At the Sol Symposiuma in Italy this fall, something became clear: pilots around the world are reporting the same phenomenon, but every country is handling it differently.

From Scandinavia to South America, from North America to the Pacific Rim, aviation professionals describe objects whose behavior does not match known aircraft, drones, or natural phenomena. These are trained pilots and air traffic controllers whose judgment we trust with millions of lives every day.

There is no international standard for how to report these observations, no common terminology, no coordinated effort to understand what is happening in our shared airspace, and no centralized reporting database.

The lack of coordination is a safety risk.

Modern airspace is increasingly complex. Drones, balloons, hypersonic systems, and autonomous aircraft now share the sky with commercial and military traffic. In that environment, an unidentified object is not simply a mystery. It is a potential hazard. An unexplained near-miss can go unreported because no clear channel exists to document it. Objects appearing near airports, flight corridors, or sensitive installations raise both safety and security concerns.

When pilots in different countries encounter similar phenomena but report them through disconnected national systems, the aviation community cannot identify patterns, assess risks, or develop appropriate responses. What should be a global safety concern remains fragmented across dozens of bureaucracies working in isolation.

Every nation that has studied this issue has learned valuable lessons. France's long-standing scientific approach, Chile's commitment to transparency, Japan's emerging pilot protocols, and Canada's analytical work have each contributed important insights. These efforts have largely proceeded independently, without shared standards or coordinated analysis.

The result is inefficiency and missed opportunity. Countries duplicate work, repeat mistakes, and fail to benefit from lessons already learned elsewhere. More importantly, the absence of a common framework means aviation safety decisions are being made with incomplete information.

A coordinated international approach to UAP reporting would provide three essential elements currently missing from global aviation safety:

A shared vocabulary. Pilots need consistent terminology to describe what they observe, regardless of which country they are flying over or which language they speak.

A standardized reporting process. Aviation professionals should have a clear, confidential channel for documenting unusual observations, with protections against stigma or retaliation.

A framework for reducing misidentification. Distinguishing between known systems and genuinely anomalous phenomena matters for both aviation safety and national security, particularly when objects appear near sensitive sites or critical infrastructure.

These are practical tools that would make global aviation measurably safer.

Americans for Safe Aerospace is positioned to take the first step in developing these standards.

As a pilot-led organization, ASA carries credibility that no government agency can replicate. Pilots trust other pilots. Unlike state agencies, ASA is not constrained by classification requirements, political cycles, or diplomatic sensitivities. We can speak plainly about what the data shows and what aviation safety requires.

Our goal is not to impose an American framework on the rest of the world. It is to create a foundation that any nation can adopt, adapt, or build upon. We lead by providing structure, not by claiming unique authority. The standards that emerge will be strengthened by the contributions of aviation professionals and researchers from every region.

Someone must begin the work. The International Civil Aviation Organization, the body responsible for setting worldwide aviation norms, has remained silent on this issue. If the international system will not act, it falls to those willing to step forward.

ASA is moving forward with the development of global UAP reporting standards and collection systems. We are building the infrastructure to gather, analyze, and act on data from aviation professionals worldwide. Our goal is to create a network that brings reports from multiple countries into a centralized system where patterns can be identified and actionable safety insights can be developed.

Beyond data collection, we are establishing a collaborative research environment where aviation organizations, scientific bodies, and government agencies can work together on shared questions. This means pooling resources, comparing methodologies, and building on one another's findings rather than duplicating efforts in isolation.

If you are part of an aviation safety organization, pilot group, scientific body, or government agency working on this issue, we invite you to connect your efforts with ours. Share your data. Contribute your reports to our system. Participate in our research collaborations. Help us build a comprehensive picture of what is happening in global airspace.

ASA has also developed effective approaches to advocacy, legislation, and policy change that other organizations can learn from. Our work with the Safe Airspace for Americans Act, our collaboration with regulators like the FAA, provide a tested model for how to move this issue forward within existing aviation frameworks.

We are not waiting for perfect international consensus. We are building the standards now, and we invite the global aviation community to join us in making them stronger. The network and research environment we create today will become the foundation for safer skies tomorrow.

If you have data to share, want to connect your reporting system with ours, or are interested in collaborative research, contact us directly at reports@safeaerospace.org.

Why Global Aviation Needs a Common Framework for UAP Reporting