The dust has settled. The public LinkedIn skirmishes and aggressive open letters that marked the end of 2023 are a thing of the past. In January 2026, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) is a different beast entirely.
Under the direction of Dr. Jon T. Kosloski, an NSA veteran specializing in quantum optics, the office has abandoned the theater of “active debunking” to adopt a strategy much harder to penetrate: quiet bureaucracy.
But Congress isn’t sleeping. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026 has changed the rules of the game, striking where it hurts most: the raw radar data from NORAD.
From Kirkpatrick to Kosloski: The Tactical Shift
The previous administration, led by Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, was defined by friction. Every public hearing felt like a battlefield between the whistleblower community and the office’s leadership. The “Kosloski Era” has brought a clinical and dangerous calm to disclosure. Kosloski doesn’t fight the public; he buries them in process.
- The Focus: Partnerships with traditional allies and the implementation of high-fidelity sensors.
- The Strategy: By demanding “perfect data” for any conclusion, AARO creates a funnel where 99% of cases are discarded due to “lack of data,” and the remaining 1% vanishes into classified channels to protect “sources and methods.”
The current danger to transparency is no longer the denial that these objects exist, but the drowning of information in technical reports inaccessible to the civilian public.
The NDAA 2026 Ultimatum: “Show Us the Radar”
Congress, frustrated by the lack of biological or exotic answers, executed a brilliant strategic pivot in the text of the NDAA 2026. They stopped asking for videos; they started demanding telemetry.
The legislation imposes aggressive mandates for AARO to provide briefings on all UAP intercepts conducted by NORAD and NORTHCOM since 2004.
Why is this critical?
- Radar Data Doesn’t Lie: Unlike grainy videos that can be dismissed as “optical illusions,” multi-sensor radar data involving incursions into North America is proof of physical objects.
- Aerial Sovereignty: By framing the issue as a “flight safety failure” rather than an “alien hunt,” Congress forces the Department of Defense to answer.
The New Files: What Was Released in January?
In the first week of 2026, AARO updated its database with unresolved cases. The highlight is infrared sensor footage from military platforms in Europe, dated 2021 and 2022.
The official classification is intriguing: “Physical objects of unremarkable morphology.”
Nova’s Note: In civilian language, this means they don’t look like classic flying saucers, they have no wings, they have no visible propulsion, but they are solid and they are where they shouldn’t be.
Conclusion: Visibility with Purpose
For us, observers and analysts, the path in 2026 is clear. We must stop looking for “monsters” and start auditing security failures. The question to be asked of AARO and Dr. Kosloski is not “Where do they come from?”, but rather:
“Why can the most expensive defense system in the world not identify what has been invading NORAD airspace for 20 years?”
It is in this gap of competence that the truth will leak.
In January 2026, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) operates under a new direction. Dr. Jon T. Kosloski has replaced the turbulent management of the past with a strategy of “quiet bureaucracy.”
The NORAD Ultimatum
The NDAA 2026 has imposed aggressive mandates, forcing the AARO to provide detailed briefings on UAP intercepts conducted by NORAD. This shift marks the end of active debunking and the beginning of a focus on aerial sovereignty.
To understand how we reached this point of transparency, read our report on The End of the Taboo.
For those tracking the technical data, these intercepts are often analyzed through The Five Observables.