New UAP Office Confirmed With Biden Signing Defence Act

The act has been signed!

Summary of some key points

1. Office to “address” UAP must be established by 25 June 2022.
2. Office must produce a report by 31 October 2022 (Halloween), and then annually on that date for the following four years.
3. Report will be unclassified but may contain a classified annex.
4. Report must contain all reports of UAP for the year.
5. Report must provide analysis of each UAP event.
6. Report must mention any work on “the ability to capture or exploit discovered unidentified aerial phenomena.”
7. Office must make a classified briefing by 27 March 2022 to three committees in congress and then continue doing so twice a year until the end of 2026.
8. There are implications for the UK as this act forces them to engage with allies on this subject.
9. There is special interest in UAP activity around nuclear sites.
10. There is recognition of “transmedium” objects that can travel in water and air.
11. The threat element is present in terms of national security.
12. There is mention of “adverse physiological effects” and “health-related effects”.
13. The office must create a “science plan” to understand the technologies involved in UAP and how to replicate them.

Text of the act: S.1605 – National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022

The text below is copied from the congress website.

SEC. 1683. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE, ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE, AND

AUTHORITIES TO ADDRESS UNIDENTIFIED AERIAL PHENOMENA.

    (a) Establishment of Office.–Not later than 180 days after the

date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in

coordination with the Director of National Intelligence, shall

establish an office within a component of the Office of the Secretary

of Defense, or within a joint organization of the Department of Defense

and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, to carry out

the duties of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, as in

effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, and such

other duties as are required by this section.

    (b) Duties.–The duties of the Office established under subsection

(a) shall include the following:

        (1) Developing procedures to synchronize and standardize the

    collection, reporting, and analysis of incidents, including adverse

    physiological effects, regarding unidentified aerial phenomena

    across the Department of Defense and the intelligence community.

        (2) Developing processes and procedures to ensure that such

    incidents from each component of the Department and each element of

    the intelligence community are reported and incorporated in a

    centralized repository.

        (3) Establishing procedures to require the timely and

    consistent reporting of such incidents.

        (4) Evaluating links between unidentified aerial phenomena and

    adversarial foreign governments, other foreign governments, or

    nonstate actors.

        (5) Evaluating the threat that such incidents present to the

    United States.

        (6) Coordinating with other departments and agencies of the

    Federal Government, as appropriate, including the Federal Aviation

    Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration,

    the Department of Homeland Security, the National Oceanic and

    Atmospheric Administration, and the Department of Energy.

        (7) Coordinating with allies and partners of the United States,

    as appropriate, to better assess the nature and extent of

    unidentified aerial phenomena.

        (8) Preparing reports for Congress, in both classified and

    unclassified form, including under subsection (i).

    (c) Response to and Field Investigations of Unidentified Aerial

Phenomena.–

        (1) Designation.–The Secretary, in coordination with the

    Director, shall designate one or more line organizations within the

    Department of Defense and the intelligence community that possess

    appropriate expertise, authorities, accesses, data, systems,

    platforms, and capabilities to rapidly respond to, and conduct

    field investigations of, incidents involving unidentified aerial

    phenomena under the direction of the head of the Office established

    under subsection (a).

        (2) Ability to respond.–The Secretary, in coordination with

    the Director, shall ensure that each line organization designated

    under paragraph (1) has adequate personnel with the requisite

    expertise, equipment, transportation, and other resources necessary

    to respond rapidly to incidents or patterns of observations

    involving unidentified aerial phenomena of which the Office becomes

    aware.

    (d) Scientific, Technological, and Operational Analyses of Data on

Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.–

        (1) Designation.–The Secretary, in coordination with the

    Director, shall designate one or more line organizations that will

    be primarily responsible for scientific, technical, and operational

    analysis of data gathered by field investigations conducted

    pursuant to subsection (c) and data from other sources, including

    with respect to the testing of materials, medical studies, and

    development of theoretical models, to better understand and explain

    unidentified aerial phenomena.

        (2) Authority.–The Secretary and the Director shall each issue

    such directives as are necessary to ensure that the each line

    organization designated under paragraph (1) has authority to draw

    on the special expertise of persons outside the Federal Government

    with appropriate security clearances.

