There was a very X-Files vibe to a congressional hearing into unidentified anomalous phenomena on Nov. 13. Witness testimony included eyebrow-raising claims about the existence of UAPs and alien technology on Earth. The hearing was focused on testimony with little substantive evidence behind some of the more extraordinary claims.
The House Oversight Committee joint subcommittee hearing was called "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth." The hearing aimed "to further pull back the curtain on secret UAP research programs conducted by the United States government, and undisclosed findings they have yielded." The four witnesses were retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet, former Department of Defense official Luis Elizondo, NASA UAP independent study team member Michael Gold and journalist Michael Shellenberger.
Watch a replay of the public hearing:
UAP is the hot new term that encompasses unidentified flying objects, better known as UFOs. UAP tries to avoid some of the alien-soaked stigma of the term "UFO." In its broadest sense, it can also include objects or activities spotted in the sea or in space.
UAP does not necessarily imply a connection to aliens from beyond our planet. A Pentagon UAP probe earlier in the year found no evidence of extraterrestrials or government cover-ups of extraterrestrial technology or contact. Still, the report noted many UAP sightings remain unidentified. The Pentagon has taken some steps to be more transparent about UAPs in recent years, including releasing videos of Navy pilot encounters with unidentified objects.
The four witnesses at the congressional UAP hearing provided written testimonies. Here are some of the highlights.
Gallaudet called out UAPs as a safety risk for Navy pilots. He was acting as the chief meteorologist for the Navy at the time of the 2015 "Go Fast" encounter between a Navy pilot and UAP. That footage was one of the videos officially released by the Navy in 2020. Gallaudet accused "elements of the government" of engaging in a disinformation campaign designed to discredit UAP whistleblowers. His testimony didn't use the words "alien" or "extraterrestrial," but he mentioned "a new realization that we are not the only advanced intelligence in the universe." Gallaudet called for greater transparency around UAPs.
Elizondo's testimony was even more direct. The former DOD official claimed the U.S. and some of its adversaries are in possession of UAP technologies. He said "excessive secrecy" has been used to "hide the fact that we are not alone in the cosmos." Elizondo called for a national UAP strategy that would promote transparency. He also asked for protections for whistleblowers.
Gold is a former NASA administrator focused on space policy. He was part of an independent study team that issued a 2023 report recommending NASA play a prominent role in studying and collecting data on UAPs. Gold specified he was speaking for himself and not as a representative of NASA or his current employer, aerospace company Redwire.
Gold called for greater NASA participation in the study of UAPs. "Data is the lifeblood of NASA and science in general. Without data, nothing can be achieved," he wrote. "This is why the stigmatization of the UAP phenomena is so harmful. The stigma prevents scientific inquiry, the best tool that we have to understand anomalies, from being fully applied." Gold hoped that more public NASA involvement would reduce the stigma of reporting and studying UAP incidents.
Shellenberer's extensive written testimony accused the government of not being transparent about UFOs. He revisited statements made by others, including former military intelligence official David Grusch who claimed the U.S. government has retrieved alien spacecraft. Grusch has not provided evidence to back up that extraordinary accusation. Shellenberger noted there may be other explanations besides extraterrestrial origins for UAPs -- including hoaxes, birds, drones or natural occurrences like ball lightning.
The bulk of Shellenberger's written testimony is a timeline of UAP events. Like most of the other witnesses, he called for greater transparency from the government. "We deserve the truth," he wrote.
The hearing didn't deliver any knockout new information No one was beamed into space and no UFOs or alien technologies appeared. The main takeaway was a broad call for the government to be more transparent in sharing UAP data and to protect people who may come forward with UAP-related experiences.
There has been no compelling evidence to prove UFOs or UAPs are extraterrestrial in nature, but the phenomena continue to fascinate the public. UFO sightings still pour in, though many have mundane explanations related to birds, balloons and drones. UAPs are very real in the sense there are some as-yet-unexplained phenomena. Is it aliens? The proof hasn't appeared. As Gold concluded, "As the saying goes, the truth is out there, we just need to be bold enough and brave enough to face it."