The 19th November 2024 US Congressional Senate UAP Hearing

Hearing

On the 19th of November 2024, the Emerging Trends and Capabilities Sub-committee of the U.S. Congress' Senate Armed Services Committee, held a hearing on UAP. Announcing this, "Closed hearing to examine the activities of the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office, to be immediately followed by an open session." The sole witness called before the hearing was Dr. Jon Kosloski who has been the Director of AARO since August 2024. The chair for the hearing was Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. 

The video of the 34-minute-long open session may be accessed here.  Dr. Kosloski presented an opening statement, the text of which is as follows:

Dr. Jon T. Kosloski > U.S. Department of Defense > Biography

Opening statement

"Statement for the Record Dr. Jon Kosloski, Director, All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities November 19, 2024.

 Thank you, Chairwoman Gillibrand, Ranking Member Ernst, and distinguished members of the subcommittee. It is a pleasure to be here on behalf of the Department of Defense as the new Director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office. I appreciate the opportunity to provide a status update on AARO’s work and respond to your questions about unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP.

On behalf of the department and the entire AARO team, I want to say how grateful we are to Congress for its continued support. Unidentified objects in any domain may pose a threat to U.S. safety and security. Reports of UAP activity, particularly near national security sites, must be treated seriously and investigated with scientific rigor by the U.S. Government.

By way of introduction, I am Jon Kosloski. I'm a researcher at my core, with an academic background in mathematics, physics, and engineering. I have spent most of my career at the National Security Agency leading advanced research in the areas of optics, computing, and crypto mathematics. I am drawn to tough scientific problems, which is what brought me to AARO and the UAP mission.

Since I arrived in August 2024, I have been impressed by the breadth and depth of my team’s experience and the framework it has established to rigorously analyze UAP reports. AARO has taken meaningful steps to improve data collection and retention, bolster sensor development, effectively triage UAP reports, and remove the stigma of reporting a UAP event. Last year, AARO worked with DoD’s Joint Staff to issue guidance to defense personnel worldwide on how to report UAP observations and is working with the Military Services to ensure the implementation of this guidance. Additionally, AARO launched a public website that features UAP imagery, case resolutions, material analysis, archival records, and more. These are only a few examples of AARO’s recent progress – and we’re just getting started.

To date, AARO has over 1,600 UAP reports in its holdings from across the U.S. government. I’ll share a slide in just a few minutes of updated UAP analytic trends. You’ll see that many reports resolve to commonplace objects like birds, balloons, and unmanned systems, while others lack sufficient data for comprehensive analysis. Only a very small percentage of reports AARO receives are potentially anomalous; these are the cases that require significant time, resources, and a focused scientific inquiry by AARO and its wide network of partners.

It is important to underscore that, to date, AARO has discovered no verifiable evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology. To accomplish AARO’s national security mission, I have set three priorities for the Office: building strong partnerships, promoting transparency, and scaling up the work of the office. First, AARO cannot do its work alone. Building partnerships across government, academia, industry, and with the public, is essential to the success of the office. Strong cooperation with the Military Services is particularly important. We rely on their support to implement our reporting guidance and to amplify the message that there should be zero stigma associated with UAP reporting. We also rely on partnerships with the National Labs, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, FBI, DHS, and NASA, all of which play a role in the whole-of-government effort to address UAP. Just as important, I recognize the talent and expertise that reside outside of government. 

AARO will continue to explore new ways to partner with the academic and scientific communities to investigate its most complex UAP cases. Transparency is a related priority for AARO. Our ability to collaborate with key partners, including the scientific community and the public, relies on information sharing, to include downgrading and declassifying UAP-related information. In some cases, it may be unclear to the public why DoD classified a piece of information in the first place. Why are photos of seemingly benign objects, such as balloons, classified? It is often the case that an object or phenomenon itself is not a security concern, but the location, source, or method used to capture it is still sensitive.

Many cases are difficult to quickly release to the public but are reported to the appropriate committees in Congress that are authorized by the law or House and Senate leadership to receive the information. It is important to note that AARO does not unilaterally declassify information. Instead, we work with the originator of a classified record to ensure that declassifying that record does not inadvertently harm national security. This can take time. Nonetheless, the Department is committed to declassifying and publicly sharing more information on UAP, while protecting sensitive sources and methods.