    (e) Data; Intelligence Collection.–

        (1) Availability of data and reporting on unidentified aerial

    phenomena.–The Director and the Secretary shall each, in

    coordination with one another, ensure that–

            (A) each element of the intelligence community with data

        relating to unidentified aerial phenomena makes such data

        available immediately to the Office established under

        subsection (a) or to an entity designated by the Secretary and

        the Director to receive such data; and

            (B) military and civilian personnel of the Department of

        Defense or an element of the intelligence community, and

        contractor personnel of the Department or such an element, have

        access to procedures by which the personnel shall report

        incidents or information, including adverse physiological

        effects, involving or associated with unidentified aerial

        phenomena directly to the Office or to an entity designated by

        the Secretary and the Director to receive such information.

        (2) Intelligence collection and analysis plan.–The head of the

    Office established under subsection (a), acting on behalf of the

    Secretary of Defense and the Director of National Intelligence,

    shall supervise the development and execution of an intelligence

    collection and analysis plan to gain as much knowledge as possible

    regarding the technical and operational characteristics, origins,

    and intentions of unidentified aerial phenomena, including with

    respect to the development, acquisition, deployment, and operation

    of technical collection capabilities necessary to detect, identify,

    and scientifically characterize unidentified aerial phenomena.

        (3) Use of resources and capabilities.–In developing the plan

    under paragraph (2), the head of the Office established under

    subsection (a) shall consider and propose, as the head determines

    appropriate, the use of any resource, capability, asset, or process

    of the Department and the intelligence community.

    (f) Science Plan.–The head of the Office established under

subsection (a), on behalf of the Secretary and the Director, shall

supervise the development and execution of a science plan to develop

and test, as practicable, scientific theories to–

        (1) account for characteristics and performance of unidentified

    aerial phenomena that exceed the known state of the art in science

    or technology, including in the areas of propulsion, aerodynamic

    control, signatures, structures, materials, sensors,

    countermeasures, weapons, electronics, and power generation; and

        (2) provide the foundation for potential future investments to

    replicate any such advanced characteristics and performance.

    (g) Assignment of Priority.–The Director, in consultation with,

and with the recommendation of the Secretary, shall assign an

appropriate level of priority within the National Intelligence

Priorities Framework to the requirement to understand, characterize,

and respond to unidentified aerial phenomena.

    (h) Annual Report.–

        (1) Requirement.–Not later than October 31, 2022, and annually

    thereafter until October 31, 2026, the Director, in consultation

    with the Secretary, shall submit to the appropriate congressional

    committees a report on unidentified aerial phenomena.

        (2) Elements.–Each report under paragraph (1) shall include,

    with respect to the year covered by the report, the following

    information:

            (A) All reported unidentified aerial phenomena-related

        events that occurred during the one-year period.

            (B) All reported unidentified aerial phenomena-related

        events that occurred during a period other than that one-year

        period but were not included in an earlier report.

            (C) An analysis of data and intelligence received through

        each reported unidentified aerial phenomena-related event.

            (D) An analysis of data relating to unidentified aerial

        phenomena collected through–

                (i) geospatial intelligence;

                (ii) signals intelligence;

                (iii) human intelligence; and

                (iv) measurement and signature intelligence.

            (E) The number of reported incidents of unidentified aerial

        phenomena over restricted air space of the United States during

        the one-year period.

            (F) An analysis of such incidents identified under

        subparagraph (E).

            (G) Identification of potential aerospace or other threats

        posed by unidentified aerial phenomena to the national security

        of the United States.

            (H) An assessment of any activity regarding unidentified

        aerial phenomena that can be attributed to one or more

        adversarial foreign governments.

            (I) Identification of any incidents or patterns regarding

        unidentified aerial phenomena that indicate a potential

        adversarial foreign government may have achieved a breakthrough

        aerospace capability.

            (J) An update on the coordination by the United States with

        allies and partners on efforts to track, understand, and

        address unidentified aerial phenomena.

            (K) An update on any efforts underway on the ability to

        capture or exploit discovered unidentified aerial phenomena.

            (L) An assessment of any health-related effects for

        individuals that have encountered unidentified aerial

        phenomena.

