US hiding ‘multi-decade’ programme that captures UFOs, says Former Air Force intelligence officer tells Congress

Retired Maj. David Grusch, a former Air Force intelligence officer, testified to Congress that the U.S. is concealing a longstanding program that retrieves and reverse engineers unidentified flying objects on July 26, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

The U.S. is concealing a longstanding program that retrieves and reverse engineers unidentified flying objects, a former Air Force intelligence officer testified Wednesday to Congress. The Pentagon has denied his claims.

Retired Maj. David Grusch’s extremely anticipated testimony earlier than a House Oversight subcommittee was Congress’ newest foray into the world of UAPs — or “unidentified aerial phenomena,” which is the official time period the U.S. authorities makes use of as a substitute of UFOs. While the examine of mysterious plane or objects typically evokes speak of aliens and “little green men,” Democrats and Republicans lately have pushed for extra analysis as a nationwide safety matter resulting from issues that sightings noticed by pilots could also be tied to U.S. adversaries.

Grusch mentioned he was requested in 2019 by the pinnacle of a authorities job pressure on UAPs to establish all extremely categorised applications referring to the duty pressure’s mission. At the time, Grusch was detailed to the National Reconnaissance Office, the company that operates U.S. spy satellites.

“I was informed in the course of my official duties of a multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering program to which I was denied access,” he mentioned.

Asked whether or not the U.S. authorities had details about extraterrestrial life, Grusch mentioned the U.S. probably has been conscious of “non-human” exercise because the Nineteen Thirties.

The Pentagon has denied Grusch’s claims of a coverup. In a press release, Defense Department spokeswoman Sue Gough mentioned investigators haven’t found “any verifiable information to substantiate claims that any programs regarding the possession or reverse-engineering of extraterrestrial materials have existed in the past or exist currently.” The assertion didn’t tackle UFOs that usually are not suspected of being extraterrestrial objects.

Grusch says he grew to become a authorities whistleblower after his discovery and has confronted retaliation for coming ahead. He declined to be extra particular in regards to the retaliatory techniques, citing an ongoing investigation.

“It was very brutal and very unfortunate, some of the tactics they used to hurt me both professionally and personally,” he mentioned.

Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Wis., chaired the panel’s listening to and joked to a packed viewers, “Welcome to the most exciting subcommittee in Congress this week.” But members of each events requested Grusch about his examine of UFOs and the results he confronted.

“I take it that you’re arguing what we need is real transparency and reporting systems so we can get some clarity on what’s going on out there,” mentioned Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md.

Some lawmakers criticized the Pentagon for not offering extra particulars in a categorised briefing or releasing pictures that could possibly be proven to the general public. In earlier hearings, Pentagon officers confirmed a video taken from an F-18 army airplane that confirmed a picture of 1 balloon-like form.

Pentagon officers in December mentioned they’d acquired “several hundreds” of recent reviews since launching a renewed effort to research reviews of UFOs.

At that level, “we have not seen anything, and we’re still very early on, that would lead us to believe that any of the objects that we have seen are of alien origin,” mentioned Ronald Moultrie, the undersecretary of defence for intelligence and safety. “Any unauthorized system in our airspace we deem as a threat to safety.”