First-of-its-kind legislation would create Center for the Study of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

Bills A5715 has passed both chambers of the NJ Legislature and was signed into law by Governor Phil Murphy on January 12, 2026.

New Jersey is moving toward becoming the first state in the nation to establish and fund a dedicated Center for the Study of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena. 

, which passed the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on December 15, 2025, include provisions to support the creation of this groundbreaking UAP research institution.

The legislation, sponsored by Senator Raj Mukherji (District 32, Hudson), appropriates $3.5 million total across two distinct programs. This bill is the first to establish an Air Traffic Controller Loan Redemption Program ($1 million) that provides up to $100,000 in student loan forgiveness over four years for controllers working at facilities serving New Jersey, addressing the national air traffic controller shortage. The second is an aviation education grants program ($2.5 million annually) for New Jersey public institutions of higher education with four separate purposes: supporting participation in the federal UAS Collegiate Training Initiative, supporting establishment of a Center for the Study of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, facilitating aviation administration degree programs, and encouraging participation in the FAA's Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiatives Program.

For Americans for Safe Aerospace and the broader UAP research community, the UAP research center component of this legislation is historic. It would represent the first time a U.S. state has directly funded UAP research infrastructure, creating a model that other states can follow to build credible, scientifically rigorous UAP research capacity outside the federal classification system, with transparent public reporting and academic credibility.

The UAP Research Center: What It Would Do

The proposed Center for the Study of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena would be established at a New Jersey public institution of higher education through the grant program. One purpose of the grants is to support the establishment of such a center, and institutions applying for grants must demonstrate their capacity to support it.

A state-funded university-based UAP research center would provide:

: A university-based center brings scientific rigor, peer review, methodological standards, and technical capabilities that government agencies alone cannot replicate. Academic institutions can conduct independent analysis free from political pressures and publish findings in peer-reviewed journals.

: University affiliation helps normalize UAP research as legitimate scientific inquiry, attracting graduate students and researchers who might otherwise avoid a stigmatized field. This builds long-term research capacity and expertise.

: A state-based center can develop deep knowledge of local airspace patterns, weather conditions, aviation operations, and baseline phenomena: crucial for distinguishing truly anomalous events from conventional explanations.

: Unlike classified federal programs, state-funded academic research could operate with greater public transparency, building trust and enabling broader scientific collaboration.

New Jersey's location in the densely populated Northeast Corridor, with some of the nation's busiest airspace including Newark Liberty International Airport and extensive military operations areas, makes it an ideal location for systematic UAP observation and data collection.

Why This Matters: Breaking the UAP Research Barrier

The single greatest obstacle to UAP research progress has been the combination of professional stigma and lack of credible institutional infrastructure for reporting and analysis. Pilots, air traffic controllers, and other aviation professionals have historically been reluctant to report unusual observations for fear of career consequences or ridicule.

: By establishing a state-funded, university-based UAP research center, New Jersey fundamentally changes this dynamic:

Reducing Stigma Through Academic Research

: University-based research legitimizes UAP as a topic worthy of serious scientific inquiry. When a state university hosts a UAP research center, it creates an environment where researchers can investigate these phenomena while maintaining healthy skepticism and rigorous scientific standards.

: State centers can accept and process reports that don't involve classified information or military operations, creating pathways for civilian pilots, commercial aviation personnel, and the general public to report observations.

: Unlike federal programs that operate within classification systems, state research can publish findings openly, building public trust and enabling broader scientific collaboration.

: Federal UAP efforts cannot provide comprehensive national coverage. State research centers can create a distributed network with regional expertise and local airspace knowledge.

: Rather than competing with federal programs, state centers complement them by processing regional reports with local expertise, then feeding high-quality analyzed data into federal systems like AARO.

What Academic UAP Research Can Accomplish

A university-based UAP research center has unique capabilities:

: The center can integrate data from multiple sources: air traffic control radar and communications, aviation safety reports and pilot observations, weather and atmospheric data, state agency reports, and civilian reports submitted through structured protocols.