            (M) The number of reported incidents, and descriptions

        thereof, of unidentified aerial phenomena associated with

        military nuclear assets, including strategic nuclear weapons

        and nuclear-powered ships and submarines.

            (N) In consultation with the Administrator for Nuclear

        Security, the number of reported incidents, and descriptions

        thereof, of unidentified aerial phenomena associated with

        facilities or assets associated with the production,

        transportation, or storage of nuclear weapons or components

        thereof.

            (O) In consultation with the Chairman of the Nuclear

        Regulatory Commission, the number of reported incidents, and

        descriptions thereof, of unidentified aerial phenomena or

        drones of unknown origin associated with nuclear power

        generating stations, nuclear fuel storage sites, or other sites

        or facilities regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

            (P) The names of the line organizations that have been

        designated to perform the specific functions under subsections

        (c) and (d), and the specific functions for which each such

        line organization has been assigned primary responsibility.

        (3) Form.–Each report submitted under paragraph (1) shall be

    submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.

    (i) Semiannual Briefings.–

        (1) Requirement.–Not later than 90 days after the date of the

    enactment of this Act and not less frequently than semiannually

    thereafter until December 31, 2026, the head of the Office

    established under subsection (a) shall provide to the congressional

    committees specified in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (D) of

    subsection (l)(1) classified briefings on unidentified aerial

    phenomena.

        (2) First briefing.–The first briefing provided under

    paragraph (1) shall include all incidents involving unidentified

    aerial phenomena that were reported to the Unidentified Aerial

    Phenomena Task Force or to the Office established under subsection

    (a) after June 24, 2021, regardless of the date of occurrence of

    the incident.

        (3) Subsequent briefings.–Each briefing provided subsequent to

    the first briefing described in paragraph (2) shall include, at a

    minimum, all events relating to unidentified aerial phenomena that

    occurred during the previous 180 days, and events relating to

    unidentified aerial phenomena that were not included in an earlier

    briefing.

        (4) Instances in which data was not shared.–For each briefing

    period, the head of the Office established under subsection (a)

    shall jointly provide to the chairman and the ranking minority

    member or vice chairman of the congressional committees specified

    in subparagraphs (A) and (D) of subsection (k)(1) an enumeration of

    any instances in which data relating to unidentified aerial

    phenomena was not provided to the Office because of classification

    restrictions on that data or for any other reason.

    (j) Authorization of Appropriations.–There is authorized to be

appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the work of the

Office established under subsection (a), including with respect to–

        (1) general intelligence gathering and intelligence analysis;

    and

        (2) strategic defense, space defense, defense of controlled air

    space, defense of ground, air, or naval assets, and related

    purposes.

    (k) Task Force Termination.–Not later than the date on which the

Secretary establishes the Office under subsection (a), the Secretary

shall terminate the Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force.

    (l) Definitions.–In this section:

        (1) The term “appropriate congressional committees” means the

    following:

            (A) The Committees on Armed Services of the House of

        Representatives and the Senate.

            (B) The Committees on Appropriations of the House of

        Representatives and the Senate.

            (C) The Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of

        Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the

        Senate.

            (D) The Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the

        House of Representatives and the Select Committee on

        Intelligence of the Senate.

        (2) The term “intelligence community” has the meaning given

    such term in section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50

    U.S.C. 3003).

        (3) The term “line organization” means, with respect to a

    department or agency of the Federal Government, an organization

    that executes programs and activities to directly advance the core

    functions and missions of the department or agency to which the

    organization is subordinate, but, with respect to the Department of

    Defense, does not include a component of the Office of the

    Secretary of Defense.

        (4) The term “transmedium objects or devices” means objects

    or devices that are observed to transition between space and the

    atmosphere, or between the atmosphere and bodies of water, that are

    not immediately identifiable.

        (5) The term “unidentified aerial phenomena” means–

            (A) airborne objects that are not immediately identifiable;

            (B) transmedium objects or devices; and

            (C) submerged objects or devices that are not immediately

        identifiable and that display behavior or performance

        characteristics suggesting that the objects or devices may be

        related to the objects or devices described in subparagraph (A)

        or (B).