Former Navy pilot Ryan Graves reported that a football field-sized UFO flew over Vandenberg AFB in 2003. Pic credit: PBS NewsHour/YouTube
Navy pilot Ryan Graves, one of three witnesses who testified under oath at the hearing on July 26, described a UAP incident at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in 3003.
According to Graves, witnesses who contacted his Americans for Safe Aerospace organization that Boeing contractors reported sighting a 100-yard red UAP over the AFB.
The strange object first appeared over the base at about 8:45 am. It left after hovering for several seconds and returned hours later after sunset.
During the second sighting, it engaged in aggressive behavior. It repeatedly approached the security guards at high speeds before turning back and speeding off.
The 2003 Vandenburg AFB incident
During the hearing on UAPs on Wednesday, June 26, Rep. Anna Paulin Luna of Florida asked Graves to explain in detail the incident at the Vandenburg AFB in 2003 (see PBS NewsHour video: start 1:02: 38).
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According to Graves, in 2003, a large group of Boeing contractors was working near one of the launch facilities at the AFB when they observed a 100-yard cube-shaped UAP approaching the base from the sea.
It hovered for about 45 seconds at a low altitude over one of the launch facilities before darting off.
The first incident occurred in the morning at about 8: 45 a.m. Another incident occurred later in the evening after sunset. This time witnesses reported aggressive behavior.
The object approached security guards at high speeds. It repeated the behavior multiple times before darting off.
Graves said he had never seen or heard of a similar UAP. The witnesses said it was about the size of a football field.
Graves’ squadron reported GIMBAL, GOFAST sightings
Lt. Graves is a former Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet pilot.
He founded Americans for Safe Aerospace, an organization that advocates for aerospace safety.
His squadron, The Red Rippers (Strike Fighter Squadron 11/VFA-11), served on board the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) during Operation Enduring Freedom (2012).
The Red Rippers also served on board USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) during Operation Inherent Resolve (2015).
He reported that the UAP encounters documented in the GIMBAL and GOFAST videos (see video below) occurred during training missions ahead of deployment for Operation Inherent Resolve.
[Note: The first footage in the YouTube below is the GIMBAL, while the second is the GO FAST. Graves’ squadron filmed the two encounters within weeks of each other while flying over the Atlantic off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida.]
Graves’ squadron also reported cube-in-sphere UAPs
Graves’s squadron also reported multiple counters with a mysterious UAP he described as a dark gray or black cube inside a sphere.
The encounters occurred in 2014 while he served with the Red Rippers at the Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana, Virginia Beach.
He noted that the radar systems at the base detected the UAPs flying regularly in their air space.
He described an encounter that occurred off the coast during a training exercise. One of the objects, about 5-15 feet in diameter, came dangerously close, within 15 feet of their aircraft.
Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland inquired about the common features of the UAPs (see PBS NewsHour video: start 56:38).
He said they saw dark grey or black cubes inside a clear sphere. The apex or tips of the cubes touched the sides of the sphere.
He added that the encounters occurred regularly for almost 8 years, and as far as he knew, they were still occurring.
What happened at the end of the GIMBAL footage?
Rep. Luna inquired about what happened at the end of the GIMBAL footage. She noted that the version of the video released to the public had the end part cut off.
Graves said the UAP exhibited some instability. It appeared to rock or turn at the end of the video. He couldn’t tell why they cut it.
He added that he hadn’t seen the cut part since they took it. However, the data he would recommend for analysis was the radar data. He said it would provide precise kinematics information about the UAP.
The radar data would also provide information about a fleet of objects nearby.
[Note: Watch Graves analyze the GIMBAL footage in the video below]
Commercial pilots reporting UAPs received cease-desist letters
Ryan also testified that he knew of commercial pilots who received cease and desist letters from their employers after reporting UAP sightings.
When Luna asked him whether he agreed that the commercial airline companies were putting their corporate reputation ahead of the safety of the American people, he said yes.