2023: UAP GALORE
A Year of Turmoil
THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE FRENCH AERONAUTICS AND ASTRONAUTICS ASSOCIATION’S NEWSLETTER AND IS REPRINTED HERE WITH AUTHORIZATION, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
The year 2023 was rich in UAP (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena) events, largely marked by American news around AARO¹ but also worldwide, via various scientific conferences and hearings. In France, investigations by GEIPAN have continued, and scientific meetings and conferences have taken place with the very active participation of the CT 3AF SIGMA2 mentioned in this article. SIGMA2 has produced numerous papers, organized or taken part in webinars and scientific conferences, while continuing various studies (analysis of radar data from observation cases on the Jersey case, analysis of materials, electromagnetic effects on electronics, optical observation), also taking part in the GEIPAN college of experts in close coordination. The details of SIGMA2's technical work in 2023 will be explained in a future article.
US NEWS
THE PENTAGON IN ACTION AND UNDER PRESSURE, ODNI AND AARO REPORT BACK
Early 2023, AARO issued the second ODNI (Office of Director of National Intelligence) progress report on UAP. Originally expected in October 2022 and finally published on January 12, 2023, it had confirmed the growing number of UAP cases recorded since 2004, rising from 144 in June 2021 to 510 in January 2023. The 366 additional cases include 119 old cases and 244 new cases over the period 2021-2022.
The 2023 report did not comment on any of the characteristics of UAP, focusing instead on the statistics, which left Congress wanting more. However, analysis methods are being refined (combining radar and optical data) to clarify the characteristics of the phenomena, a need highlighted by NASA and the AARO, which the SIGMA2 Technical Commission had already commented around the June 2021 report. 195 cases (drones, balloons, clutter) were said to have been explained out of 366, leaving 171 unexplained, i.e. 50% of the new cases recorded. Some of these cases showed unusual characteristics. The rate of sightings near sensitive areas was increasing. In its report, the AARO requested for systematic reporting of cases of UAP occurring near sensitive installations (nuclear power stations, weapons storage areas, nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, etc.). Contacts with allies (the 5 Eyes (USA-UK-Canada-Australia-New Zealand)+2) were also mentioned by the AARO.
The ODNI published a new report on October 17, 2023 on UAP, which trivialized the observation zones due to the density of air traffic, and highlighted 291 additional cases over 8 months, around a hundred of which were explained by civil aviation (civilian flights), leaving 191 cases still unexplained (190 airborne, 1 maritime), including 6 to 12 deemed very strange (3 to 6%) and which remained totally unexplained. The AARO confirmed once again that precise cross measurements (radar and IR) must be used with careful calibration to try to identify the phenomena. No highly anomalous features suggesting an exogenous "extra-terrestrial" origin have yet been confirmed, and no further element as to the origin of those 3-6% has been found.
However, circular and ovoid shapes and intermittent radar and optical signatures have been described, providing an initial description of the phenomena observed by US Navy F18s and Reaper intelligence drones (see Figure 1) - information that was subsequently shared and confirmed at the conference and in the NASA study report. No case of close encounters with UAP resulting in physiological damage has been recorded in these latest observations.
Finally, this ODNI report from October confirmed the implementation of an observation reporting network² by military pilots to AARO, which could be extended to civilian pilots according to NASA, thanks to an existing communication network (ARS) within civil aviation. An AARO information website is now open to the public, providing information on a few rare UAP cases. It can also receive reports of sightings of UAP from American citizens³. Finally, AARO's mission not only covers the observation and study of UFOs, but also (in theory at least) the recovery and analysis of samples and wreckage of unknown craft - the subject of stupefying debates in Congress during the hearings in July 2023, notably with David Grusch, who caused a sensation with his sworn statements on the existence of secret recovery programmes. However, AARO does not appear to detain any such information. Let us simply remember that the 2015 3AF/ SIGMA2 report already mentioned a US agency monitoring programme called Moon Dust, using the embassy network to monitor and gather information on reports of atmospheric re-entries and UFO sightings.
