What Did Witnesses Tell Congress About UAPs?

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September 9, 2025
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CBS News
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What Did Witnesses Tell Congress About UAPs?

TL;DR

Military witnesses urged Congress to treat UAP encounters as safety, intelligence, and transparency issues by standardizing evidence collection, preserving sensor data, reducing classification, and protecting reporters from retaliation. Their accounts described unusual objects near sensitive military locations, but they emphasized that systematic analysis is needed before determining what those objects were.

Transcript

My name is Jeffrey Nusatelli. I'm a former military police officer with 16 years of active duty service in the US Air Force. I'm here today because the American people have both the right and the responsibility to know the truth about unidentified aerial phenomenon. That truth remains hidden, classified, and silenced by fear, retaliation, stigma, a... Read More

Key Insights

  • Nuccetelli's testimony is based on one incident he personally witnessed, other incidents he investigated, and information supplied by six additional service members. He said five UAP incidents occurred at Vandenberg Air Force Base between 2003 and 2005 while historically important launches were being conducted.
  • The Vandenberg Red Square was described as a massive, glowing red square that silently hovered over two missile defense sites on October 14, 2003. Boeing contractors reportedly watched it for several minutes before it moved east across the base and vanished over nearby hills.
  • A triangular object was reported by five shaken security personnel after approaching a critical launch site. According to Nuccetelli, they described a silent craft larger than a football field that hovered over their entry control point for about 45 seconds and then accelerated away.
  • Nuccetelli's 2005 personal encounter involved a pulsing light that maneuvered, changed elevation, disappeared, and reappeared in different parts of the sky. He said it eventually appeared about 200 feet over his house as a 30-foot-diameter sphere before ascending into the stars.
  • Wiggins's USS Jackson account involved visual observation and recorded sensor information in the Whiskey 291 warning area on February 15, 2023. He reported that one luminous, tic-tac-shaped object emerged from the ocean, joined three similar objects, and departed simultaneously with near-instantaneous acceleration.
  • The USS Jackson objects reportedly displayed no sonic boom, exhaust plume, conventional propulsion signature, or control-surface movement on the Sapphire image system. Wiggins said radar tracks disappeared shortly after their synchronized departure, while recorded source frames contained time and location overlays.
  • Systematic evidence collection is central to Wiggins's recommendations. He requested standardized checklists, crew training, preserved infrared settings, slant-range estimates, bearing, range and altitude snapshots, and an immediate chain of custody for recordings so analysts can evaluate safety and intelligence implications rigorously.
  • Witness protection and selective declassification are recurring priorities across the testimony. The witnesses requested confidential reporting channels, safeguards against career retaliation, independent research, preserved sensor evidence, and public release of metadata, technical summaries, or sensor excerpts whenever operational security allows it.

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Questions & Answers

Q: What UAP incidents were reported at Vandenberg Air Force Base?

Jeffrey Nuccetelli said five incidents occurred at Vandenberg Air Force Base between 2003 and 2005. The reported objects included a glowing red square over missile defense sites, a large triangle above a launch-site entry point, an erratically moving light that descended toward the flight line, another triangle larger than a C130, and a maneuvering sphere of light.

Q: What was the Vandenberg Red Square incident?

The Vandenberg Red Square was a reported event on October 14, 2003, when Boeing contractors observed a massive glowing red square silently hovering above two missile defense sites. Nuccetelli said it remained visible for several minutes, drifted east farther onto the base, and disappeared over the hills. He also stated that AARO and the FBI possessed official Air Force records of the event.

Q: What did witnesses report near the Vandenberg launch site?

Nuccetelli said security guards at a critical launch site reported a bright, fast-moving object over the ocean. Five witnesses later described a massive triangular craft, larger than a football field, that hovered silently over their entry control point for about 45 seconds. They said the object then shot away at what Nuccetelli characterized as impossible speed.

Q: What did Alexandro Wiggins observe from USS Jackson?

Alexandro Wiggins said that on February 15, 2023, while serving aboard USS Jackson off Southern California, he observed a self-luminous, tic-tac-shaped object emerge from the ocean and join three similar objects. He reported that all four disappeared together through highly synchronized, near-instantaneous acceleration, with radar tracks dropping shortly afterward and no visible conventional propulsion signatures.

Q: Why did Wiggins describe UAP reporting as a safety issue?

Wiggins said unidentified objects operating near ships and aircraft create an aviation and maritime safety concern when their movement does not match known profiles. He argued that crews need standardized checklists and training to record infrared settings, distance estimates, bearing, range, altitude, and other sensor information in real time, followed by immediate preservation and controlled custody of recordings.

Q: How should the military collect evidence during UAP encounters?

The testimony recommends standardized procedures that capture the strongest available evidence as an encounter occurs. Wiggins specifically identified infrared settings, slant-range estimates, bearing, range and altitude snapshots, and an immediate chain of custody for recordings. He also supported preserving sensor data and releasing time-referenced, geographically referenced frames, radar parameters, excerpts, metadata, or technical summaries when operational security permits.

Q: Why are whistleblower protections important for UAP witnesses?

The witnesses said service members may remain silent because they fear harm to their careers, reputations, clearances, livelihoods, or family safety. Nuccetelli described witnesses who were threatened and told to keep quiet, while Wiggins requested confidential, stigma-free reporting channels. George Knapp said witnesses who step forward are routinely insulted, belittled, or subjected to consequences carried out by unidentified people.

Q: What actions did the witnesses ask Congress to take on UAPs?

The witnesses asked Congress to fund independent research, reduce secrecy and overclassification, protect witnesses from retaliation, and establish confidential reporting pathways. They also requested standardized evidence-capture procedures, preservation of sensor records, rigorous evaluation of safety and intelligence implications, and declassification of metadata, sensor excerpts, radar parameters, or technical summaries whenever those disclosures would not compromise operational security.

Summary & Key Takeaways

  • Air Force veteran Jeffrey Nuccetelli described five reported UAP incidents at Vandenberg Air Force Base between 2003 and 2005. Witnesses reported glowing, triangular, spherical, and rapidly moving objects near missile defense, launch, and flight-line facilities. He said reports moved up the command structure without useful guidance returning to personnel.

  • Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Alexandro Wiggins testified that four self-luminous, tic-tac-shaped objects were observed near USS Jackson on February 15, 2023. He said one emerged from the ocean, joined three others, and departed through synchronized acceleration without visible conventional propulsion signatures before associated radar tracks disappeared shortly afterward.

  • The witnesses asked Congress to establish stigma-free reporting, stronger protections against retaliation, better evidence-preservation procedures, and greater declassification when operational security permits. Journalist George Knapp added that witnesses often risk reputations, careers, clearances, and livelihoods, while government records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act reportedly present a different picture from public dismissals.


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