I’ll be sharing some newly declassified imagery in just a few minutes. AARO is also working closely with the National Archives and Records Administration to make UAP-related documents publicly available in a digitized collection. In addition, AARO continues to review the U.S. historical record relating to UAP. We welcome any former or current government civilian, contractor, or military service member with relevant information to reach out to us at www.aaro.mil. My final priority is scaling AARO’s work to match its mission. AARO needs to bolster the quantity, quality, and diversity of data that it acquires and examines. This means tapping into existing data sources within the interagency while deploying AARO’s own organic sensor capabilities. To the extent that UAP result from domain awareness gaps, more and better data will help us fill those gaps and help us understand what is being encountered. In closing, AARO is committed to the highest standards of scientific integrity. We will not foreclose on any explanation for UAP prematurely. 

We will continue to follow the science and data wherever they lead. We will continue to have open and frank dialogue with Congress in settings like these and also in classified briefings. We will continue to keep you fully and currently informed of all UAP information, active or historical. And finally, we will continue to share as much information as possible at the unclassified level to inform the public of AARO’s activities and its findings. Thank you for your continued support, and I look forward to your questions."

Presentation

Following his opening statement, Dr. Kosloski gave a slide presentation. This included three case studies. 

1. The 26 April 2013 Puerto Rico object. AARO's analysis concluded that there were two objects in close proximity; the perception of high speed was due to parallax; they travelled at wind speed over land in a straight line, never entering the water. The objects did not exhibit any anomalous speeds or flight characteristics. 

2. The January 2015 "Go Fast" Object. AARO's analysis concluded that the UAP was at 13,000 feet and not near the sea surface. That it was travelling at around 39 knots in speed and travelled in a relatively straight line slightly rising trajectory with a slow curving descent near the end. It did not exhibit any anomalous speeds or flight characteristics. 

3. A newly released video taken in 2018 by a UAV of an eruption of Italy's Mt. Etna. AARO's conclusion was that the object in question was a balloon travelling with the wind. 

Q and A

The session was then opened up for questions directed to Dr. Kosloski. These questions and responses may be viewed on the video of the open part of the session.

The 13th November U.S. Congressional House of Representatives UAP Hearing

UAP Hearings

In a post dated 26 October 2024, I reported details of the three previously, modern times, U.S. Congressional UAP Hearings. The purpose of today's post is to record details of a fourth Hearing.

Two sub-committees of the U.S. House of Representatives Committe on Oversight and Accountability held a hearing titled "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth," on 13 November 2024. The two subcommittees were a) Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology and Government Innovation; and b) Subcommittee on National Security, the Border and Foreign Affairs. The relevant notice and memo refer. The session was chaired by Representative Nancy Mace.

Representative Nancy Mace |

Witnesses

Witnesses called were:

Mr. Luis Elizondo, author and former Department of Defense official.

Dr. Tim Gallaudet, PhD. Rear Admiral U.S.N. (Ret.)

Mr. Michael Gold, former NASA Associate Administrator of Space Policy and Partnerships.

Mr. Michael Shellenberger, Founder Public.

Documents

The following documents are available from the U.S. Congressional House of Representatives Committe Document Repository:

Elizondo, witness statement, truth in testimony, biography. 

Gallaudet, witness statement, truth in testimony, biography. 

Gold, witness testimony, truth in testimony, biography. 

Shellenberger, witness testimony, truth in testimony, biography. 

Additional documentation:

Mace - 12-page Shellenberger's source's public version report to Congress.

Burchett - UAP documents. 

Attendance at Hearing record. 

A video of the Hearing may be accessed here. 

The latest U.S. Congressional UAP related hearing - 13th November 2024

The next U.S. Congressional UAP hearing is scheduled for 13th November 2024. It will be a joint session of two of the sub-committees of the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Accountability. The sub-committees involved are (a) Cybersecurity, Information Technology and Government Innovation - chaired by Nancy Mace, and (b) National Security, the Border and Foreign Affairs - chaired by Glenn Grothman. Thanks to U.S. researcher, D. Dean Johson for the information. 

There have been three previous UAP related modern times hearings before sub-committees of the U.S. Congress. these are: 

17 May 2022 "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena."

Committee: House Permanent Select Committe on Intelligence.

Sub-Committee: Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counter Proliferation.

Chair: Rep. Andre Carson.

Biography | Congressman Andre Carson (house.gov)

Witnesses: Scott Bray, Deputy Director of Navy Intelligence, ONI.

                  Ronald Moultrie, Under Secretary of Defense (Intelligence and Security.)

