The topic of extra terrestrial beings is one that brings all kinds of people to the table. Skeptics mock at the idea of aliens existing in outer space, while believers tout the possibilities of other life forms attempting to contact humans. The discussion has drawn many people into heated arguments over the existence of other intelligent life forms in the universe. Now, that discussion has been opened once again by a report from the NY Times regarding US Navy pilots reporting visual contact with multiple UFOs over the eastern coast of the United States.
US Navy Pilots Say UFOs Appeared For Hours At A Time
According to the report, US Navy pilots encountered these UFOs on a regular basis from a time period beginning in the summer of 2014 and ending in March of 2015. At first the objects only appeared on radar, and could not be located visually. One of the pilots said his training missiles locked on to one of the objects, but he still couldn’t actually see it. Many pilots chalked the anomalies up to the new radar systems that had been installed in their aircraft, thinking possibly the system had some bugs in it. Then the objects began to be spotted visually. The pilots didn’t know what to make of the strange objects, and reports were filed to their commanding officers expressing their disbelief at what they were seeing.
Lt. Ryan Graves has been a US Navy pilot for 10 years, flying the FA-18 Super Hornet. He explained that the UFOs seemed to have incredible speed and were able to reach altitudes of 30,000 feet. He also noted that the objects seemed to have no need to refuel or recharge, but could stay airborne much longer than a typical aircraft exhibiting the speed and altitude capabilities demonstrated on those days. “These things would be out there all day. Keeping an aircraft in the air requires a significant amount of energy. With the speeds we observed, 12 hours in the air is 11 hours longer than we’d expect.”
Near Miss Incident Prompts Guidance
In 2014 one of the US Navy pilots reported that he had a near miss incident with one of the UFOs. While flying in formation with his wingman, the UFO flew between the two aircraft, frightening both pilots and sparking major safety concerns. While some people believe the objects were most likely drones, the government is not completely sold on that theory. While the official word from the Navy doesn’t indicate they believe the objects to be extra terrestrial in nature, they are taking the incidents very seriously. Graves and four other pilots all claim to have seen the objects during flight training missions off the USS Theodore Roosevelt during the aforementioned time period. The pilots’ claims prompted the Navy to issue new guidance on how to report unidentified flying objects. The original announcement came in 2015, as a direct result of the Roosevelt incidents.
Joseph Gradisher is a spokesman for the Navy. He made the following statement concerning the updated guidance issued this year to pilots. “There were a number of different reports. Some cases could have been commercial drones, he said, but in other cases we don’t know who’s doing this, we don’t have enough data to track this. So the intent of the message to the fleet is to provide updated guidance on reporting procedures for suspected intrusions into our airspace.” UFOs in the same airspace as US Navy pilots represent a safety hazard, even if they are drones operated by humans on the ground.
Pilots Speak Out About Incidents
The US Navy pilots have spoken out about their sightings of UFOs during their time on the Roosevelt. Graves is joined by Lt. Danny Accoin who also shared his story with the Times. There are three other pilots who were willing to share information, but asked not to be named in the report. While experts say that there are many possible explanations that rule out extra terrestrial causes for what the men saw, many still believe we may be under observation from other life forms. The History Channel will be airing a 6 part series called “Unidentified: Inside America’s U.F.O. Investigation.” the series is set to air beginning Friday.
