Navy withholding data on UFO sightings, congressman says

This article, published by POLITICO on September 6, 2019, details a conflict between Representative Mark Walker, a Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, and the United States Navy regarding the transparency of reports concerning unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP). Representative Walker, serving as the ranking member of the Intelligence and Counterterrorism subcommittee, formally requested information from Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer in July 2019. Walker sought clarification on the resources the Navy was dedicating to investigating these sightings, whether any physical evidence had been recovered, and if the Navy possessed knowledge of foreign nations or private entities developing breakthrough technologies that could account for the observed phenomena.

Navy Undersecretary Thomas Modly responded in a letter dated July 31, 2019, stating that the Department of the Navy takes these reports seriously and continues to investigate them. However, Walker expressed frustration with the lack of specific answers regarding potential threats to U.S. forces or territory. Navy spokesperson Joe Gradisher noted that the service remains prepared to address further congressional requests, though none had been received at the time of the article's publication. The article highlights that congressional interest in the subject intensified following 2017 revelations regarding a Pentagon program established by former Senator Harry Reid. These reports included sightings by personnel on the USS Nimitz and USS Theodore Roosevelt in 2004, 2015, and 2016, involving aircraft that appeared to defy known aerodynamic properties. The Navy has suggested that some sightings might be attributed to the proliferation of inexpensive unmanned aerial systems (UAS), emphasizing the need for airspace de-confliction. Walker, however, remains concerned that potential adversaries like Russia or China may have achieved technological superiority in aerospace, and he continues to press for greater transparency regarding what the government knows about these encounters.