Declassified UFO / UAP Document
Navy CHINFO Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs) Briefing Card
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AI-Generated Summary
This 2020 Navy briefing card provides official guidance on responding to UAP inquiries, confirming the authenticity of three previously leaked videos while instructing personnel to avoid the term 'UFO' to prevent public hysteria.
This document is a declassified briefing card dated July 24, 2020, produced by the U.S. Navy's Chief of Information (CHINFO) and the Office of Information. It serves as a guidance document for personnel responding to inquiries regarding Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs). The background section notes that the Navy and the Department of Defense (DOD) have received frequent and continuing reports of unauthorized or unidentified aircraft entering military-controlled training ranges. These incursions are treated as serious safety and security concerns, as they threaten the safety of aircrews and the security of military operations, tactics, and procedures.
The document addresses significant media interest, specifically citing a 2019 History Channel program that highlighted Navy videos of UAPs. It clarifies that these videos, which were previously leaked online in 2007 and 2017, were confirmed by the Navy in September 2019 to be authentic. On April 27, 2020, the DOD officially authorized the release of three unclassified videos—one from November 2004 and two from January 2015—via the FOIA process. The DOD statement included in the briefing card explains that the release was intended to clear up public misconceptions regarding the authenticity of the footage and to confirm that the phenomena remain characterized as 'unidentified.' Crucially, the briefing card provides strategic communication guidance, explicitly instructing personnel not to refer to UAPs as 'UFOs,' as the latter term is linked to extraterrestrial theories and media-driven hysteria, which the Navy seeks to avoid.
The latter term is intrinsically linked to the concept of extraterrestrials and the associated hysteria generated by the media that cover this topic.
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Official Assessment
The aerial phenomena observed in the videos remain characterized as 'unidentified.'
The Navy acknowledges frequent and continuing reports of unauthorized aircraft in military training ranges, which pose safety and security risks. The Navy officially released three videos (from 2004 and 2015) to clarify that they are authentic Navy footage and to address public misconceptions.
Key Persons
- Joseph F. GradisherCapt., prepared the briefing card
- Susan GoughOSD Public Affairs, prepared the briefing card