Knowledge base
UFO/UAP questions and terms
Glossary
Key terms
UFO
Unidentified Flying Object
The older term for something in the sky that the observer cannot identify.
UFO only means that the object has not been identified; the word says nothing about where it comes from. Over the years it has picked up associations with space creatures and jokes, which is one reason authorities switched terms. I still use it, because it is the word most people recognise.
UAP
Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena
The term US authorities use today. Broader than UFO: it also covers phenomena under water and in space.
In the US defense budget for 2023 (NDAA), passed at the end of 2022, the term was changed from "aerial" to "anomalous". It now covers objects in the air, under water, in space and those moving between these environments (so-called transmedium objects). UAP is therefore a broader and more neutral word than UFO.
NHI
Non-Human Intelligence
Intelligent life that is not human, whatever its origin. Takes no position on whether it is extraterrestrial.
The US bill UAP Disclosure Act defines NHI as any sentient intelligent non-human lifeform regardless of nature or ultimate origin that may be presumed responsible for UAP or of which the Federal Government has become aware. The term is deliberately open. It does not say we are dealing with visitors from another planet, only that the intelligence is not human, which is why it is used instead of the word alien.
Source: The bill text on congress.gov ↗
Disclosure
Authorities and governments openly reporting what they know about UFO/UAP.
Disclosure is not about anyone having to believe anything, but about the information being available and open to scrutiny. In the US it is driven today through legislation and congressional hearings. In Sweden the path is different: we already have the principle of public access to official records, but almost nothing about UAP has been made public. That is what I and others are working to change.
UAPDA
UAP Disclosure Act
US bill from Senators Schumer and Rounds to collect and release the government's UAP records.
The bill was first introduced in July 2023 as an amendment to the US defense budget. A cut-down version became law in December 2023: it tasked the National Archives with gathering the agencies' UAP records in a dedicated collection. What was removed was an independent review board and the government's right to take over recovered technologies of unknown origin and biological evidence of non-human intelligence. Schumer and Rounds reintroduced the full bill in 2025 and 2026. This bill text is also where terms such as NHI, technologies of unknown origin and legacy programs are defined.
AARO
All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office
The office within the US Department of Defense that has investigated UAP reports since July 2022.
AARO receives and analyses reports from the military and other agencies. In its historical report (volume 1, March 2024) AARO wrote that it had found no evidence that any US government agency had confirmed extraterrestrial technology or run programs to reverse-engineer it. Several members of Congress and witnesses have criticised the report, arguing that the investigation was not independent.
Source: aaro.mil ↗
Whistleblower
Someone who exposes wrongdoing from inside an organisation. In the UAP context usually David Grusch.
David Grusch, a former US intelligence officer, testified under oath in the House of Representatives on 26 July 2023. He stated that the US had for decades run secret programs to recover and study craft of non-human origin. The claims rest on what he says others told him and have not yet been confirmed by public evidence. In Sweden, anyone reporting wrongdoing of public interest is protected by the Whistleblowing Act (2021:890), but the protection is limited when it comes to classified information concerning national security.
Source: The Swedish Whistleblowing Act at the Riksdag (in Swedish) ↗
Crash retrieval and legacy programs
recovery and reverse engineering
Alleged secret programs to recover, study and reverse-engineer craft or material of unknown origin.
These are the programs Grusch and other witnesses have described. The UAP Disclosure Act calls these efforts "legacy programs" and the material "technologies of unknown origin" (TUO). No such program has been publicly confirmed. The European Crash Retrieval Initiative (ECRI), which I co-founded, carries the term in its name.
Exopolitics
The study of the political, legal and social consequences of the possibility that we are not alone.
The term was coined by the American lawyer Alfred Webre in the early 2000s. It deals with questions such as: how should democratic institutions handle information that is kept secret, which laws apply, and who would speak for humanity. Exopolitics is therefore not a claim that something exists, but a way of thinking the consequences through in advance. My site on Swedish exopolitics is se.uap.solutions.
Offentlighetsprincipen
the Swedish principle of public access to official records
The right, laid down in the Swedish constitution, to read official documents held by public authorities.
