Documents / Hearing transcript
This is the printed transcript of a July 26, 2023 hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability's Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs, chaired by Rep. Glenn Grothman. Ryan Graves, David Grusch and retired Navy Commander David Fravor testified on unidentified anomalous phenomena. Members pressed for transparency, whistleblower protection and better pilot reporting. Graves described a near mid-air collision with a dark cube inside a clear sphere off the Eastern Seaboard.
“Sightings”15 pages
10 As a reminder, please press the button on the microphone in front of you so that it is on, and the Members can hear you. When you begin to speak the light in front of you will turn green. After 4 minutes it will turn yellow and the red light when that comes it tells you your 5 minutes have expired. I will now recognize Mr. Graves for 5 minutes for your opening statement. STATEMENT OF RYAN GRAVES EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AMERICANS FOR SAFE AEROSPACE Mr. GRAVES. Thank you, Chairman Grothman, Ranking Member Garcia, distinguished Members of the House Oversight Sub- committee on National Security, Representatives Burchett and Luna. My name is Ryan ‘‘FOBS’’ Graves and I am a former F–18 pilot with a decade of service in the U.S. Navy including two deploy- ments in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Inherent Re- solve. I have experienced advanced UAP firsthand and I am here to voice the concerns of more than 30 commercial aircrew and mili- tary veterans who have confided their similar encounters with me. Today I would like to highlight three critical issues that demand our action. As we convene here, UAP are in our airspace but they are grossly under reported. These sightings are not rare or isolated. They are routine. Military aircrew and commercial pilots, trained observers whose lives depend on accurate identification, are fre- quently witnessing these phenomena. The stigma attached to UAP is real and powerful and challenges national security. It silences commercial pilots who fear profes- sional repercussions, discourages witnesses, and is only com- pounded by recent government claims questioning the credibility of eyewitness testimony. Parts of our government are aware more about UAP than they let on, but excessive classification practices keep crucial informa- tion hidden. Since 2021 all UAP videos are classified as secret or above. This level of secrecy not only impedes our understanding but fuels speculation and mistrust. In 2014, I was an F–18 Foxtrot pilot in the Navy Fighter Attack Squadron 11, the Red Rippers, and I was stationed at NAS Oceana in Virginia Beach. After upgrades were made to our jet’s radar sys- tems, we began detecting unknown objects operating in our air- space. At first, we assumed they were radar errors but soon we began to correlate the radar tracks with multiple onboard sensors, includ- ing infrared systems, eventually through visual ID. During a training mission in Warning Area W–72, 10 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, two F–18 Super Hornets were split by a UAP. The object, described as a dark gray or a black cube inside of a clear sphere, came within 50 feet of the lead aircraft and was estimated to be five to 15 feet in diameter. The mission commander terminated the flight immediately and returned to base. Our squadron submitted a safety report but there
Hearing transcript, from the hearings collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. 54 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.