UFOs / On the record
UFO hearings: what was said under oath
9 times since 1966, lawmakers have held public hearings on UFOs. Here is who testified, what they said and what changed afterwards, with links to the official transcripts.
In their own words
Belief has nothing to do with it.
We sent information up, but no guidance came down.
AARO does not believe every object is a bird, a balloon, or a UAV. We do have some very anomalous objects.
To date, AARO has not discovered any verifiable evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology.
Every hearing, oldest first
- 1966
House Armed Services hearing on UFOs
House Armed Services Committee
Two weeks after a wave of sightings in Michigan, Air Force Secretary Harold Brown and Project Blue Book's science adviser J. Allen Hynek answered questions from Congress in the first hearing devoted to UFOs.
Testified: Harold BrownJ. Allen HynekHector Quintanilla
- 1968
House Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects
House Committee on Science and Astronautics
Six scientists spent a day telling Congress whether UFOs deserved real study, while the Air Force's own study at the University of Colorado was still under way.
Testified: J. Allen HynekJames E. McDonaldCarl SaganRobert L. HallJames A. HarderRobert M. L. Baker Jr.
- 2022
House Intelligence hearing on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena
House Intelligence Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence and Counterproliferation
The first open congressional hearing on UFOs in more than 50 years. Two senior Pentagon officials showed Navy footage and admitted some of it had no explanation.
Testified: Ronald MoultrieScott Bray
- 2023
Senate hearing on AARO's mission and budget
Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
AARO's first director, Sean Kirkpatrick, gave the new office's first public account to Congress: most reports are ordinary, a few are not, and he would not close cases he could not defend.
Testified: Sean Kirkpatrick
- 2023
House hearing with David Grusch, David Fravor and Ryan Graves
House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs
A former intelligence officer said under oath he had been told of a decades-long crash retrieval programme, and two Navy pilots described what they saw. The most-watched UFO hearing ever held.
Testified: Ryan GravesDavid GruschDavid Fravor
- 2023
Mexican Congress public hearing on UAP
Cámara de Diputados (Mexico)
The first UFO hearing in a national legislature outside the US. Remembered for two small mummified bodies presented as non-human, a claim scientists widely rejected.
Testified: Ryan Graves
- 2024
House hearing: UAP, Exposing the Truth
House Oversight subcommittees on Cybersecurity, IT and Government Innovation, and on National Security
A retired admiral, a former Pentagon official, a former NASA official and a journalist asked Congress for more openness about UAP, each from a different angle.
Testified: Tim GallaudetLuis ElizondoMike GoldMichael Shellenberger
- 2024
Senate hearing with AARO director Jon Kosloski
Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
AARO's director told senators his office had more than 1,600 reports, that most turn out to be balloons, drones, birds or satellites, and that a few are still very anomalous.
Testified: Jon Kosloski
- 2025
House task force hearing: Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency
House Oversight Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets
Three service veterans described what they saw at Vandenberg, off San Diego and at Langley, a Las Vegas reporter laid out 38 years of paper trail, and a watchdog lawyer explained why whistleblower law matters here.
Testified: Jeffrey NuccetelliAlexandro WigginsDylan BorlandGeorge KnappJoe Spielberger