Link to video:

Link to transcript:

What was the emphasis of the hearing? Chairman Carson stated:

"This hearing and oversight work has a simple idea at its core. Unidentified Aerial Phenomena are a potential national security threat, and they need to be treated that way. For too long the stigma associated with UAPs has gotten in the way of good intelligence analysis. Pilots avoided reporting or were laughed at when they did. DOD officials relegated the issue to the back room or swept it under the rug fearful of a skeptical national security community. Today we know better. UIAPs are unexplained, it is true, but they are real. They need to be investigated and any threats they pose need to be mitigated."

19 April 2023 "Hearing on the mission, activities, oversight and budget of the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office."

Committee: Senate Armed Services Committee.

Sub-Committee: Emerging Threats and Capabilities.

Chair: Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

Homepage - Kirsten Gillibrand | U.S. Senator for New York (senate.gov)

Witness: Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, Director of AARO.

Link to video:

Link to transcript:

What was the intention of this hearing? Senator Gillibrand stated:

"In this hearing I intend to probe a series of specific issues and the recent incidents where multiple objects were shot down over North America. It seems that Pentagon leadership did not turn to AARO office...and we need to know what role AARO will play in inter agency coordination after the NSC Working Group disbands...Finally, one of the tasks Congress set for AARO was serving as an open door for witnesses of UAP events, or participants in government activities related to UAPs to come forward..."

26 July 2023 "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Implications on National Security, Public Safety and Government Transparency." 

Committee: Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

Sub-committee: National Security, the Border and Foreign Affairs.

Chair: Rep. Glenn Grothman. 

U.S. Representative Glenn Grothman (house.gov)

Witnesses: 

David Grusch, former National Reconnaissance Office representative on the UAP Task Force, Department of Defense. Opening statement.

David Fravor, Retired Commander, Black Aces Squadron, US Navy. Opening statement. 

Ryan Graves, Executive Director, Americans for Safe Aerospace, former US Navy pilot. Opening statement. 

Link to video:

What was the aim of this hearing?  

"The sub-committee hearing will explore firsthand accounts of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) and assess the federal government's transparency and accountability regarding UAP's possible threats to U.S. national security. This hearing will also highlight legislative efforts to bring transparency to UAPs and require the federal government to provide the American people with information about potential risks to public safety and national security."

Who are the speakers at the 2024 SOL Foundation Symposium?

This year's annual SOL Foundation Symposium will be held 22-23 November 2024, in San Francisco. Well-known speakers will be:

* Dr. Garry Nolan 

Dr. Nolan is the Rachford and Carlota A. Harris Professor in the Department of Pathology at Stanford University School of Medicine.

* Dr. Peter Skafish

Dr. Skafish is a sociocultural anthropologist, editor, and translator who has held faculty and research positions at UC Berkeley, the Collège de France, McGill University, and the Bauhaus University, Weimar.

* Jonathan Berte

Jonathan Berte is the founder, chairman of the board, and driving force behind Robovision, a leading AI solution provider on account of their deep learning platform, RVAI.

* Dr. Eric Davis, theoretical and applied physicist

* Rear Admiral (ret.) Dr. Tim Gallaudet, former administrator, National Ocean and Atmosphere Administration

* Ryan Graves, Executive Director, Americans for Safe Aerospace

* Leslie Kean, journalist and author

* Dr. Jacques Vallee, computer scientist and author of multiple books on UAP

* Dr. Beatriz Villarroel, astronomer.

Other speakers

Dr. Stephen Finley.

Chair of African and African American Studies, Louisiana State University. A search of his previous/current interests in UAP located:

In and Out of This World: Material and Extraterrestrial Bodies in the Nation of Islam on JSTOR

A book titled "In and Out of This World: Material and Extraterrestrial Bodies in the Nation of Islam." (2020. Duke University Press.) Plus, three presentations.

“African American UFO Traditions and the Nation of Islam.” Super Stories Symposia Series 3: Cosmology, Eschatology, and UFOs. (Invited Public Lecture). The Esalen Institute Center for Theory and Research, Big Sur, California. Dianna Pasulka and Jeffrey J. Kripal, Conveners. January 23, 2019.

“Cosmology and Eschatology in the Nation of Islam’s UFO.” Super Stories Symposia Series 3: Cosmology, Eschatology, and UFOs. The Esalen Institute Center for Theory and Research, Big Sur, California. Dianna Pasulka and Jeffrey J. Kripal, Conveners. January 22, 2019.

“Wheels, Wombs, & Women: Louis Farrakhan, UFOs, and the Religious Meaning of Black Women’s Embodiment in the Nation of Islam.” (Invited Lecture). Amherst College, Amherst, MA, December 3, 2018.

