Sean Kirkpatrick
Sean Michael Kirkpatrick is an American laser and materials physicist who served as the first Director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) within the United States Department of Defense.
Department of Defense and AARO
Kirkpatrick's expertise in science and technology led him to a career in Defense and Intelligence related fields. In July 2022, he was appointed to lead the newly established AARO. The office was created by the Department of Defense to investigate Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) and assess potential threats to national security.
During his tenure as Director, Kirkpatrick oversaw the development of AARO's core functions, including:
- Standardizing UAP reporting procedures within the Department of Defense.
- Implementing frameworks for scientific and intelligence analysis of UAP data.
- Leading efforts to characterize and understand UAP phenomena.
- Overseeing the historical review of U.S. government involvement with UAP.
Kirkpatrick stepped down from his position at AARO effective December 1, 2023. In January 2024, he joined the Oak Ridge National Laboratory as the "Chief Technology Officer for Defense and Intelligence Programs within the National Security Sciences Directorate (NSSD). In this role, Dr. Kirkpatrick serves as a scientific advisor helping NSSD apply the lab’s broad capabilities to emerging science and technology trends in the defense and intelligence communities, and to other classified R&D challenges."
Media, Public Statements, and Interviews
04-19-23 - HEARING TO RECEIVE TESTIMONY ON THE MISSION, ACTIVITIES, OVERSIGHT, AND BUDGET OF THE AARO [TRANSCRIPT]
07-27-23 - AARO DIRECTOR ISSUES STATEMENT ON U.S. HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE'S UFO HEARING
10-31-23 - DoD Press - "AARO Director Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick Holds an Off-Camera Media Roundtable
11-12-23 - POLITICO - "Are Aliens Real? We Asked the Pentagon’s Outgoing UFO Chief."
01-19-24 - Scientific American - “Here’s What I Learned as the U.S. Government’s UFO Hunter”
01-23-24 - In the Room with Peter Bergen - “UFOs, again.” [TRANSCRIPT]
02-05-24 - Science Quickly Podcast - "The Government’s Former UFO Hunter Found Something More Concerning Than Aliens" [TRANSCRIPT]
02-06-24 - POLITICO - “Former UFO boss: Pentagon needs to be less secretive”
03-20-24 - NSSA - “SpaceTime with Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick” [TRANSCRIPT]
04-22-24 - Statement to Steven Greenstreet re: “Bad blood” with David Grusch
05-08-24 - Steven Greenstreet "Pentagon UFO Hunter Reveals What He Knows About Aliens" [TRANSCRIPT]
Documents