15 programmes — side by side

Mandate · host agency · civilian vs military · classification · public access

military uniformed-services host civilian civil-agency or academic host public full file release classified redactions remain active still accepting reports

Programme	Host	Founded	Mandate	Reports from	Classification	Public release	Records held by	Status
AARO (US)	military OUSD(I&S) DoD	2022	Detect · identify · attribute UAP across all domains. 10 U.S.C. § 1683.	Military, civil aviation, IC, public	None public (4-tier internal)	classified + annual unclassified reports	AARO · NARA on declass.	active
NASA UAP IST	civilian Science Mission Directorate	2022	Data-pipeline science; Earth-observation + AI/ML for UAP.	NASA assets only	Open data	public 2023 final report	NASA + NARA	active (Director of UAP Research)
NARA · RG 341	civilian National Archives	1947 corpus	Permanent record of federal UAP files (Blue Book, JFK, FBI).	n/a · custodian, not investigator	Inherited from source agency	public (FOIA + reading rooms)	NARA	active
GEIPAN (France)	civilian CNES	1977	Civilian collection · investigation · publication of all UAP reports.	Civilian + commercial pilots + ATC	PAN A/B/C/D (D = unidentified)	public 3,343 cases full file	GEIPAN / CNES	active (47 yrs continuous)
UK MoD desk	military Ministry of Defence	1950	Air-defence intel screening. Closed Dec 2009.	RAF, civil aviation, public	None public	public (TNA, 60,000 pp, 2008–13)	The National Archives Kew	closed 2009
FAB / Arquivo Nacional	military Força Aérea Brasileira	1952	OVNI intake + SIOANI investigation (1969–80). LAI release 2008–16.	Civilian + FAB + Comandos Aéreos Regionais	None formal · 5 tranches	public (~4,500 docs)	Arquivo Nacional · FAB CENDOC	active (Notimp 250/2013)
CEFAA / SEFAA	civilian DGAC (civil aviation)	1997	Airspace-safety-focused UAP investigation.	Civilian + commercial pilots + ATC	Loose 4-tier (similar to GEIPAN)	public monthly dispatches	DGAC / SEFAA	active
CEFAe	military Fuerza Aérea Argentina	2011	Air-force-hosted multidisciplinary review.	Civilian + FAA + pilots	Internal · not public	Periodic statements	FAA · CONICET liaison	active (volunteer)
LAC · Project Magnet	civilian Dept. of Transport (1950s)	1950 (closed 1954)	Civilian-side radio-engineering UAP study (Wilbert Smith).	RCAF + Dept of Transport	Classified until 1979	public (LAC RG 12, RG 24)	Library & Archives Canada	closed 1954
Aeronautica Militare	military Stato Maggiore Aeronautica	1978	Public UFO reporting channel via RGS.	Civilian + pilots + ATC	Internal · aggregate stats public	Aggregate counts; full files via FOIA	AM HQ Rome	active
NZDF UFO desk	military NZ Defence Force	1952 corpus	RNZAF intercept + public-correspondence intake.	RNZAF + police + public	None public	public (OIA release 2010, ~2000 pp)	NZDF HQ Wellington	closed 2010
OIFAA	military Fuerza Aérea del Perú	2001	Receive · register · investigate · cooperate w/ foreign offices.	Civilian + FAP	Internal · case-by-case release	Selected case files released under Ley 27.806	FAP HQ Lima	active (intermittent)
Ejército del Aire	military Ejército del Aire (1962–92)	1962 (declass. 1992)	Classified UAP intake; Orden 13/1992 declassified the corpus.	Spanish air defence + EA pilots	Classified until 1992	public ~80 case files, 1900 pp	Archivo Histórico del Ejército del Aire	closed 1992
CRIDOVNI	military Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya	1979	Investigate UAP that could pose aeronavigation hazard.	Civilian + FAU + ATC	4-tier (natural · artificial · inconcluso · sin id.)	Annual aggregate statistics	FAU Carrasco	active (longest-running mil-hosted, 45+ yrs)
War.gov / PURSUE	military Department of War	2025	Presidential Unsealing programme — Releases 01 + 02 disclosure track.	Internal DoW + IC	Per source classification	public Releases 01 + 02 (222 records: 158 + 64)	war.gov / DVIDS / GitHub	active

Reading the table. Three structural patterns emerge. Civilian-hosted programmes (GEIPAN, NASA, SEFAA, NARA) are the most transparent — they publish full case files and stable methodology. Military-hosted programmes split into active intake (FAU CRIDOVNI 45 yrs, FAB, CEFAe, OIFAA, Italy AM) and closed corpus (UK MoD, NZ NZDF, Spain EA, Canada Magnet). The U.S. AARO is the only host that simultaneously runs an active multi-domain investigation and publishes a periodic historical record; its 10 U.S.C. § 1683 mandate is the most expansive in the comparison.

Methodological convergence. Across the 15 programmes, four common evidentiary signatures keep recurring: (1) multi-sensor correlation (radar + optical + IR), (2) EM-effects on aircraft systems, (3) physical-trace cases (Trans-en-Provence, Socorro, Operação Prato), (4) sworn military-pilot witness depositions. GEIPAN's PAN-D classification, AARO's 10 U.S.C. § 1683 framework, and CRIDOVNI's sin identificación category all converge on the same operational definition.