Formerly known as Unidentified Flying Objects, Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) is a category of observations that are exactly what the UAP label suggests. This topic concerns the US military very much, as a big part of national security involves knowing everything that appears in the skies. This is the reason for the development of a new sensor suite by the Pentagon called GREMLIN. Recently, a new report has provided more details about what this system actually does.

Managed by the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) within the DoD, GREMLIN blends many different sensors, ranging from radar to ADS-B and RF monitors, together to establish a baseline and capture any anomalies within the 90-day monitoring period to characterize them.

UAPs were a popular topic even before the 1950s when people began to see them everywhere. Usually taking the form of lights or fast-moving objects in the sky, most UAP reports can be readily classified as weather balloons, satellites like Starlink, airplanes, the Northern Lights, the ISS, or planets like Mars and Venus. There are also curious phenomena such as the Hessdalen lights, which appear to be a geological, piezoelectric phenomenon, though our understanding of such natural lighting phenomena remains limited.

But it is never aliens, that’s one thing we know for sure. Not that UFO’s don’t exist. Really.

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Military's UFO-Hunting Aerial Surveillance System Detailed In Report

Howard Altman
twz.com

The Pentagon provided new details today about how its deployable, readily reconfigurable suite of sensors called GREMLIN works to help set the stage for figuring out what unidentified objects in our skies are and are not, if they appear at all.

In its annual report released on Thursday, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) shared a graphic that gives us our best look yet at what its GREMLIN system is. It was developed by Georgia Tech Research Institute specifically to help gather data about so-called unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs. That’s the DoD’s new parlance for what used to be called UFOs.

When AARO last discussed GREMLIN back in March, the office said the system was designed to provide “hyperspectral surveillance to try to capture these incidents.” However, no details were given about what kind of sensors were being used to capture data across different areas of the electromagnetic spectrum simultaneously.

Now deployed, GREMLIN includes 2D and 3D radars, long-range electro-optical/infrared sensors, GPS, satellite communications, aircraft tracking systems and radio frequency spectrum monitoring. It all feeds into a central node where the data can be fused to get a better sense of what’s out there. The system is something of an integrated air defense apparatus ‘in a box,’ allowing for multiple sensor types and open-source data to be captured on single targets within its view.

AARO began using GREMLIN “for detecting, tracking, and characterizing UAP,” the report noted. “GREMLIN demonstrated functionality and successfully collected data during a test event in March of 2024. The next step for GREMLIN is a 90-day pattern of life collection at a site of national security.”

AARO’s official logo. (DoD)

One of AARO’s first missions for GREMLIN is to help establish a baseline for what would be considered normal activity, especially because so many UAPs have been reported either through sensors near military installations or by pilots. According to today’s report, nearly half of the 485 UAP sightings reported from May 1, 2023 to June 1, 2024 came from locations near U.S. military assets and sensors at home and abroad. This could be due to the objects being tasked to surveil those locations or due to sensor bias, as these areas are more heavily monitored than others, or more likely a mix of both.

East Asian seas were the hottest spot, providing 100 reports of which AARO resolved 40 as balloons or drones. AARO placed the remaining cases in Active Archive due to insufficient information to facilitate analysis, the report states.

“Right now we have this geographic bias where we are getting reports near the national security sites, but we also have a bias from pilots and other security personnel,” AARO’s new Director Jon Kosloski told reporters today. “So we want to have a better understanding of what normal looks like near those national security sites, and then eventually we’ll be expanding our baseline investigations to other areas in the US to look at what normal looks like away from national security sites.”

AARO

Kosloski refused to divulge where GREMLIN is located.

“It’s currently deployed,” he explained. “We’d rather not say exactly where it is, because we want it to be an unbiased test, and don’t want to invite folks to come and do flyovers and test against the system.”

The location was chosen, he added, “because of the environment. We expect there to be a lot of variety in the types of things that we’re going to see. And there have been UAP reports in that general area. And we’re trying to build a baseline.”

Once a pattern of life is established, the report suggested that AARO could use that to go back over some of the 444 cases placed in the Active Archive “because they lacked sufficient data to facilitate analysis.”

All told, AARO found that 49 cases during the reporting period were objects like balloons, birds and drones. “An additional 243 cases were recommended for closure as of June 1, 2024, pending peer review,” the report pointed out. “These cases also resolved to prosaic objects including balloons, birds, UAS, satellites, and aircraft.”

“AARO determined 21 cases merit further analysis by its IC [intelligence community] and science and technology (S&T) partners,” the report acknowledged.

AARO

One thing AARO did not find was any indication that UAPs are either extraterrestrial or from an adversary here on Earth.

“AARO has discovered no verifiable evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity or technology,” Kosloski said. “None of the cases resolved by AARO have pointed to advanced capabilities or breakthrough technologies.”