Yoshiharu Asakawa. 

Asakawa is a congressman of the House of Representatives of Japan, and a member of Japan's Innovation Party. In April 2023 he raised the issue of UAP in the House of Representatives. For an article featuring an interview with him, please click here. 

Kirk McConnell.

Is a retired professional staff member of the U.S. Congress. According to the website of SMI, where he is now a senior advisor: 

"...he brings 37 years of as a professional staff member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Senate Intelligence Committee, the House Intelligence Committee,..."

As many of these committees have been briefed on the topic of UAP by various individuals, it would be expected that McConnell would have participated in preparing for these briefings, making him knowledgeable on the topic. It will be interesting to see just what his presentation covers. 

McConnell also sits on the Advisory Board of the recently created UAP Disclosure Fund. 

Eric Schrock.

Schrock is a former Deputy Director, Technology Development and Integration, Lockheed Martin. For more on his career click here. As a former employee of one of the large aerospace companies, it will be interesting to see what he has to say on the topic of UAP. 

Rizwan Virk.

Is an entrepreneur, investor, futurist, a pioneer of the video game industry, and film producer. In an October 2019 article written by M. J. Banias, about UAP eXpeditions, it was revealed that Virk was one of two sources which had signed on to help with securing investment for the project. An April 2021 article by Virk, argued for a serious study of UAP. In a May 2022 article, Virk argued that the topic of UAP needs to be viewed as a scientific issue not a military one. In addition, he stated that adequate funds and resources need to be allocated to the topic. 

Dr. Alexander Wendt.

Is Mershon Professor of International Security and Professor of Political Science at The Ohio State University. Wendt's interest in the topic of UAP goes back to at least 2008 when he co-authored, with Raymond Duvall, a paper titled "Sovereignty and the UFO." In February 202 he gave a TED talk, titled "Wanted: A Science of UFOs." 

According to The Ohio State University's website, Wendt is:

"Taking a short break from quantum, Wendt is currently writing a book on UAP and human security in the light of the 2021 Pentagon report confirming that UAP, formerly UFOs, are real and a 'potential threat to national security.'"

Academics and their interest in UAP

 "A teacher or scholar in a university or other institute of higher learning."

Introduction

This article takes a look at the time period 2006-2024, in terms of academics who have taken an interest in the subject of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP.) It is not intended to be a comprehensive listing of such academics, but to highlight some individuals who have made a significant contribution to academic research on UAP.

The early days

The two most prominent academic UAP researchers of former times, were J. Allen Hynek and James E. McDonald.

Dr. J. Allen Hynek was an astronomer at NorthWestern University in Evanston, Illinois, USA. Hynek was actively engaged with the official United States government UAP agency, Project Blue Book. Originally a sceptic on the issue of "flying saucers" he came to accept that there was a real anomalous phenomena involved. He authored several books including "The UFO Experience" (1972. Regnery New York.) This was followed by a co-authored book "The Edge of Reality" with Dr. J. Vallee (1975. CreateSpace.) Finally, "The Hynek UFO Report." (1977. Dell. New York.) Even today, these books remain essential reading for anyone with a serious interest in the topic. 

Dr. James E. McDonald was a senior Physicist at the Institute for Atmospheric Physics and a Professor of Meteorology at the University of Arizona, in Tucson, Arizona, USA. McDonald spent the years between 1958 and 1971 conducting extensive research into UAP. His documentation may be accessed at the Special Collections section of the University of Arizona. These files include audio recordings of interviews with Australian UAP witnesses, recorded during McDonald's 1967 visit to Australia. 

Battaglia

Debbora Battaglia, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Mount Holyoke College, South Hadly, MA, USA, was the editor of a book titled "E.T. Culture: Anthropology in outerspaces." (2005. Duke Uni. Press.) This work examined communities centered around belief in "aliens."

Kripal

Image courtesy Amazon Books

"Authors of the Impossible" (2011. University of Chicago Press) by Jeffrey J Kripal, featured sections on the work of Charles Fort, Jacques Vallee, and Bertand Meheust. Kripal is the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought, at Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA. 

Eghigian

In 2014, an intriguing article appeared, written by Professor Greg Eghigian, Professor of History and Bioethics, Penn State University, Pennsylvania, USA, He published an article about the wave of "flying saucer" sightings on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean between 1946-1960. The article was titled "A Transatlantic Buzz: Flying Saucers, Extraterrestrials and America in Postwar Germany." (Journal of Transatlantic Studies, 12 (2014):282-303.) Eghigian followed this up in 2024 with a book titled "After the Flying Saucers Came." See further details below.

