There were high hopes and much excitement in some quarters that the floodgates of UFO disclosure would be opened at a Congressional hearing titled ‘Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Implications on National Security, Public Safety, and Government Transparency’ convened by the House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs held on 26 July 2023.
Was this going to prove a landmark moment in UFO history?
Chairperson Rep. Glenn Grothman started proceedings by saying that this was a bipartisan meeting that sought transparency and accountability and would be driven by the data.
The three witnesses putting forward the ‘data’ were David Grusch, former National Reconnaissance Office Representative on the UAP Task Force, Department of Defense, David Fravor, Retired Commander, Black Aces Squadron, US Navy, and Ryan Graves, former US Navy pilot and Executive Director of Americans for Safe Aerospace.
GREY CUBES AND TIC TACS
Ryan Graves recounted that in 2014, just after a radar system upgrade, he and other pilots in a Navy Fighter/Attack Squadron made up of F/A-18F Super Hornets frequently detected unknown objects that “surpassed our understanding and technology” (FT406:39). They ruled out software glitches because their infrared sensors also detected them, “confirming their physical presence”. Such sightings were “an open secret among our aircrew” and so common that they were “seen” by the squadron on virtually a daily basis. Graves said that an unnamed pilot operating near Virginia Beach during an air combat training mission saw “a dark grey cube inside of a clear sphere, motionless against the wind,” causing him to terminate the mission.
Making the point that UAP sightings of objects are grossly underreported by pilots, due to the stigma associated with the subject and the fear ofspeculation and mistrust.”
