155,000 pages of files released by government on unidentified aerial phenomena
A new scientific council led by Harvard professor Avi Loeb aims to analyze the data, but critics say the released evidence remains insufficient.
By Amina Howard ·
The U.S. government has released more than 155,000 pages of files regarding unidentified aerial phenomena, a collection that includes seven tranches of first-person accounts, photographs, and video footage.
The release follows the establishment of a new Scientific Advisory Council by the Trump Administration. The group is tasked with studying these sightings, which are now officially referred to as Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena or UAPs.
Avi Loeb, a former chair of the astronomy department at Harvard University, leads the council. He stated that his role is to help the Pentagon and the intelligence community identify whether these objects are human-made technologies from adversarial nations.
Loeb compared his work to that of a detective who is starved of data. He noted that high-quality data often requires heroic effort to collect, and that a lack of information leads to poor deliberations.
Former U.S. Navy pilot Ryan Graves, who gained national attention in 2023 for describing a close encounter off the coast of Virginia Beach, also joined the council. Graves recounted how a dark grey cube inside a clear sphere came within 50 feet of his F-18 Super Hornet during a training mission.
Graves said the government has not yet released the high-end sensor data used by pilots to make critical decisions about threats. He described the currently available infrared clips as insufficient, leaving the public with more ambiguity rather than clear answers.
Questions remain about what the government already knows. Former Air Force intelligence officer David Grusch testified to Congress that he was told about recovered UFOs. When asked by Rep. Nancy Mace if recovered crafts included pilots, Grusch confirmed that biologics came with some of the recoveries.
Graves, who started an organization called Americans for Safe Aerospace, said he is astounded that fighter pilots and commercial aviators are now willing to talk about their experiences. He believes the country is moving toward a point where confirmation of strange events will be possible within his lifetime.
