Written testimony of Ryan Graves (congress.gov copy)

There are credible reports from both military and commercial aircrew of unidentified objects in
our military and commercial airspace occurring with regularity.
The UAP Task Force reported in 2021 that there were 11 near misses with UAP and I
understand that number has grown.1 In April 2022, the FAA issued an alert to its operation
managers that a commercial aircraft over West Virginia experienced a double attitude and
double autopilot failure while flying under a UAP. Stigma surrounding UAP should not undermine
the seriousness of this domain awareness gap.
If UAP are foreign drones, it is an urgent national security problem. If it is something else, it is
an issue for science. In either case, it is a concern for safety of flight.
Next steps:
To identify and evaluate the nature and intent of UAP we need (1) accurate reporting to
determine scope, (2) empowered, unbiased investigation authority, (3) a transparent process to
share the findings and data publicly to be studied by scientists.
Commercial pilot reporting
Today, FAA regulations direct pilots to make UAP reports to civilian organizations. Commercial
aircrew who witness UAP are extremely frustrated that there is no reporting system for UAP and
no protections against retaliation. They are hesitant to discuss anything “weird” on the radio with
air traffic control or in any official company forum, and are only more recently talking freely
amongst themselves. They are afraid of professional consequences and they deserve
protection.
The absence of UAP reporting for commercial pilots creates a domain awareness gap in our
airspace. If China is operating advanced UAP near Hawaii, and commercial pilots are observing
it routinely, today there is no way to connect those dots.
Empowered, unbiased investigation into UAP
We need to restore decades of mistrust with the public and UAP witnesses. My lived experience
over the past few months has been that as stigma is pushed back and witnesses develop trust
in the process, remarkable accounts begin to emerge. The All-domain Anomaly Resolution
Office is supposed to serve as a central clearing house for the analysis of UAP incidents, but it
must have the authority it needs to do its job and it must build trust with witnesses. Director, Dr.
Sean Kirkpatrick said in the recent NASA Independent Study Team meeting that “metallic orbs”
traveling up to Mach 2 with no visible lifting surface or propulsion are being seen all over the
world, but that AARO needs access to scientifically calibrated instruments to evaluate these
UAP. Dr. Kirkpatrick has also indicated that eyewitness testimony isn’t considered credible on its
own.
1https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Prelimary-Assessment-UAP-20210625.pdf