Ryan Graves

Ryan Graves is a former U.S. Navy lieutenant and F/A-18F pilot who served for a decade, including deployments in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Inherent Resolve. He became the first active duty pilot to publicly speak about regular sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) and to testify before Congress about his squadron's encounters. Today he leads efforts to improve how the military and commercial aviation report and study these incidents.

What happened during his Navy service?

In 2014, Graves was stationed near Virginia Beach as part of VFA-11, the Red Rippers squadron. His unit began encountering strange objects in their training airspace. In one incident, two squadron members reported seeing a dark gray cube inside a clear sphere and had to take evasive action. Graves testified that the UAP his squadron encountered and tracked on multiple sensors behaved in ways that surpassed their understanding and technology.

What did he tell Congress?

Graves testified before the House Oversight Committee that incidents of UAP in American airspace are grossly underreported. He stated that sightings are routine, not rare or isolated, and that military aircrews and commercial pilots, trained observers whose lives depend on accurate identification, frequently witness these phenomena. He also testified that stigma around UAP is real and powerful, and that excessive classification practices keep crucial information hidden.

What organizations does he lead?

Graves founded and serves as executive director of Americans for Safe Aerospace, the first military pilot-led nonprofit focused on UAP as a matter of national security, aerospace safety, and science. The organization accepts reports from commercial pilots. He also serves as the first Chair of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena Integration and Outreach Committee, which represents more than 30,000 members of the aerospace industry.

What else has he worked on?

Graves previously worked on advanced military autonomy applications at BAE Systems FAST Labs. He has spent years pushing for a proper, centralized system that allows military and commercial pilots to report sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena. He is also CEO and founder of Merged Point and host of the Merged podcast, which explores unidentified anomalous phenomena through the lens of pilots, scientists, and innovators.