U.S. Air Force Set To Enter The UFO Research Arena… Again?

“The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence passed the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (IAA) today on a bipartisan 16-0 vote,” Senator Mark Warner’s July 28, 2021, press release stated. “The bill authorizes funding, provides legal authorities, and enhances congressional oversight for the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC).” However, the last line of his release, which is one of the background bullet point objectives for the bill, will likely be the most exciting for the general public:

“Supporting the IC’s efforts to assess unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), following up on the work of the UAP Task Force.”

When reading the bill that has just passed the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which does have a long road to being passed by the House, Senate, then signed into law by President Joe Biden; Section 345 has extensive detail about UAPs, the UAP Task Force, and the data they will receive.

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SEC. 345. SUPPORT FOR AND OVERSIGHT OF UNIDENTIFIED AERIAL PHENOMENA 
              TASK FORCE.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term 
        ``appropriate committees of Congress'' includes:
                    (A) The congressional intelligence committees.
                    (B) The Committee on Armed Services of the Senate.
                    (C) The Committee on Armed Services of the House of 
                Representatives.
            (2) Unidentified aerial phenomena task force.--The term 
        ``Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force'' means the task 
        force established by the Department of Defense on August 4, 
        2020, to be led by the Department of the Navy, under the Office 
        of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and 
        Security.
    (b) Availability of Data on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.--The 
Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of Defense shall 
each, in coordination with each other, require each element of the 
intelligence community and the Department of Defense with data relating 
to unidentified aerial phenomena to make such data available 
immediately to the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force and to the 
National Air and Space Intelligence Center.
    (c) Quarterly Reports to Congress.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act and not less frequently than 
        quarterly thereafter, the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task 
        Force, or such other entity as the Deputy Secretary of Defense 
        may designate to be responsible for matters relating to 
        unidentified aerial phenomena, shall submit to the appropriate 
        committees of Congress quarterly reports on the findings of the 
        Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, or such other 
        designated entity as the case may be.
            (2) Contents.--Each report submitted under paragraph (1) 
        shall include, at a minimum, the following:
                    (A) All reported unidentified aerial phenomena-
                related events that occurred during the previous 90 
                days.
                    (B) All reported unidentified aerial phenomena-
                related events that occurred during a time period other 
                than the previous 90 days but were not included in an 
                earlier report.
            (3) Form.--Each report submitted under paragraph (1) shall 
        be submitted in classified form.

Arguably, one of the most interesting aspects to the above language, is the inclusion of the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC). Appearing right along side the UAP Task Force, they are both set to receive UAP data from the Intelligence Community and the Department of Defense (DoD).

In a coincidence, The Black Vault was fishing around NASIC via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) just a couple months ago and NASIC said in a request asking for UAP and UFO related information, they they had “no records.”

NASIC denial letter stating they had no UAP / UFO records.

In addition, they tried to pass on the decades-old explanation that although the USAF investigated UFOs with Project Blue Book, they cancelled it and haven’t done so since.

“On 17 December 1967 the United States Air Force discontinued investigating UFO sightings with the discontinuation of Project Blue Book . My office would not maintain records pertaining to UFO investigation,” NASIC said. But, even that statement is historically inaccurate.

The termination of Project Blue Book came 17 December 1969, not 1967.

The Black Vault has appealed NASIC’s denial, given the new evidence presented within the language of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022. Although this has not been passed into law, so no records would exist as mandated by it if it should be at a later date; NASIC’s inclusion in the language indicates there would be some level of either current involvement with the effort, or at the very least, contact with NASIC by the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) or the DoD, to inform them they would be on the receiving end of the data.

Despite the inaccuracies, the bill will provide FOIA fodder for The Black Vault (and likely many others) for years to come.