DOW-UAP-D077, AARO Unresolved Case Analysis Update: Western United States Event

Official Conclusion

Approximately 40% of reported phenomena remain unresolved; case under continued investigation as of June 2026.

Official Description

This memorandum summarizes the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office’s (AARO) ongoing analysis of a reported incident near a sensitive national security site in the western United States involving unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) over a period of two days in 2023. As of June 2026, the case remains unresolved.

Key Findings

• →Six federal law enforcement special agents in three two-person teams observed 'orbs launching other orbs' near a sensitive national security site in the western U.S. over two days in October 2023 at approximately dusk.
• →A luminous orange 'mother orb' repeatedly appeared for one to two seconds, released clusters of two to four red 'orbs,' then disappeared, with at least one red 'orb' remaining stationary above a ridgeline for several hours.
• →Approximately 60% of reported activity is plausibly attributable to military aircraft dispensing infrared countermeasure flares based on radar and ADS-B correlation, but the remaining 40% has no plausible explanation after first-stage analysis.
• →No video, photographic imagery, or other technical data was collected by the reporting agents during the incident, limiting analysis to narrative testimony cross-correlated with flight logs and radar data.
• →AARO's preliminary exclusion-based hypothesis is that unrecognized technology may account for up to 40% of the phenomena, though this is unsubstantiated by technical data or physical evidence.

Extracted Entities