Cusack

Professor Carole Cusack (sydney.edu.au)

Carole M. Cusack is a Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Between 2014 and 2021 Cusack published a number of journal articles which discussed, among other things, UFO cults, apocalyptic expectations, and other aspects of UFO "religions." My article on Cusack's work, including links to some of her articles, may be read here. 

Lepsetter

"The Resonance of Unseen Things: Poetics, Power, Captivity and UFOs in the American Uncanny" (2016. University of Michigan Press) is a book by Associate Professor, Department of Communications and Culture, Indiana University, Indiana, USA, Susan Lepsetter. From chapter one of the book:

"This is not a book about UFOs. It’s not a history of UFO belief, nor a sociology of believers. Rather, this is a book about a vernacular American poetics, something you can hear building up in the stories I will tell."

Dodd

An academic tutor at the School of Communication & Arts, University of Queensland, Adam Dodd, in 2018, published a paper titled "Strategic Ignorance and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence: Critiquing the Discursive Segregation of UFOs from Scientific Inquiry." (Journal of Astropolitics. 2018. 16(1):75-95.) The abstract for the paper may be read here.

Pasulka

Diana W. Pasulka is a Professor of Religious Studies, at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, North Carolina, USA. She has been studying the topic of UAP since 2012. Her first book about the topic was titled "American Cosmic Space: Aliens, UFOs and Why we Believe in Them." (2019. Oxford University Press.) It explores the mechanisms which result in a belief in extraterrestrial life; and argues that movies and television shows are being used in place of conventional religions to look at such issues. A follow up book, published in 2024 is described below.

Masters

One of the proposed hypotheses as to the origin of UAP, is that they are us in the future. Human beings as time travelers. This is the hypothesis advanced by Dr. Michael P. Masters, Montana Tech of the University of Montana, whose expertise is in the field of Biological Anthropology. in his 2019 book titled "Identified Flying Objects: A multidisciplinary Scientific Approach to the UFO Phenomenon." He later expanded his views, see below.

Halperin

Image courtesy Amazon Books

"UFOs are a myth, says David J. Halperin - but myths are real. The power and fascination of the UFO has nothing to do with space travel or life on other planets. It's about us, our longings and terrors, and especially the greatest terror of all: the end of our existence. This is a book about UFOs that goes beyond believing in them or debunking them and to a fresh understanding of what they tell us about ourselves as individuals, as a culture, and as a species."

So goes part of the blurb for the book "Intimate Alien: The Hidden Story of the UFO," (2020. Stanford University Press.) written by David J. Halperin, a retired Professor of Jewish Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA. 

Jorjani

In his 2021 book titled "Close Encounters," American philosopher, Jason Reza Jorjani, State University of New York, USA, explores seven potential hypotheses for the origin of UAP. Namely, the Extraterrestrial hypothesis; the Breakaway Civilization hypothesis; the Inter-Dimensional hypothesis; Time Travellers; the Ultra-terrestrial hypothesis; the Crypto-terrestrial hypothesis and the Simulation Avatars hypothesis. The blurb for the book includes the statement "In fact humanity cannot survive the disclosure of what is detailed in this book." 

Madden

James D. Madden is an Associate Professor of Philosophy, at Benedictine College, Atchison, Kansas, USA. In 2023 his book titled "Unidentified Flying Hyperobject: UFOs, Philosophy and the End of the World" (Independently published) puts forwards some intriguing ideas on the topic. He suggests that understanding UFOs requires a re-thinking of ourselves and our position in the wider universe. 

Andresen

2023 also saw the publication of two relevant books by American academic, PhD, Jensine Andresen. These were titled "Hyperconflation: Recommending a Relational Alternative to the Datacentric Approach to UAP;" and "Hyperconvergence: Religion, Politics and UFOs," both independently published. For my article on these two books, click here. 

Eghigian

Greg Eghigian, Professor of History and Bioethics, who wrote the 2014 paper "A Transatlantic Buzz" published a book in 2024 titled "After the Flying Saucers Came.: A Global History of the UFO Phenomenon." (Oxford University Press.) From the blurb: 

"...traces how a seemingly isolated incident sparked an international drama involving shady figures, questionable evidence, suspicions of conspiracy, hoaxes, new religions, scandals, unsettling alien encounters, debunkers and celebrities.  It examines how descriptions, theories and debated about unidentified flying objects and alien abduction changed over time and how they appeared in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Russia." 

