Sponsors
The bill removes a standalone AARO and redistributes its functions into existing DoD elements, achieving some administrative savings and clearer distributed command but risking short-term disruption, loss of expertise, reduced centralized analysis, and legal uncertainty that could weaken UAP detection and response.
DoD and federal personnel will have AARO functions redistributed into existing DoD elements, clarifying chain of command and preserving distributed responsibility for UAP matters (avoids creating a new centralized UAP office).
Taxpayers may see reduced administrative overhead and modest cost savings from eliminating a separate AARO office.
Dispersing UAP responsibilities could weaken centralized data collection and analysis, potentially hindering timely detection and response to anomalous threats.
The 60-day transition risks operational disruption and loss of institutional expertise among service members and DoD analysts, reducing short-term capacity to handle UAP matters.
Repealing statutory authorities and rapidly amending multiple NDAA provisions may create legal and bureaucratic uncertainty about which entity holds responsibility for UAP matters.
Based on analysis of 1 section of legislative text.
Terminates AARO, shifts its functions into other DoD elements, bans creating a similar centralized UAP office, and repeals related statutory references, effective in 60 days.
Terminates the Department of Defense’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), requires its functions to be transferred into other DoD components within 60 days, and removes related statutory references. It also bars the Secretary of Defense and the Director of National Intelligence from creating a single, centralized office with comparable comprehensive authority over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP). The bill defines key terms for covered objects and sets the statutory changes to take effect 60 days after enactment.
Introduced April 6, 2026 by Timothy Burchett · Last progress April 6, 2026