April 6, 2025
In a congressional hearing on July 26, 2023, former U.S. Navy fighter pilot Ryan Graves testified about a 2003 incident involving a massive unidentified flying object (UFO) over Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Graves, now the executive director of Americans for Safe Aerospace, relayed accounts from Boeing contractors who reported witnessing a 100-yard-sided red square UFO approaching the base from the ocean and hovering at low altitude over a launch facility. This object remained for approximately 45 seconds before rapidly departing over the mountains. Later that evening, additional sightings were reported, including instances where the objects exhibited aggressive behaviors by approaching security guards at high speeds before darting away.
Graves emphasized that such unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) are present in U.S. airspace but are significantly underreported due to the stigma associated with such sightings, which he believes poses a challenge to national security. He also asserted that the government possesses more information about UAPs than has been publicly disclosed, with excessive classification practices keeping crucial information hidden. This testimony aligns with broader efforts to encourage transparency and further investigation into UAPs, as evidenced by the Department of Defense's establishment of the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office in 2022 to handle UAP reports.
The 2003 Vandenberg incident is not the first of its kind at the base. In 1964, a test missile was reportedly destroyed shortly after launch, with claims that a space object approached the missile and emitted beams of light at the warhead. Such historical accounts, combined with recent testimonies, highlight a pattern of unexplained aerial phenomena near sensitive military installations, underscoring the need for comprehensive investigation and open discourse on the subject.