The right is found in chapter 2 of the Freedom of the Press Act. Anyone can request a document without saying who they are or why they want it. Information can be kept secret under the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act, for example for defence reasons, but the authority must then make a decision that can be appealed. This is the most important tool for disclosure in Sweden.
Source: The Freedom of the Press Act at the Riksdag (in Swedish) ↗
The ghost rockets of 1946
A wave of sightings of rocket-like objects over Sweden in the summer of 1946, investigated by the Swedish Defence Staff.
In July 1946 the Defence Staff set up a special committee including the air force, FOA and FRA. By 1 December that year, 973 reports had come in. Some could be explained as meteors and other natural phenomena, but the investigation never established what all of them were. The records are kept today in the Swedish Military Archives. It is the clearest example of Swedish authorities actually investigating the issue.
Source: The Swedish National Archives on the ghost rockets (in Swedish) ↗
Prosaic explanation
An ordinary, earthly explanation for a sighting: aircraft, drones, balloons, satellites or weather.
The vast majority of reports get a prosaic explanation, and that is good. What matters for disclosure is the small share that does not, and how openly the authorities report both the explained and the unexplained cases.
Questions & answers
In-depth questions about UFO/UAP
The basic questions, such as what disclosure means and what Citizens for Disclosure Sweden does, are on the overview page.
Has the UAP Disclosure Act become law?
Partly. A cut-down version was passed in December 2023 as part of the US defense budget for 2024. It tasked the National Archives with gathering the agencies' UAP records in a dedicated collection. What was removed was an independent review board and the government's right to take over recovered technologies and biological material of unknown origin. Senators Chuck Schumer and Mike Rounds reintroduced the full bill in 2025 and 2026, but the complete version has not yet become law.
Who is David Grusch and what did he claim?
David Grusch is a former US intelligence officer who testified under oath before a House committee on 26 July 2023. He stated that the US had for decades run secret programs to recover and study craft of non-human origin, and that he himself had faced reprisals. His statements rest largely on what others told him, and they have not yet been confirmed by public evidence. His testimony is an important reason the UAP Disclosure Act was written.
What has AARO concluded?
AARO, the US Department of Defense's UAP office, wrote in its historical report from March 2024 that it had found no evidence that any US agency had confirmed extraterrestrial technology or run reverse-engineering programs. At the same time there are cases AARO has not been able to explain. The report has been criticised by members of Congress and witnesses who argue that the investigation was not independent, and that is why many are calling for an external review.
Have Swedish authorities ever investigated UFOs?
Yes. In the summer of 1946 hundreds of reports came in about so-called ghost rockets over Sweden, and the Defence Staff set up a special committee including the air force, FOA and FRA. By 1 December 1946, 973 reports had come in. Some got natural explanations, but the investigation never established what all of them were. The records are kept today in the Swedish Military Archives. From later decades there is much less public material.
How do I request UAP records from a Swedish authority?
Contact the authority, for example the Swedish Armed Forces, and ask to see official records (allmänna handlingar). Be as specific as you can: give the subject, the time period and the kind of records you are looking for, for example reports of unidentified objects in Swedish airspace. You do not have to say who you are or why you are asking. If you are refused, you are entitled to a written decision, which as a rule can be appealed to the administrative court of appeal. Feel free to send me what you receive, so it can end up under Investigations.
Is a Swedish whistleblower who wants to talk about UAP protected?
The Swedish Whistleblowing Act (2021:890) protects anyone who, in a work-related context, reports wrongdoing of public interest, including against reprisals from the employer. There is also the freedom to communicate information to the media (meddelarfrihet). Both protections are limited when it comes to classified information concerning national security. Anyone holding such information should seek legal advice first. What I am mainly asking for is that the authorities report what can be reported.
What does the petition "UAP på dagordningen" demand?
That Sweden takes the UAP issue seriously, with open reporting of what the authorities know and a serious inquiry instead of silence. I started it on Mitt Skifte because today there is no political forum in Sweden where the question is asked.
Is it certain that UFO/UAP is about something non-human?
No. The vast majority of sightings get an ordinary explanation. What exists is testimony under oath, some sensor data and a US bill that explicitly allows for the possibility, but no public evidence that everyone accepts. My own position shows in the title of my book: I am 99 percent sure. The last percent is exactly what disclosure is about, getting to see the evidence.