Pasulka 

Image courtesy Amazon Books

Also in 2024, appeared a second book by Dr. Diana W. Pasulka, namely "Encounters: Experiences with Nonhuman Intelligence." (St Martins Essentials.) As part of her research Pasulka immersed herself in the world of experiencers, scientists, journalists and media personalities. She concluded that "...the UFO event was a spiritual reality for many people." Citing Jacques Vallee's UAP research methodology she writes "It is time to take Vallee's advice and turn back to the witnesses."

As an example Pasulka devotes two chapters of her book to the work of Dr. Iya Whiteley, a U.K. space psychologist. She created a program "...developing means of communication with intelligent non-human life that already surrounds us." Following chapters look at individual experiencers and their daily reality.

Today

Today there are literally dozens of academics studying UAP; and academic workshops and conferences, where academics present papers on the subject. The most recent such workshop was held in Germany, between 6-7 June 2024, sponsored by the Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Extraterrestrial Studies, housed at the Julius-Maximilian University of Wurzburg, Germany. Sixteen speakers presented on a wide range of topics with many of the presenters, academics from European countries. Overall, it was a truly international event. 

Another recent event, featuring academics from the U.S.A. was an initiative funded by the National Science Foundation and held 15-17 May 2024, in Virginia, USA. This was a workshop titled "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP): A Dialogue on Science, Public Engagement and Communication." Its purpose was to outline a path to engage science and the general public, concerning UAP. For my article on this workshop, click here.

 Learned groups

A number of learned groups/institutions have emerged in recent times, among them:

Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies (SCU)

Founded in 2018, its mission is to promote "...rigorous scientific examination of Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena..." It presents itself as a "think tank" of academics, and other professionals. It holds annual conferences and produces both a quarterly newsletter and a series of technical reports on its analyses of aspects of the phenomena, including case studies. 

The Society for UAP Studies

In simple, the Mission of The Scoiety for UAP Studies is to promote academic research on UAP via interdisciplinary study. It has a board of Directors which includes Philosopher Michael C. Cifone, University of Maryland, USA. 

There is also a Board of Advisers, which includes Greg Eghigian; Kimberly Engels, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Molloy University; Kevin H. Knuth, Professor of Physics, State University of New York, Albany; and Beatriz Villarroel, Associate Professor of Astrophysics, Nordic Institute of Physics, Sweden. 

The Society has its own peer reviewed Journal titled "Lumina;" held its inaugural Symposium in February 2023 and runs several online courses. 

The Galileo Project

Founded in July 2021 by Harvard University's Professor Avi Loeb

"The goal of the Galileo Project is to bring the search for extraterrestrial technological signatures of Extraterrestrial Technological Civilizations (ETCs) from accidental or anecdotal observations and legends to the mainstream of transparent, validated and systematic scientific research. This project is complementary to traditional SETI, in that it searches for physical objects, and not electromagnetic signals, associated with extraterrestrial technological equipment."

The SOL Foundation 

The SOL Foundation for Advanced Scientific and Policy Research, was established in California in July 2023. Its incorporation document shows its team includes Dr. Garry Nolan and Dr. Peter Skafish. Its website states: 

"The Sol Foundation brings together experts from academia and government to address the philosophical, policy and scientific problems raised by the likely presence on the Earth of UAP." 

Dr. Garry Nolan is the Rachford and Carlotto Harris Professor, in the Department of Pathology of Stanford University's School of Medicine. 

Dr. Peter Skafish is the Director of the Institute of Speculation and Critical Inquiry and is a sociocultural anthropologist. 

The Foundation stimulates serious research into the topic of UAP, and to date has published a number of policy "white papers." Its advisory board includes Kevin Knuth; Jeffrey Kripal; Diana Pasulka, and Beatriz Villarroel.

Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Extraterrestrial Studies,

Housed at the Julius-Maximilian University of Wurzburg, Germany, this Research Centre:

"The Centre is dedicated to developing and promoting interdisciplinary aspects of the extraterrestrial studies by means of basic research, development and participation in scientific-technical application projects, as well as in terms of the creation of appropriate training programs."

One of its work areas is the study of UAP. One project is SkyCAM-5:

"...an experimental test platform for the autonomous detection of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs). Through the use of image processing algorithms, the sky is continually monitored for unusual phenomena...The main objective of the camera system is to detect UAPs. It can also detect short duration luminous phenomena such as lighting and meteors."

 As mentioned earlier in this article, the Centre held a UAP workshop between 6-7 June 2024. Sixteen speakers presented on a wide range of topics with many of the presenters, academics from European countries.

