In 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, a $2.3 trillion relief bill included a provision to investigate over 120 military pilot sightings of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), formerly known as UFOs. This mandate, added to the crucial legislation, aimed to address the public’s interest sparked by declassified Navy footage of UAP sightings.
The investigation, conducted in 2021, analyzed video and eyewitness accounts of objects exhibiting unconventional flight capabilities, such as rapid maneuvers and changes in direction beyond current technology’s capacity. These objects lacked detectable exhaust, performed maneuvers resulting in potentially lethal g-forces for any human occupant, and demonstrated the ability to enter and exit the ocean.
The military’s conclusion was inconclusive. While the objects were not U.S. aircraft, their origin—whether a foreign power or otherwise—remained undetermined.
In 2021, an official commented on the extended flight times of these objects, noting their capabilities far exceeded expectations.
The UAP mystery persists. On November 13th, a House Oversight Committee hearing, titled “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth,” featured testimony from four witnesses who argued that unidentified and potentially extraterrestrial craft are operating in American airspace.
A former military intelligence official, with ten years’ experience leading a Pentagon program investigating unexplained sightings, testified that UAP are real, advanced technologies not belonging to any known government, and are monitoring sensitive military installations globally. He further asserted that the U.S. and adversaries possess UAP technologies, suggesting a long-term, secretive arms race funded by misallocated taxpayer money and hidden from oversight.
The witnesses and lawmakers expressed concern not only about the continued sightings but also their locations, disproportionately concentrated over military and secure installations. The committee chairman directly questioned the disproportionate occurrence of these sightings over military facilities.
The witness responded that data suggests a correlation between UAP activity and sensitive U.S. military installations, nuclear assets, and Department of Energy sites. He further stated that this pattern has persisted for decades, with information withheld from oversight bodies.
Another witness, a retired rear admiral, described an incident in January 2015 where he and other naval officers received an email with a video of an anomalous object—a video that inexplicably disappeared from their inboxes the following day. He characterized the object’s flight characteristics as unlike anything in the U.S. arsenal, and considered the incident and the video’s disappearance as confirmation of UAP interaction with humanity.
Further sensational claims came from a journalist who submitted 214 pages of testimony, including evidence of a purported highly secretive government program, “Immaculate Constellation,” involving numerous high-resolution images and videos of UAPs.
A former NASA associate administrator, a member of the agency’s UAP independent study team, lamented the stigma hindering open scientific discussion of UAP, arguing that unbiased data collection is crucial.
Witnesses stressed the national security implications and the need for transparency. The lack of understanding of UAP in U.S. airspace, coupled with substantial national defense spending, poses a risk. One witness compared a potential intelligence failure regarding adversarial UAP technology to a failure exceeding that of 9/11 in magnitude.
Witnesses emphasized the government’s responsibility to investigate and share findings with the public, arguing against what they described as the intelligence community treating the public as children.
