Roving Periscope: Whistleblowers claim the US possesses UFOs, non-humans

Virendra Pandit

New Delhi: It may become a confirmation of an ‘open secret’ many claimed to know since the end of the Second World War in 1945 when, for the first time, some people were said to have seen what later became popularly known as the Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs).

A former US intelligence officer, David Grusch, on Wednesday, said the US government is in possession of UFOs and non-human bodies.

He made the statement under oath in front of a House of Representatives oversight committee in Washington. The hearing was scheduled after Grusch claimed in June that the US government was harboring alien spacecraft, the media reported.

Grusch, who turned whistleblower last year, revealed that the US Congress has been kept in the dark about Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) the new name for UFOs. He claimed that executive branch agencies withheld information on these mysterious objects for years and that he personally interviewed people with direct knowledge of the non-human craft.

“My testimony is based on information I’ve been given by individuals with a longstanding track record of legitimacy and service to this country — many of whom also shared compelling evidence in the form of photography, official documentation, and classified oral testimony,” Grusch told lawmakers.

Replying to a question on whether the US government has the pilots of “crashed crafts,” Grush answered, “Biologics came with some of these recoveries, yeah.” They were “non-human”, he said and added this assessment was made by people who have “direct knowledge” on the issue.

Grusch led the analysis of UAPs within a US Department of Defense agency until 2023. He became aware of a multi-decade effort to retrieve and reverse-engineer UFOs that had crashed into the US while he was a member of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). He said he “absolutely” believes the government is in possession of UAPs as well as the remains of their non-human operators.

In June, he alleged that the government was hiding evidence of extraterrestrials from the US Congress. After his allegations sparked a firestorm, the Republican-led oversight committee launched an investigation into his claims.

Grusch alleged that the US government had “intact and partially intact” alien vehicles, and disclosed details about a UAP crash retrieval and reverse-engineering program, which he was denied access to despite his role in investigating classified programs.

He also informed the congressional hearing that the US government discovered non-human intelligent life in the 1930s. The US Department of Defense had not only recovered extraterrestrial craft from crash sites but also possesses non-human biological material.

He, however, admitted that he had neither seen an alien body, nor alien craft himself and that his claims are based on “extensive interviews with high-level intelligence officials.”

Grusch accused the military of misusing funds to hide these operations from congressional oversight, a claim previously denied by the Pentagon.

He also claimed that people have been threatened and physically hurt in the Pentagon’s cover-up of the alleged UFO evidence. Asked if he had heard of anyone being killed in the alleged cover-up, he did not completely rule out the possibility.

Apart from Grush, two other witnesses also testified before the United States Congress on Wednesday about the UAPs, disclosing possible encounters with UFOs, the threats they pose to national security, and damning allegations against the government’s secrecy on the matter.

Former Navy pilot Ryan Graves and retired Navy Commander David Fravor testified about their own UPAs/UFO sightings while serving in the military, and shared their experiences with them during their missions.

Graves described encountering dark grey or black cubes inside a clear sphere, while Fravor recounted his famous “Tic Tac” video of a large object off the coast of California in 2004 that demonstrated capabilities beyond current material science.

“…A white Tic Tac-shaped object with the longitudinal axis pointing north and south and moving very abruptly over the white water. There were no rotors, no rotor wash, or any visible flight control surfaces like wings,” he detailed and added that the UFO he saw over the Pacific could be a serious threat.

All three witnesses emphasized that current reporting systems are insufficient to investigate UAP encounters. They highlighted the existence of stigma for pilots and officials seeking more transparency about their experiences.

Graves urged for a change in the national conversation about UAP encounters. He emphasized the need to address the security and safety implications, as UFOs in the skies could pose a potential national security problem if they are foreign drones.

The Pentagon has denied Grusch’s claims of a coverup. In a statement, Defense Department spokeswoman Sue Gough said investigators have not discovered “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 statement did not address UFOs that are not suspected of being extraterrestrial objects.

Asked if there may be life beyond Earth, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said he does not have a position on the issue one way or another.

“What we believe is that there are unexplained aerial phenomena that have been cited and reported by pilots — Navy and Air Force,” he said, adding: “We don’t have the answers about what these phenomena are.”

A bipartisan group of senators led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced an amendment to the defense spending bill, aiming to reveal government records on UAP through a review board with a presumption of immediate disclosure.

A defense department spokesperson said that investigators have not discovered “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.”