{"id":47766,"date":"2023-07-28T08:01:18","date_gmt":"2023-07-28T08:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/?p=120721"},"modified":"2023-07-28T09:32:57","modified_gmt":"2023-07-28T09:32:57","slug":"what-we-learned-from-the-ufo-congress-hearing","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/what-we-learned-from-the-ufo-congress-hearing\/","title":{"rendered":"What we learned from the UFO Congress hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like something from a Hollywood sci-fi drama, on Wednesday the US Congress heard claims regarding the existence of non-human entities. <\/p>

By Nick Pope\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 28 July 2023 at 07:56 AM<\/p>

\n\n

To the bemusement of the rest of the world, the House Oversight Committee in the US Congress held a hearing on UFOs this week, Wednesday 26 July.<\/p>\n

Two of the witnesses at the hearing, David Fravor and Ryan Graves, are former US Navy pilots who say they have had UFO encounters.<\/p>\n

Forward Looking InfraRed videos of these incidents are posted on the Department of Defense website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

They discussed how numerous military and civil pilots and radar operators see and track UFOs performing speeds and manoeuvres that seem to defy the laws of physics.<\/p>\n

Sceptics believe such sightings are either misperceptions, sensor anomalies, or involve secret prototype aircraft, missiles or drones.<\/p>\n