WHEN THE US AIR FORCE HUNTS UAP
February 2023 was marked by a very spectacular appearance by the US Air Force, until then seemingly absent from the debate on UFOs, with four successive interceptions in one week, during a "hunt" for balloons and drones by F35s, F22s and F15s. The first one was an interception of a "Chinese spy" balloon which was shot down over US territory, then of three unknown objects, which were successively shot down over Canadian territory, in Alaska and finally over Lake Huron. No information was released about the recovery of any debris.
This balloon-hunting episode highlights the difficulty of coordinating and synchronizing between the AARO - whose prerogatives include investigating, analyzing and synchronizing between the US services) and the USAF, which is responsible for the security of North American airspace and therefore conducts its air operations rapidly, without any real consultation with the AARO.
The National Security Council and the White House also showed a degree of confusion in their communications regarding a scenario reminiscent of Sci-Fi blockbuster Independence Day: 4 interceptions and missile firings in American airspace in the space of a few days on unknown objects, even described as possibly extraterrestrial in origin, according to the White House spokesman, who specified that the allies were being informed in real hour after hour. Even the 9/11 attacks did not trigger such high-profile and defensive air operations.
This observation led the Pentagon to alter its organization, reaffirming the role of the AARO under the direct orders of Kathleen Hicks, Deputy Secretary of Defence, and establishing a supervisor at National Security Council level (see Figure 2) to provide a link to the highest level, the White House.
NASA: AN EMBLEM FOR THE US SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY
NASA convened a conference on May 31, 2023 and presented an analysis by its independent experts and by AARO. They showed two cases of UAP, including the so-called Mosul sphere (a spherical object filmed by a Reaper drone - see Figure 3). A table of characteristics summarizing the observations of UAP made mainly by the US Navy was also presented, providing a sort of UAP ID card (see Figure 1).
NASA finally published an independent study report on UAP on September 14, 2023, presenting itself as the institution in charge of scientific approaches, using rigorous methods to calibrate the measurement and observation equipment needed to characterize UAP, with images supplemented by metadata, particularly on the environment...
NASA therefore positioned itself as a civilian scientific research organization, complementing AARO, to which it has delegated a liaison officer within the office of the director of National Intelligence. NASA has space-based resources for monitoring space, the atmosphere and the sea, as well as high-resolution synthetic aperture and doppler radar satellites. According to NASA, these resources can verify and supplement the observations and detections made by Pentagon systems and provide environmental information such as the state of the atmosphere, which can be used as metadata. NASA also advocated the use of crowdsourcing to collect data from the public and the use of smartphones.
CONGRESS: INVESTIGATION - HEARINGS - VOTE ON THE 2024 DEFENCE BUDGET ACT (NDAA)
At the same time, Congress conducted hearings of witnesses under oath on July 26, 2023. These included two F18 pilots (Fravor, and Graves) who witnessed UAP sightings, as well as a former intelligence officer named David Grusch. The pilots confirmed UFO sightings, one in 2004 (the famous Tic Tac), the other in 2014-2015 (sightings on the US east coast of drone-like objects capable of long-range flight at very low speed and high altitude, with no visible propulsion, lift or maneuvering devices). During the hearing, David Grusch stated under oath that he had learned that the USA has recovered devices of extraterrestrial origin and, with the help of private companies, has engaged in retro-engineering (analyzing and copying the design) as well as analyzing extraterrestrial biological entities. Other former intelligence officials have made similar claims. However, Congress has been confronted with Special Access Programs Secrecy rules prohibiting witnesses (including David Grusch, who remains under pressure and has submitted a classified file to the Inspector General of Intelligence) from revealing not only what they know, but also the very existence of such projects, outside authorized forums. Congress and the House of Representatives have tried, with bipartisan support, to pass a section (the Schumer bill) of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2024, to lift the secrecy specific to UAP, unless the Pentagon expressly justified this, to a specialized and authorized congressional committee, similar to the one set up for the Kennedy affair. In the end, however, the actions of certain Republican representatives opposed the proposed wording, and a compromise was reached on four specific UAP-related articles, including No. 1687. Among other things, this prohibits the use of secret funds for special UAP-related projects (collection and analysis of debris, reverse-engineering) in the absence of justification before a special congressional committee. In addition, the national archives are required to collect UAP investigation documents, and the issue of secrecy is recognized but not addressed.
