MYSTERY WIRE — Thanks to the sharp eyes of people on Twitter and blogger Danny Silva, we once again are seeing new language in a Senate intelligence committee act for 2022.

Senator Mark Warner introduced the “Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022” to the Select Committee on Intelligence on August 4th.

In section 345, the expectations of the UAP Task Force are detailed (read section below).

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.

S.2610 – Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022

The first indication that the UAP Task Force would continue its work and become more integrated into the defense and intelligence communities came the same day the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a nine page unclassified report on UAPs.

Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks issued a memo directing the formalization of the UAPTF’s mission. 

In the one page document published to the Department of Defense publication page, the Deputy Secretary laid out three key components:

  • Establish procedures to synchronize collection, reporting and analysis on the UAP problem set, and to establish recommendations for securing military test and training ranges.
  • Identify requirements for the establishment and operation of the new activity, to include the organizational alignment, resources and staffing required, as well as any necessary authorities and a timeline for implementation.
  • Be developed in coordination with the Principal Staff Assistants, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Secretaries of the Military Departments, and the Commanders of the Combatant Commands and with the DNI and other relevant interagency partners.

It ends with this statement, “All members of the Department will utilize these processes to ensure that the UAPTF, or its follow-on activity, has reports of UAP observations within two weeks of an occurrence.”