Pentagon UFO office developing ‘Gremlin’ sensors to help identify anomalies in orbit

The Pentagon’s UFO office is developing sensor kits to help it collect data in real time on unidentified objects in the sky or in space. 

That’s according to Tim Phillips, the acting head of the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office, or AARO, a U.S. Department of Defense office aimed at studying unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), a new term for UFOs that encompasses mysterious objects not only in the sky but also underwater or in space. 

Phillips said that his office is working with government laboratories and academia to develop a highly portable sensor kit known as the «Gremlin System» that can capture data across multiple spectra, according to a report in DefenseScoop.

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Phillips added that the Gremlin System has already proven capable of detecting a wide range of phenomena, including in space. «It’s picking up a lot of bats and birds. We’re learning a lot about solar flaring,» Phillips told a select group of reporters on Thursday (March 7). 

«We’re really starting to understand what’s in orbit around our planet and how we can eliminate those as anomalous objects,» he added.

The AARO director said that these Gremlin System sensors could be used to surveil sensitive sites for airspace intrusions, or even keep an eye on U.S. satellites in orbit.

«If we have a national security site and there are objects being reported that trend within restricted airspace, or within a maritime range, or in the proximity of one of our spaceships, we need to understand what that is. And so that’s why we’re developing a sensor capability that we can deploy in reaction to reports,» Phillips said.

AARO plans to present the Gremlin System to Pentagon leaders so that the sensor kits could be deployed in the event of «UAP encounters at militarily significant locations or near U.S. critical infrastructure,» DefenseScoop reported.

Brett is curious about emerging aerospace technologies, alternative launch concepts, military space developments and uncrewed aircraft systems. Brett’s work has appeared on Scientific American, The War Zone, Popular Science, the History Channel, Science Discovery and more. Brett has English degrees from Clemson University and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. In his free time, Brett enjoys skywatching throughout the dark skies of the Appalachian mountains.