The bill was signed into law by President Biden on December 22, 2023, who, referring to Section 1687, specified that the US executive branch would ensure the preservation of highly sensitive defense secrets, while at the same time informing the congressional committee that it must have access to information on the UAP. Resistance within the Pentagon and the Space Force in particular remains very strong. Despite compromises and the weakening of the UAP-related provisions, this constitutes official recognition of the existence of the UAP subject, and, potentially, that of related special secret programmes.
SIGMA2 SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS WITH LEARNED SOCIETIES
As indicated in the 3AF letter of September 2023, SIGMA2 has taken the initiative of holding discussions with the SCU (Scientific Coalition for UAP Study) on the physical observables of UAP during a "UFO Dossier" broadcast on the ANEWS Security Web TV channel⁴, in March 2024. Following an agreement signed with the SCU in February 2023 on joint work on electromagnetic interaction with plasmas, SIGMA2 offered to organize a webinar on optical observables of UAP in June 2023.
This scientific webinar was a success, bringing together around twenty scientists of different nationalities and expertise (see Figures 4 and 5) in the boardroom of the French Aero Club as well as remotely. The SIGMA2 experts were joined by international scientific groups including the American SCU, SUAPS (Society for UAP Studies), as well as members of the Galileo project (an international project bringing together scientists around Professor Avi Loeb⁵) and other scientific projects, such as the VASCO project (Sweden), the Hessdalen Project, UAPx, etc....
Introduced by ex DGSE director Alain Juillet, the webinar was structured around seven presentations followed by a debate, with support from the Maybe Planet channel for the broadcasting platform (presentations and debate are available on the 3AF⁶ Youtube site), and from UAP Check (Michaël Vaillant) through their contacts with SUAPS, punctuated by a friendly dinner and an encouraging article⁷ by Baptiste Friscourt (correspondent for The Debrief).
3AF SIGMA2 gave a presentation on the approach to physical and optical observables. Dr Villaroel (Swedish astronomer, SIGMA2 correspondent) presented her current work on the Vasco project - a study of lights on photographic plates taken by telescopes in July and October 1952, amidst the UFO ballet known as the "Washington Carousel" observed in the skies over Washington. The lights photographed by the telescopes (see Figure 6) could not have been geostationary satellites (which did not exist at the time), nor stars that would have been recognised and observed later. Not only have these dots of light disappeared completely, but the mystery has remained intact ever since, and the coincidence with the events in Washington is disturbing.
A WEBINAR IN THE USA IN JULY
3AF SIGMA2 continued its participation in scientific symposia by contributing to the webinar organized by the SCU on July 30, 2023 on the study of UAP, with a presentation extended to all physical observables and entitled A Collaborative and Multidisciplinary Approach to Investigating Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP)⁸.
AN INTERNATIONAL ROUND TABLE AT 3AF AND A SPECIAL UFO PROGRAM ON ANEWS IN NOVEMBER 2023
On 3 November, 3AF SIGMA2 organized a round table at 3AF, in the boardroom of the Aeroclub de France (see Figures 7 and 8), with the participation of Mr Christopher Mellon (former deputy assistant secretary of defense for intelligence in the Obama administration), Dr Jacques Vallée (astronomer, IT and AI expert, etc.), Mr Alain Juillet (former senior economic intelligence official to the French Prime Minister) and Pierre Bescond (Ingénieur Général de l'Armement 2S, member of the Cometa group and 3AF SIGMA2).
The Debrief correspondent Baptiste Friscourt also took part in the meeting remotely, as did Michaël Vaillant (UAP Check), who was present at 3AF, where a number of experts were also online. Luc Dini gave a brief introduction to 3AF and the work of SIGMA2, followed by contributions from Christopher Mellon and Jacques Vallée on the state of the UFO subject in the USA, and the NDAA bill on the disclosure of UFO data in particular, as well as the initial work produced by the AAWSAP program (a hidden UFO program which took place between 2008 and 2010).