Update: 9 October 2024. 

Dr. Karl Svozil, is a physicist, Vienna Institute for Theoretical Physics, in Austria. In 2023, his book "UFOs: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena: Observations, Explorations and Speculations" was published by Springer. Svozil writes that the subject of UAP deserves serious scientific study, separate from any military investigations. From the back cover, the "...book surveys the history of UFO observations, the variety of recorded phenomena, and recounts the efforts of investigative commissions and their published findings." Some observations currently defy conventional explanation. The book concludes with some plans and ideas for future research. 

Update: 26 October 2024

A recent article advised of the formation of an independent, academic based, UAP research group/panel in Spain. 

What's new in Elizondo's book

Imminent

Courtesy Amazon Books

"Imminent" (2024. William Morrow. New York) is the name of Luis Elizondo's book about his time looking at UAP.  I would recommend the book to any member of the general public who wishes to find out what has been going on in the field of UAP research in recent years, as well as for those who have long studied the topic. I have delayed posting this piece, so that by the time you read it, you will most likely have had time to read the book for yourself.

The following extracts are pieces of information that were new to me. They are in no particular order, and I have grouped some items which appear at different parts of the book, together under one heading, e.g. "cases." 

Great Skills

'Great skills was a long-running program that Army intelligence used to recruit young soldiers whom they had identified as having special talents and that they could train and use as soldier spies.' Comment: Essentially Elizondo was trained to "remote view." 

Interloper- circa 2015

Comment: There had long been rumors that at some point the AATIP attempted to "bait" a UAP. In the book Elizondo confirms that there was such a plan. 

"The plan for interloper was to use one of our nuclear-powered strike groups as bait. We would pick a designated spot in the Atlantic and drop in a large nuclear footprint, one irresistible to "our friends from out of town" as they were later called...the trap would be set. Nukes and water, irresistible...Our partner agencies would allocate hidden collection assets in the vicinity..."

"The NSA and CIA offered to provide assets as well."

Comment: The plan was never put into place. 

Implants

"I once handled one of these implants myself, provided to me by a hospital in the Department of Veteran Affairs, where it had been removed from a US military servicemember who encountered a UAP. The material, no longer or wider than a joint of one of your fingers, looked more like a microchip encapsulated by a slimy translucent casing of tissue. It looked very similar to mother-of-pearl. Under a microscope it was still moving somehow... AAWSAP/AATIP had also obtained photographs of these sorts of tiny objects from living foreign military pilots."

Biological samples

"Eventually, after relentlessly pushing, I learned that nonhuman biological samples, had moved many times and some were now either at Fort Derick, Marland or with the US Food and Drug Administration...I had no way of getting these or other samples which only increased the frustration we all felt."

Crash retrievals

"We were told specifically that a defense contractor, associated with the Legacy Program, was in possession of UAP materials of nonhuman origin, made by some civilization from some distant planet. When Jay went to enquire, the contractor acknowledged that, yes, they were in possession of the material. They said they could give us access to it but first we needed to get permission from the Secretary of the US Air Force."

Senior officials told me continuously and confidentially that big aerospace companies had been part of the Legacy Program to retrieve and reverse engineer crash materials. The big names included Lockheed Martin, TRW, McDonnell Douglas, Northrop Graumann, Boeing, Raytheon, BAE Systems, and the Aerospace Corporation. ...It was also told that Monsanto a biotechnology corporation, absorbed by Bayer in 2018, may have historically been involved, most likely with biological specimens."

"Devon Woods"

"In 2010, a man I'll call Devon Woods...became a senior director at DIA." Devons told Elizondo that "It's demonic...They are deceivers. Demons." 

Comment: Two possibilities for the identify of "Devon Woods.": a. David Shedd Aug 2010-Aug 2014, or b. Douglas Wise Aug 2014 to 2016. Most likely Shedd.

Time effects

"Some pilots who were debriefed insisted that a particular encounter lasted only five minutes, but the clock indicated that thirty minutes had in fact elapsed." Aircraft consumed 5 minutes of fuel.

