U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM)
| INDOPACOM | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Parent department | Department of War |
| Established | January 1, 1947 (as U.S. Pacific Command); renamed 2018 |
| Headquarters | Camp H. M. Smith, Hawaii |
| Area | Pacific and Indian Oceans, East and South Asia |
| UAP role | Submits military UAP reports to AARO |
| Status | Active |
| Active | |
United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) is the U.S. military’s combatant command for the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions, covering about half the Earth’s surface. Founded as U.S. Pacific Command in 1947, it was renamed in 2018 and is headquartered at Camp H. M. Smith, Hawaii.[1]
Role in UAP reporting
The U.S. Pacific Fleet, INDOPACOM’s naval component, was involved in several of the best-known modern Navy encounters, including the 2004 Nimitz “Tic Tac” encounter off Southern California and the 2019 USS Omaha sightings. Military reports from the region now go to AARO.[2]
PURSUE Release 06 (September 2026) included six unresolved INDOPACOM infrared videos from the Yellow Sea and East China Sea in 2023, released without accompanying reports.[3]
Assessment
The western Pacific is an area of intense U.S.–China military activity, and after the 2023 Chinese surveillance balloon incident U.S. forces were told to report small airborne objects more aggressively. Many such reports are likely balloons or drones, though the released INDOPACOM videos do not include enough data to say.
See also
References
- ^ U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, official history (pacom.mil).
- ^ 2021 ODNI Preliminary Assessment; AARO Consolidated Annual Reports on UAP.
- ^ U.S. Department of War (2026). PURSUE Release 06, DOW-UAP-PR143 to PR152. war.gov/ufo.