This column published by Globetrotter and appearing in the Sri Lanka Guardian on Oct. 5, 2023, touches on what I view as the most probable explanation for the UFO enigma over the past seven decades or so: That they are likely top-secret U.S. weapons.

What if UFOs Have Been a Cover for High-Tech—and Human—Defense Research Programs?

Hallelujah! I’ve been saying this for years. Anyway, here are the key takeaways from the column, well-crafted by journalist John P. Ruehl:

“Many secret military aircraft were frequently mistaken for UFOs, such as the U-2 reconnaissance plane, introduced in the 1950s, which featured a gray frame that often reflected the sun. The SR-71 “Blackbird” meanwhile started service in 1966 and wasn’t declassified until the 1990s. Its distinctive shape, speed, and altitude capabilities were often mistaken for a UFO. The B-2 Spirit, introduced in the late 1980s, also had a unique aerodynamic design and its ability to control lift, thrust, and drag at low speeds often gave the appearance that it was hovering.

Since the Cold War, secretive experimental military aircraft have continued to generate UFO reports. But unexplained phenomena have also fueled conspiracy theories. In November 2004 off the coast of San Diego, Navy pilots filmed UFOs demonstrating rapid acceleration, physics-defying sudden changes in direction, and other feats in videos eventually released to the public in 2017 … The U.S. military’s reluctance to disclose UFO/UAP information is often linked to the need to protect classified technology. Military agencies can choose to neither confirm nor deny such information exists. But when the government transparency website, the Black Vault, submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the Navy for more UFO/UAP videos, it was denied because it would harm national security and ‘may provide adversaries valuable information regarding Department of Defense/Navy operations, vulnerabilities, and/or capabilities.’

Releasing these videos without additional information may also be an effective way for the U.S. military to hint at its own new technological capacities for various strategic, political, and scientific reasons. Suddenly revealing these technologies could result in rising geopolitical tensions and trigger a reaction, while merely hinting at it may also serve as a deterrence to adversaries. Gradually preparing the public for emerging technologies is equally as important, while encouraging speculation about UFO/UAPs could divert attention away from classified projects.

By clandestinely testing experimental new technologies on their own defenses without resorting to lethal forces, military agencies can also gain valuable insights into their capabilities and vulnerabilities in real-world scenarios.”

I agree with this assessment. Although, I would argue that the Pentagon isn’t necessarily “testing experimental new technologies … ” but training personnel on these technologies. These platforms certainly do not appear to be experimental. They appear to be operational and well beyond the testing phase. Maybe that’s why U.S. Navy pilots have encountered these objects over military training ranges, not over test ranges.

At any rate, I have proposed my own version of the “terrestrial hypothesis” for UFOs in my novel Flying Saucers. According to this hypothesis, the evolution of these vehicles began during the immediate postwar period and they have been kept under wraps since that time, all the while becoming more and more sophisticated and shrouded entirely from Congress, the executive branch and the public. This supposition presumes that none of the UFOs are extraterrestrial and that the entire space-alien hypothesis is just a myth fed by popular culture and the Pentagon’s disinformation apparatus.

As to why the Pentagon would be flying these weapons over populated areas, perhaps it’s real-world training, a “living lab” to perfect tactics and to study how well they perform against state-of-the-art, white-world technologies like F-16s. There are many examples of military training exercises taking place over populated areas. This article in The War Zone documents one such exercise over Los Angeles: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/38753/those-mysterious-gray-helicopters-were-landing-on-multiple-downtown-la-rooftops-last-night

Anyway, it’s as good a theory as space aliens traveling trillions of miles across the gulf of space to inexplicably hang out over U.S. military training ranges and terrorizing the denizens of places like Stephenville, Texas.

But, hey, I’m not telling you anything you haven’t already surmised. It’s all in Flying Saucers!