Cases

a. 2013 -Los Alamos, New Mexico. Several orbs seen - moved towards the test site, hovered over a specific "device" and then zipped away. Later, others saw a formation of disc like objects in the same area.

b. Predator drone surveilling a nuclear facility in a potentially hostile country when its cameras picked up three luminous objects. Just three dots. The dots began to fly in a regimented formation. A perfect triangle. As the dots approached the Predator they became more distinguishable. They were not only flying they were solid in structure. For 23 minutes these craft tormented the Predator.. They traversed sixty miles in the blink of an eye, travelling to the horizon, only to dart back and shadow the Predator within a few hundred feet. If that were not amazing enough, the three craft would reorient themselves switching from a wedge formation to a linear formation. 

c. A senior CIA official and his wife - UAP backyard. Awoke lying on the ground. CIA officer had a small hole at the back of his neck. A small metallic object was recovered from the wife's nose when she sneezed. CIA examined the couple. Fascinating but Elizondo and Stratton agreed to focus on the nuts and bolrs.

d. Video from a naval aviator. Routine mission. cockpit camera. "The pilot is trying to get a visual on what the radar is seeing.... just then a wedge-shaped object craft zooms by the cockpit as close as fifty feet."

Bodies

"Credible sources, including those involved with AATIP, told me the facts from several historic UAP crashes from which non-human bodies were recovered by the US, in addition to the Roswell crash."

William Livingston

Comment: One consultant to Elizondo, was one William "Will" Livingston. For years presided over the CIA "weird" desk. Medical doctor and surgeon. Based out of Detroit. Seems to refer to Christopher 'Kit' Green, without naming him. 

2004 Tic Tac event

Comment: Elizondo says Fravor's WSO was Jim Slaight. However, this is incorrect. Slaight was Dietrich's WSO. 

Medical effects

a. "People would be surprised to learn that the US government has awarded multiple servicemen 100 per disability in writing, due to medical issues relating from their close encounter with UAP."

b. "Two colleagues in particular were under medical care for both cutaneous and visceral injuries that were sustained from interacting with UAP while working with AAWSAP/AATIP."

c. "While I am not at liberty to go into details here, I learned of military servicemen and intelligence officers who succumbed to their injury and lost their lives due to the biological effects of UAP encounters."

The Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation speaks out about ETs

Extraterrestrial life

The Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) S. Somanath, featured in an article on the "India Today" website, dated 22 August 2024. Part of the article reads:

"In a thought-provoking statement, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) chief has shared his perspective on the existence of extraterrestrial life, suggesting that alien civilisations are not only possible but likely to exist throughout the universe.

The Isro Chairman emphasised the rapid pace of human technological advancement, noting that, just a century ago our civilisation had minimal technological capabilities compared to today."

The India Today website article was reporting on a podcast, hosted by Ranveer Allahbadia, which interviewed S. Somanath. 

S. Somanath

Another website carried more detail from the podcast interview, including:

"Alien systems that are 1,000 years more advanced than us will always be here," he said, suggesting that such advanced civilisations may already be present, perhaps observing or interacting with the universe in ways we cannot yet understand."

"Podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia asked S. Somanath why we mainly hear about UFOs being sighted in America (USA) and South America. Somanath then explains that, scientifically speaking the geographic positions of these regions favor the occurrence of these sightings more than equatorial regions, due to climatic issues. He concluded by saying that, from a non-scientific point of view, many UFO stories are also fabricated...Soon after, the podcaster asked the following question 'But do you think our planet is visited by extraterrestrials?' And, without hesitation S. Somanath responds 'Absolutely without a doubt. My conscience says yes, although I have no proof. As Chairman of Isro, I am telling you this...There are definitely aliens out there in the universe. Aliens means living systems and cultures elsewhere in the universe. If they are ahead in technology by just a thousand years, or 10,000 years, they would definitely visit us...they would be visiting Earth frequently without us knowing.'"

Other space agencies

These statements by the Chairman of ISRO can be contrasted and compared to those of the space agencies of other countries.

France

The French space agency CNES has hosted a group within its organisational structure, studying UAP, for decades. This UAP group has operated under a number of names since its inception, with the current iteration being GEIPAN. It collects sightings from witnesses living in French territories, analyses them and assigns an explanation to them, if one can be found, then openly publishes the details on its website.

USA

In June 2022, NASA announced that an independent study team was to be set up to examine UAP. It reported its findings in September 2023.  Arising out of the findings, NASA established a NASA Director of UAP Research. 

Australia

In an article dated April 2024, I reported upon Freedom of Information Act requests which attempted to establish whether or not the Australian Space Agency (ASA) had any interest in the topic of UAP. I secured a copy of a briefing paper intended for use by the head of the ASA when presenting at the Senate Estimates Committee hearings. Included in these briefing notes were the following statements:

"The Agency does not monitor UAPs, or UFOs in Australia nor seek to resolve these issues....The Agency has no records relating to UAPs or UFOs in Australia...'