This was followed by a presentation of SIGMA2’s work, which is mentioned very briefly here and which will be developed in detail in a forthcoming article on very different subjects and in the Webinar 2 on physical observables (online since May 31 on the 3AF website). These include the analysis of radar and visual data on the Jersey UAP case with Air Force Brigadier General (2S) Jean-Marc André, studies of the electromagnetic effects of UAP on electronics (Dr Gérard Labaune, analysis of the Teheran case), analyses of samples of materials and vegetation (M. Geoffrey Mestchersky) and optical observation of UAP, with thoughts on the Fripon observation network (meteorites) and the Farfadet network (sprite observation) with Dr Joël Deschamps and Mr Raymond Piccoli (Director of the lightning research laboratory).
These presentations were also an opportunity for Mr Christopher Mellon to see the level of scientific expertise of the SIGMA2 Technical Committee in a wide range of fields and to ask us about our analysis of the electromagnetic emissions from UAP reported by NASA and the AARO at the NASA conference on 31 May 2023 (see Figure 1). As we have already explained in our presentations and in the SIGMA2 report of 2021, there are many questions about the nature of the intermittent electromagnetic emissions observed by certain electronic intelligence devices, not forgetting the radar and IR signatures themselves, which are sometimes very intense or, on the contrary, almost stealthy regardless of speed. The isotropic or directional nature of these emissions was also discussed, depending on whether they are a radar response from the UAP or their own electromagnetic emission (or both at the same time, as in the case of the RB47 in 1957), which could be linked to propulsion, pulsed plasma emissions or even microwave weapons (see the case of Tehran in 1976).
This meeting was followed by a round table organized with ANEWS Sécurité with the same protagonists (see Figures 9 and 10 ) and broadcast on 27 November 2023 in the Dossiers OVNI - 1ère partie series.
THE ECHO EVENT CONFERENCE AT THE SORBONNE ON 4 AND 5 NOVEMBER 2023
Finally, SIGMA2 took part in the conference organized by Echo Event at the Sorbonne in Paris on November 4-5, which was attended by Christopher Mellon (former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence during the Obama and Bush administrations), Dr Jacques Vallée, Prof Avi Loeb and Philippe Guillemant.
SIGMA2’s Luc Dini gave a 30-minute presentation named "UAP: a physical approach", following Christopher Mellon's speech, and then took part in a round table discussion (see Figure 11) on November 4. The conference brought together other speakers, including Colonel Jack Krine (former fighter pilot, head of the Patrouille de France), as well as Jacques Vallée and Dominique Filhol, who presented his film Valensole, due for release in spring 2024. The event ended on 5 November and turned out to be a resounding success (see Figure 12).
Finally, over in the USA, a symposium was organized on November 17-18 by the SOL foundation set up by Dr Garry Nolan, professor of biology at Stanford University. The conference brought together international scientists, as well as a number of leading figures on the subject of UAP, including Garry Nolan, Christopher Mellon, Jacques Vallée and Dr Beatriz Villaroel.
Collective report made by Luc Dini with contributions from Jean-Marc André - Philippe Chopin-Joël Deschamps - Gérard Labaune - Geoffrey Mestchersky - Stéphane Pfister - Emmanuel Plichon- Raymond Piccoli - Beatriz Villaroel
1 - AARO: All Domain Anomaly Resolution Office, in other words the Office for the Investigation and Study of Anomalies in All Environments (air, space, sea), coordinating actions with all the US services, including the intelligence agencies, Federal civil aviation and NASA.
2 - According to the directive GENADMIN Joint Staff J3 Washington DC 191452ZMAY23
3 - This is reminiscent of the GEIPAN site, which has existed for a long time and presents case analysis files, some of which are very detailed.
4 - https://www.anews-securite.fr/ovnis-les-phenomenes-aerospatiaux-non-identifies-sont-une-realite-eclairages/
5 - Professor and Chair of Astronomy at Harvard, known for his article on the interstellar asteroid Umuamua, and the Galileo science project, as well as the creation of UAP observation stations and the collection of asteroid residues from outside the solar system (Expedition).
6 - https://www.3af.fr/fr/agenda/3af-sigma2-webinar-1-on-uap-optical-observables-2270
8 - https://www.explorescu.org/aapc-2023