Just because no evidence has been found of breakthrough technology does not mean the possibility doesn’t exist, he emphasizes.

“There are definitely anomalies,” Kosloski explained. “We have not been able to draw the link to extraterrestrials.”

“We’re not ruling it out,” he added.

Though the report found that there were 18 incidents of drones near U.S. nuclear infrastructure, weapons, and launch sites, Kosloski said there is no indication that either those or reported UAPs belonged to adversaries.

“We have not been able to correlate any UAP activity to adversarial collection activities or advanced technologies,” he posited.

The report also didn’t cover the drone incursions over Langley Air Force Base last December that we were the first to report back in March. You can read more about it in our exclusive story here.

“It was known to be UAV activity, so we were there in a supporting role, but it was not our responsibility to address that,” Kosloski stated.

AARO’s new Director Jon Kosloski (DoD Image)

As it has been since UFOs first burst into the public’s consciousness back in the 1950s, the stigma of reporting them continues to keep people from coming forward to say what they’ve seen. Kosloski said he is concerned that could give adversaries an opening to collect data over sensitive locations. This is something TWZ has long highlighted as a major strategic awareness failure.

Kosloski is “concerned that somebody could use the potential stigma to try and take advantage of that. If there is a stigma associated with reporting UAP, then that’s an opportunity for the adversary to maybe conduct collection operations and not have folks report on it. But we haven’t seen evidence of that yet.”

In an effort to help diminish the stigma of reporting UAPs, Kosloski said AARO is working with partners in the intelligence community and other government agencies to downgrade the classification ratings of incidents to make them more available to the public. Video of some of the cases AARO has discussed publicly will be released on Nov. 19.

“But there are interesting cases that I – my physics and engineering background and time in the IC – I do not understand, and I don’t know anybody else who understands them,” he said.

“The hope is that we will be able to release as much of that content as we can to the public so that we can get help in resolving them,” Kosloski commented.

More quickly and accurately identifying what some of the objects are is the hope for GREMLIN as well.

AARO has been under heavy ridicule by some proponents of UAP action, with claims that it is part of a coverup and has not executed its duties in good faith. Kosloski has taken over the office from its previous head, Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, who has repeatedly stood by his office’s investigations and methods.

The release of AARO’s latest report also comes a day after another UAP was held on Capitol Hill, with witnesses making claims that appear at odds with AARO’s past findings, especially in regard to secret UAP recovery programs.

Another congressional hearing on Nov. 19 will put AARO and its latest findings specifically in the spotlight.

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com


DoD To Deploy 'Gremlin' Sensors To Collect Intel On Unidentified Flying Objects

Joseph Trevithick
twz.com

The Pentagon has provided new details about a deployable, readily reconfigurable suite of sensors called Gremlin being developed specifically to help gather data about so-called unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs. UAP is the preferred term for what have been more commonly called unidentified flying objects, or UFOs, in the past. That the U.S. military was pursuing “purpose-built sensors” for this purpose was first disclosed last year.

Tim Phillips, the acting director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), discussed the Gremlin “kits” with reporters ahead of the release earlier today of an unclassified version of the first volume of a Congressionally-mandated review of U.S. government involvement in matters related to UAPs. That report notably poured cold water on claims that American authorities have been hiding a program that has recovered extraterrestrial technology and actual alien remains. Not surprisingly, some have welcomed the report, while others have claimed it is just more evidence of a cover-up.

AARO was created in 2022 to act as a focal point for refining and centralizing Pentagon-wide policies and procedures for tracking, reporting, and analyzing UAP incidents. It has also been tasked with acting as a U.S. military repository for UAP-related intelligence assessments and other data. The video below is an example of a reported UAP sighting that AARO has reviewed and information that is now in its repository. This incident was subsequently assessed to have involved a trio of commercial aircraft.


“Although many UAP reports remain unsolved or unidentified, AARO assesses that if more and better quality data were available, most of these cases also could be identified and resolved as ordinary objects or phenomena,” according to the report. “Sensors and visual observations are imperfect; the vast majority of cases lack actionable data or the data available is limited or of poor quality.”

This is exactly why AARO is pursuing the Gremlin sensor systems.

“We’re working with some of the government labs, such as the Department of Energy labs, and we have a great partner with Georgia Tech. And what we’re doing is developing a deployable, configurable sensor suite that we can put in Pelican cases,” AARO’s acting head Phillips’ said, according to DefenseScoop. “We’re going to be able to pull it to the field to do a long-term [collection]. Since the UAP target – that signature is not clearly defined – we really have to do hyperspectral surveillance to try to capture these incidents.”