: University researchers can develop and test detection systems, sensor platforms, and analysis tools specifically designed for UAP observation and characterization. This work can inform both state capabilities and contribute to national research efforts.

: UAP research requires expertise spanning physics, aerospace engineering, atmospheric science, sensor technology, and human factors. Universities can build these interdisciplinary teams in ways that government agencies often cannot.

: Graduate students can conduct thesis research on UAP-related topics, building academic credibility and creating a pipeline of researchers who understand UAP study as legitimate science.

: As the first state center, New Jersey's institution can establish collaboration protocols, data sharing standards, and research methodologies that other states can adopt, creating the foundation for a distributed national UAP research network.

Americans for Safe Aerospace has long advocated for the establishment of credible, scientifically rigorous UAP research infrastructure. New Jersey's inclusion of UAP research center support in S.4432 and A.5712 represents exactly the kind of institutional framework we believe is necessary to advance UAP research.

ASA submitted a formal letter of support to the Senate Higher Education Committee on November 16, 2025, when the bill was being considered. 

[Read our full statement of support here.]

Research Infrastructure is Safety Infrastructure

: Our work with military and commercial pilots has repeatedly demonstrated that UAP encounters raise legitimate aviation safety concerns: near-misses, operational disruptions, and unexplained phenomena that affect flight operations. Without systematic research infrastructure to collect, analyze, and respond to these reports, aviation safety is compromised.

: The greatest barrier to UAP research progress is the professional stigma around reporting. By establishing a university-based research center with state funding and institutional backing, New Jersey creates an environment where UAP reporting is normalized as part of aviation safety and airspace management, not treated as career-threatening fringe belief.

: While federal programs like AARO are important, they cannot provide comprehensive national coverage alone and operate within classification constraints that limit public transparency. State research centers can serve as regional nodes processing reports with deep knowledge of local conditions, providing public transparency, and feeding high-quality data into federal systems.

: Most importantly, New Jersey's legislation provides a proof of concept that other states can study and replicate. If New Jersey successfully establishes a UAP research center that produces quality research and demonstrates value, it proves to other state legislators that this model works and justifies similar investments.

S.4432 (2R) has successfully passed two Senate committees:

Senate Higher Education Committee: November 17, 2025 (with amendments)

Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee: December 15, 2025 (with amendments)

The companion Assembly bill A.5712 is advancing on a parallel track. Both bills are now positioned for floor votes in their respective chambers.

New Jersey Residents: Contact Your Legislators

If you are a New Jersey resident and support establishing the nation's first state-funded UAP research center, now is the time to contact your state Senator and Assembly members. The bills need support on the Senate and Assembly floors to move forward to the Governor's desk.

You can find your legislators and contact information at: 

Tell them you support S.4432/A.5712 and the establishment of a Center for the Study of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena. Constituent voices matter in the legislative process.

A Call to Other States: Establish UAP Research Centers

New Jersey is leading the way, but shouldn't be alone. We strongly urge state legislators, governors, and education officials nationwide to study this legislation and consider establishing similar UAP research centers in their states.

: A single state UAP research center is valuable, but a network of state centers transforms national research capacity. If ten states establish research centers over the next three years, the United States would have comprehensive distributed UAP research infrastructure spanning different geographical regions, airspace types, and atmospheric conditions. Each state that joins the network makes the entire effort more effective.

Different states can adapt this model to their circumstances. States can leverage strong aviation industries, major research universities, rural airspace advantages, or coastal maritime observation opportunities.

: Americans for Safe Aerospace commits to supporting state legislators and education officials who pursue similar legislation. We can provide technical consultation, connections to aviation professionals, UAP reports data for each state, research on state-specific needs, model legislative language, and testimony support.

States considering UAP research center legislation should contact ASA at 

New Jersey Poised to Establish Nation's First State-Funded UAP Research Center

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