilitate the declassification and
release of UAP records without compromising the security of its partners.
Declassification is a deliberate and time-intensive process in which the originating office
uses a team of experts to examine the classified information to determine if it still requires
protection. Information must remain classified when its disclosure could reasonably be expected
to cause damage, serious damage, or exceptionally grave damage to national security. Even when
declassification may seem appropriate or obvious based on the subject of the information, such
as the soda can image example, the methods with which the information was obtained or other
details within the data may result in a decision to postpone declassification. If declassification is
postponed, the information will be required to undergo additional declassification reviews at
prescribed intervals to determine whether continued classification is needed.
To declassify information as part of the UAP case resolution process, AARO first solicits
a determination from the originating office that created the information as to whether the release
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与上述汽水罐的例子类似,UAP 影像常被列为机密,以保护与拍摄它所用的平台、位置或方法相关的敏感信息。这包括鸟类、气球、商用无人机和自然现象的常见图像——这些经常被作为 UAP 报告给 AARO。即使 AARO 将某个案例判定为不足为奇,如果其底层数据源自或衍生自敏感来源或方法,这些数据仍可能保持机密。
除了考虑敏感来源或方法的机密性质外,AARO 还对美国及盟友的行动安全保持警惕。在对 UAP 进行特征描述和解决时,AARO 必须在其对透明度的承诺与其国家安全使命之间取得平衡——后者旨在提高领域感知,以避免战略突袭。
AARO 如何对与 UAP 相关的信息进行解密?
AARO 无法自行对信息进行解密,因为与 UAP 报告相关的机密信息是由 AARO 以外的其他政府实体——例如各军事部门——创建的。最初创建该信息的办公室拥有对其进行解密的主要权限。因此,AARO 的专家必须每天与美国政府各部门的机密信息所有者合作,以推动 UAP 记录的解密与公开,同时不损害其合作伙伴的安全。
解密是一个审慎且耗时的流程,在此过程中,信息来源办公室会动用一个专家团队来审查机密信息,以确定其是否仍需保护。当信息的披露可能被合理地预期会对国家安全造成损害、严重损害或极其严重的损害时,该信息必须保持机密。即使根据信息的主体来看,解密似乎适当或显而易见(如汽水罐图像的例子),获取该信息所用的方法或数据中的其他细节,也可能导致推迟解密的决定。如果解密被推迟,该信息将被要求按规定的间隔接受额外的解密审查,以确定是否需要继续保密。
为了在 UAP 案例解决流程中对信息进行解密,AARO 首先向创建该信息的来源办公室征求判定,以确定公开该数据是否可能损害国家安全。
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of the data could harm national security. The owners will conduct a declassification review and
provide one of the following determinations: 1) All of the information has been declassified and
can be released, in its entirety, to the public; 2) Only some of the information has been
declassified and only those portions can be released to the public (NOTE: information that
continues to be classified will be redacted or removed prior to public release); or 3) All of the
information must remain classified and cannot be released to the public. Once AARO receives
the determination that some or all of the information can be released, AARO coordinates with the
Defense Office of Prepublication and Security Review (DOPSR) to ensure the classified portion
(if any) is appropriately redacted. AARO can release the document or data to the public once
DOPSR stamps the information as approved for public release.
How does AARO release declassified data and documents to the public?
AARO is committed to facilitating the declassification and public release of as much
UAP-related information as possible. AARO may incorporate declassified information into its
public case resolution reports and unclassified congressional reports, or it may publish the
declassified information directly to AARO’s website. AARO is also working closely with the
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to transfer UAP-related records for
permanent storage and public access, thus further promoting transparency in accordance with
existing law. The public can view UAP-related records that have been transferred to the National
Archives at https://www.archives.gov/research/topics/uaps.
AARO seeks to build trust through increased openness and analytic rigor as it executes its
important national security mission. AARO will continue to demonstrate its commitment to
transparency by publishing declassified information, engaging with partners across the U.S.
Government, and transferring records to public archives.
Please visit AARO’s website at https://www.aaro.mil/ to view UAP imagery and records,
case resolutions, congressional reports, FOIA releases, and more.
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信息所有者将进行解密审查,并提供以下判定之一:1) 全部信息均已解密,可以完整地向公众公开;2) 仅部分信息已解密,且只有这些部分可以向公众公开(注:在公开发布前,仍保持机密的信息将被涂黑或删除);或 3) 全部信息必须保持机密,不能向公众公开。一旦 AARO 收到部分或全部信息可以公开的判定,AARO 便与国防出版前与安全审查办公室(Defense Office of Prepublication and Security Review, DOPSR)协调,以确保机密部分(如有)被适当涂黑。一旦 DOPSR 将该信息标记为批准公开发布,AARO 即可将该文件或数据向公众公开。
AARO 如何向公众发布已解密的数据和文件?
AARO 致力于推动尽可能多的 UAP 相关信息的解密与公开发布。AARO 可将已解密的信息纳入其公开的案例解决报告和非机密的国会报告,也可将已解密的信息直接发布到 AARO 的网站上。AARO 还与美国国家档案与记录管理局(National Archives and Records Administration, NARA)密切合作,转移 UAP 相关记录以供永久保存和公众查阅,从而依据现行法律进一步促进透明度。公众可在 https://www.archives.gov/research/topics/uaps 查看已转移至国家档案馆的 UAP 相关记录。
AARO 在执行其重要的国家安全使命时,寻求通过增强开放性和分析严谨性来建立信任。AARO 将继续通过发布已解密信息、与美国政府各部门的伙伴合作,以及向公共档案馆转移记录,来展示其对透明度的承诺。
请访问 AARO 网站 https://www.aaro.mil/,查看 UAP 影像与记录、案例解决、国会报告、FOIA(信息自由法)发布内容等。