Things commonly mistaken for UFOs<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Grusch\u2019s testimony<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The third witness at the hearing, David Grusch, is a former intelligence officer who served on the US government\u2019s Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force.<\/p>\n<p>In testimony reminiscent of the infamous <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-science\/roswell-ufo-incident\/\">Roswell UFO incident<\/a>, Grusch says the US government has recovered craft and bodies relating to what he calls a \u201cnon-human intelligence\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>He undertook to pass specific details about this to Congressional representatives with the appropriate security clearances.<\/p>\n<p>He said he blew the whistle because programs dealing with this are being run illegally, without proper Congressional oversight.<\/p>\n<p>Grusch went further, talking about unspecified injuries that have befallen UFO witnesses, and threats and retribution against whistleblowers \u2013 including himself.<\/p>\n<p>Separately, he filed a complaint with the Intelligence Community Inspector General, apparently containing specific details that were frustratingly missing from the hearing, because it was an unclassified session.<\/p>\n<div class=\"image-handler__container image-handler__container--full\" style=\"padding-bottom: calc(100% * (683 \/ 1024));\"> <picture><source media=\"(max-width: 320px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1556766235-6ebbbb0.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=300%2C200, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1556766235-6ebbbb0.jpg?webp=true&quality=45&resize=600%2C400 2x, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1556766235-6ebbbb0.jpg?webp=true&quality=45&resize=900%2C600 3x\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source media=\"(max-width: 320px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1556766235-6ebbbb0.jpg?quality=90&resize=300%2C200, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1556766235-6ebbbb0.jpg?quality=45&resize=600%2C400 2x, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1556766235-6ebbbb0.jpg?quality=45&resize=900%2C600 3x\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source media=\"(max-width: 375px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1556766235-6ebbbb0.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=355%2C237, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1556766235-6ebbbb0.jpg?webp=true&quality=45&resize=710%2C474 2x\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source media=\"(max-width: 375px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1556766235-6ebbbb0.jpg?quality=90&resize=355%2C237, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1556766235-6ebbbb0.jpg?quality=45&resize=710%2C474 2x\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source media=\"(max-width: 425px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1556766235-6ebbbb0.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=405%2C270, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1556766235-6ebbbb0.jpg?webp=true&quality=45&resize=810%2C540 2x\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source media=\"(max-width: 425px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1556766235-6ebbbb0.jpg?quality=90&resize=405%2C270, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1556766235-6ebbbb0.jpg?quality=45&resize=810%2C540 2x\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source media=\"(max-width: 589px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1556766235-6ebbbb0.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=554%2C370\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source media=\"(max-width: 589px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1556766235-6ebbbb0.jpg?quality=90&resize=554%2C370\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source media=\"(min-width: 992px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1556766235-6ebbbb0.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=620%2C414\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source media=\"(min-width: 992px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1556766235-6ebbbb0.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C414\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1556766235-6ebbbb0.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=408%2C272, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1556766235-6ebbbb0.jpg?webp=true&quality=45&resize=816%2C544 2x\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1556766235-6ebbbb0.jpg?quality=90&resize=408%2C272, https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1556766235-6ebbbb0.jpg?quality=45&resize=816%2C544 2x\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source media=\"(min-width: 590px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1556766235-6ebbbb0.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=556%2C371\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source media=\"(min-width: 590px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1556766235-6ebbbb0.jpg?quality=90&resize=556%2C371\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><img class=\"wp-image-120728 align size-full image-handler__image image-handler__image--full no-wrap js-lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1556766235-6ebbbb0.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C414\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" alt=\"David Grusch, former National Reconnaissance Officer Representative of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Task Force at the U.S. Department of Defense, at the 'Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Implications on National Security, Public Safety, and Government Transparency' US Congress hearing on 26 July 2023. Photo by Drew Angerer\/Getty Images\" title=\"David Grusch, former National Reconnaissance Officer Representative of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Task Force at the U.S. Department of Defense, at the 'Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Implications on National Security, Public Safety, and Government Transparency' US Congress hearing on 26 July 2023. Photo by Drew Angerer\/Getty Images\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div><div class=\"caption-hold\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-copy\"><i class=\"icon-arrow icon-camera-circle\"\/> David Grusch, former National Reconnaissance Officer Representative of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Task Force at the U.S. Department of Defense, at the \u2018Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Implications on National Security, Public Safety, and Government Transparency\u2019 US Congress hearing on 26 July 2023. Photo by Drew Angerer\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><span class=\"im-image-caption\"\/><\/div>\n<h2><strong>Key takeaways<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Unlike pilot sightings, which are multifactorial, there\u2019s no middle ground here: Grusch\u2019s claims are either true or false.<\/p>\n<p>Could he be a disgruntled former employee trying to cause trouble, or involved in a deception operation \u2013 either as a willing participant or as an unwilling dupe?<\/p>\n<p>If his allegations are true, they would have profound implications for humanity.<\/p>\n<p>Congress is trying to verify Grusch\u2019s claims \u2013 a process complicated by the highly classified nature of some UFO information, and by the fact that multiple committees and sub-committees, both in the Senate and the House of Representatives, are investigating.<\/p>\n<p>Further Congressional hearings are likely.<\/p>\n<p>In parallel, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/nasa-to-set-up-independent-study-on-unidentified-aerial-phenomena\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NASA is undertaking its own study into UFOs<\/a> and is expected to report shortly.<\/p>\n<p>And US lawmakers are drafting multiple UFO-related provisions for inclusion in next year\u2019s Defense Bill.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever the truth about UFOs, there\u2019s bipartisan agreement that it\u2019s a serious national security issue.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, the level of official engagement in the US is in stark contrast to the UK, where the Ministry of Defence terminated UFO investigations in 2009, and say they have no plans to re-engage.<\/p>\n<p>You can find out more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/ufo-reports-in-the-uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">UFO reports in the UK via the UK government website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Watch the full UFO Congress hearing<\/strong><\/h2>\n<iframe title=\"Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs Hearing\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KQ7Dw-739VY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> Like something from a Hollywood sci-fi drama, on Wednesday the US Congress heard claims regarding the existence of non-human entities. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":47767,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/07\/what-we-learned-from-the-ufo-congress-hearing.jpg",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/07\/what-we-learned-from-the-ufo-congress-hearing-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/07\/what-we-learned-from-the-ufo-congress-hearing-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/07\/what-we-learned-from-the-ufo-congress-hearing-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/07\/what-we-learned-from-the-ufo-congress-hearing-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/07\/what-we-learned-from-the-ufo-congress-hearing.jpg",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/07\/what-we-learned-from-the-ufo-congress-hearing.jpg",1200,800,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Like something from a Hollywood sci-fi drama, on Wednesday the US Congress heard claims regarding the existence of non-human entities.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/47766"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}