Exactly what kinds of sensors are available for the Gremlin kit now or that might be in development for inclusion in it in the future are unknown. “Hyperspectral” typically refers to sensors capable of capturing imagery across different areas of the electromagnetic spectrum simultaneously. This allows for the collection of data about a target’s signature composition across multiple spectrums simultenously, which can then be analyzed and/or combined and compared against, and otherwise compiled with other sensor data for a better overall understanding of what is being surveilled. As an example, the U.S. military has used aircraft equipped with hyperspectral imaging systems to find targets hidden beneath natural and man-made camouflage and even ones, such as improvised explosive devices, that might be buried just below the surface.

The NASA video below offers a good general explanation of what can be gleaned from hyperspectral analysis.

The network of national security laboratories under the purview of the Department of Energy that Phillips noted as helping with the Gremlin systems have a long history of work on hyperspectral sensors. This includes one family of designs known collectively as Big Green that have been utilized operationally by the U.S. military. Though most commonly associated with nuclear weapons development, these facilities are responsible for a wide array of advanced technology efforts, many of them very heavily classified, as you can read more about here.

Hyperspectral imaging, as well as related multispectral imaging, capabilities have become far more widespread in recent years and have bled over into the commercial sector, as well. These systems, are increasingly key sensor capabilities for use in a wide array of contexts.

“Understanding if any of these Earth sensing satellites, any of these airborne platforms, any of these ground radars – whether it’s FAA or other – can actually see these things, given what we’ve got so far is going to be an important first step to understanding what sensors are going to be relevant,” Sean Kirkpatrick, AARO’s first director and Phillips’ predecessor, said at a Congressional hearing in May 2023. Kirkpatrick, who left the post last December, also disclosed at that time that his office was pursuing “dedicated sensors that we’ve purpose-built designed to detect, track and characterize” potential UAPs.

Acting AARO Director, Tim Phillips, who was also previously the office’s Deputy Director, at left, and former AARO Director Sean Kirkpatrick, at right. DOD

All of this is fully in line with what Phillips said the Gremlin systems have already shown they can do in tests in Texas. That testing has included “known” targets, or ones that sensor operators are informed about beforehand, as well as “unknown” ones, DefenseScoop reported. Using known targets, which have reportedly been drones, would allow personnel to get a sense first of how the system works and what it can and cannot detect.

The sensors have also shown their ability to pick up a wide array of unintended targets, Phillips said, according to Task & Purpose. This has included “a lot of bats and birds,” but also things happening outside of the Earth’s atmosphere that may or may not be visible to the naked eye.

“We’re learning a lot about solar flaring,” Phillips said. “We’re really starting to understand what’s in orbit around our planet and how we can eliminate those as anomalous objects.”

The goal now is to refine Gremlin to the point where it can be actively deployed in response to reports of incidents. As The War Zone has reported in the past, potential UAP sightings have occurred in clusters, sometimes over periods of days or even longer. Certain areas also seem to produce more reports, as you can see in the map below in a map generated using an interactive online tool created for The War Zone that utilizes Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data.

A map showing the approximate locations of clusters of reports made to the FAA between 2016 and 2020 of encounters between military aircraft and unidentified uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) with unusual flight characteristics. Marc Cecotti/Adam Keyhoe/The War Zone

Military test and training ranges and other designated operating areas in the United States and just off its coastlines have been particular hotbeds of UAP reports, as The War Zone has reported on in the past on multiple occasions. Former AARO director Kirkpatrick noted last year that the clustering of UAP reports often appeared to be “biased” toward “where our [existing] sensors are.”

“If we have a national security site and there are objects being reported that [are] within restricted airspace or within a maritime range or within the proximity of one of our spaceships, we need to understand what that is,” Phillips said, according to CNN. “And so that’s why we’re developing sensor capability that we can deploy in reaction to reports.”

Just since its establishment in 2022, AARO has already assessed dozens of reported UAP incidents to have actually involved readily identifiable things like drones and balloons. Phillips calls these reports “AARO garbage,” though it is worth noting that drones and balloons present a variety of very real potential national security threats, something The War Zone regularly highlights.

The video below was taken during a reported UAP incident in 2022 that was subsequently assessed to have involved a group of drones.

For his part, AARO’s acting director does seem to be well aware of this reality.

“I want to support the warfighter. I want to go after the cases that we received this week. As for where I want to be, I want to have my officers out in the field, talking to witnesses trying to gather and preserve evidence, trying to work with the services and the other departments in the government on how to preserve data when there are incidents, helping to write force protection standards, so I can capture this in real-time,” Phillips said, per DefenseScoop. “Doing it forensically, after the fact, is difficult.”

Having deployable Gremlin sensor systems will only help AARO be more proactive in gathering data about potential UAPs and help assess what they are more conclusively.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com