Case Not Closed: DoD To Review 2019 West Coast UFOs Which Harassed US Warships
Written by Christopher Sharp - 8 May 2023
According to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), data related to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) that swarmed U.S. warships off the west coast in 2019 is set to be reviewed by its All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), and the origin of the strange objects has not “definitively” been determined.
Speaking specifically about triangular-looking craft filmed from the USS Russell in July 2019, Pentagon spokesperson, Susan Gough told Liberation Times:
“As noted by Scott Bray, Deputy Director for Naval Intelligence, during a congressional hearing in May 2022, the UAPTF was reasonably confident that the triangles correlated to UAS [Unmanned Aerial Systems) in the area, given that the triangles appeared in videos from different occasions where U.S Navy assets observed a number of small UAS nearby.
“As with all UAP cases it inherited, AARO is reviewing the associated data of past cases within its newly developed analytic framework.”
Although "reasonably confident" that the triangular-looking objects correlated with Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) in the area, Gough was unable to confirm the origin or controllers of the craft, noting that the sources (or origin) cannot be definitively determined.
“These triangles may be a combination of known sources, including UAS, and AARO is using its newly implemented analytic framework to definitively determine the sources and peer review the results before officially closing the case.”
The DoD's comments follow testimony from an eyewitness who served on board the USS Paul Hamilton during the UAP events, and who told journalist and filmmaker Jeremy Corbell that the objects did not appear to originate from the Hong Kong-registered cargo vessel, the Bass Strait, which the New York Post asserted.
“They [the Bass Strait crew] did deny they were the source and they also never landed or launched them.”
The eyewitness added:
“We never saw them land or take off [the Bass Strait.]”
The DoD’s new office dedicated to investigating UAP, the AARO, will be reviewing the incidents using its analytical framework. However, it remains uncertain whether this and similar cases can be resolved. The Director of AARO, Sean Kirkpatrick, has acknowledged that he lacks Title 50 authorities, which limits his access to the nation's full intelligence collection potential.
During a recent public hearing held by the Senate's Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, Dr. Kirkpatrick confirmed that he is currently operating under Title 10 authorities:
“There are some authorities that we need. We currently are operating under Title 10 authorities but we have good relationships across the other agencies.”
This means that he can access information from DoD and military operations, but not from intelligence agencies, intelligence activities, and covert action.
Without access to such information, Dr Kirkpatrick's capacity to positively identify the origin and controllers of UAP may be limited. For instance, he does not have access to National Reconnaissance or National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency collection systems, which could potentially support identification efforts through use of satellites.
During the hearing, Dr Kirkpatrick stated that he is unable to reach defendable conclusions and close cases:
“While a large number of cases in our holdings remain technically unresolved, this is primarily due to a lack of data associated with those cases.
“Without sufficient data we are unable to reach defendable conclusions that meet the high scientific standards we set for resolution and I will not close a case that I cannot defend the conclusions of.”
This is why 189 cases can be initially characterized as balloon-like or UAS-like entities, but cannot be positively identified as such.
Unlike normal drones observed by naval personnel, the eyewitness who spoke with Corbell explained “they would depart on different bearings that they would come in from.”
Susan Gough confirmed to Liberation Times that the objects filmed from the USS Russell appeared triangular both due to the angle of observation and optical system used:
“As Mr. Bray also noted during his testimony, we can confirm that the objects observed in this case appeared to the viewer as triangular shapes due to the angle of observation and optical system used.”
Gough's statement confirms that there may not be a single explanation as to why the objects appeared triangular and cannot be solely explained by the bokeh effect, which some commentators have suggested. However, the analysis from debunkers of the video will still be considered.
Gough also confirmed that the alignment of stars and planets will be reviewed:
“As part of the analytic framework, the source of the lights are currently being reviewed against the star/planet alignment at the time, air traffic and other likely UAS systems. As we have stated previously, there is not one solution for all UAP.”
It may be a matter of discretion whether the UAP, including those of a triangular shape, exhibited unusual flight characteristics or performance capabilities.
The inability to determine the source of objects that are harassing U.S. warships, whether they are Chinese, Russian, commercial, or less conventional in nature, is indicative of an alarming gap in domain awareness.
The objects are currently labelled as UAS by the DoD - which were their original classification by those serving on board the ships which witnessed the events in 2019.
One witness serving on board USS Omaha whose responsibility was to designate the objects now questions the classification, commenting:
“The classification of UAS is now inappropriate because it was never confirmed.”
Liberation Times has learned that some politicians within the U.S. Congress are increasingly frustrated as many questions remain unanswered about this and other UAP events.
And it may only be a matter of time until Congress escalates its efforts through another public hearing and new drafts of the Intelligence and National Defense Authorization Acts.
Such efforts may target alleged illegal UAP related Special Access Programs which may provide less than prosaic answers.