50 U.S.C. § 3024(i) (U) SCOPE AND ASSUMPTIONS (U) Scope (U) This preliminary report is provided by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) in response to a provision in Senate Report 116-233, accompanying the Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA) for Fiscal Year 2021 , that the DNI , in consultation with the Secretar y of Defense (SECDEF), is to submit an intelligence assessment of the threat posed by unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) and the progress the Department of Defense Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF) has made in understanding this threat. (U) This report provides an overview for policymakers of the challenges associated with characterizing the potential threat posed by UAP while also providing a means to develop relevant processes , policies , technologies , and training for the U.S. military and other U .S. Government (USG) personnel if and when they encounter UAP , so as to enhance the Intelligence Community ' s (IC) ability to understand the threat. The UAPTF Director , is the official accountable for ensuring the timely collection and consolidation of data on UAP. The dataset described in this report is currently limited primarily to USG reporting of incidents occurring from November 2004 to March 2021. Data continues to be collected and analyzed. (U) This report was prepared for the Congressional Intelligence and A rmed Services Committees under the auspices of the ODN!. It was drafted by the UAPTF ODNI National Intelligence Manager for Aviation , with input from U SD(I&S), lA , FBI , NRO , NGA , NSA , Air Force , Army , Navy , Marine Corps , DARPA , FAA, , NOAA , ODNIINIM- Emerging and Disruptive Technology , ODNIlNational Counterintelligence and Security Center , and ODNllNational Intelligence Council. (U) Assumptions (U ) Various forms of sensors that register UAP generally operate correctly and capture enough real data to allow initial assessments , but some UAP ma y be attributable to sensor anomalies. 2 50 U.S.C. § 3024(1)