In an article that was widely anticipated by the UFO community, Tim McMillan of The Debrief provides several nuggets of stories and information that will surely excite many, and provide a welcome distraction for some reporters, but ultimately does not advance the quest for actual physical evidence. The sources were either anonymous, vague, or speculative.
Article: Given the report's classification and their discussion of a "sensitive intelligence matter," the officials we spoke with did so only under strict conditions of anonymity.
There are descriptions of two photos (but not the actual photos)
Firstly a silver "cube-shaped" object, which sounds like a balloon.
Article: One of the intelligence reports, released in 2018, is said to have provided a general overview of the UAP topic and included details of previous military encounters. According to sources who had read it, the report also contained an unreleased photograph of an "aerial phenomena" categorized as "unidentified."
The Debrief was told the accompanying photo was captured from within the cockpit of an F/A-18 fighter jet with a pilot's personal cell phone. According to three U.S. officials who had seen it, the photo showed an unidentified silver "cube-shaped" object. The report is said to have indicated the object was "hovering" or completely motionless when military pilots encountered it. All three officials agreed that based on the photo, the object appeared to be at an altitude of roughly 30,000 to 35,000 feet and approximately 1,000 feet from the fighter jet.
Secondly a triangle-shaped craft.
Article: Overwhelmingly, everyone The Debrief spoke with said the most striking feature of the recently released UAPTF intelligence position report was the inclusion of new and "extremely clear" photograph of an unidentifiable triangular aircraft.
The photograph, which is said to have also been taken from inside the cockpit of a military fighter jet, depicted an apparent aerospace vehicle described as a large equilateral triangle with rounded or "blunted" edges and large, perfectly spherical white "lights" in each corner. Officials who had seen it said the image was captured in 2019 by an F/A-18 fighter pilot.
Two officials that received the report said the photo was taken after the triangular craft emerged from the ocean and began to ascend straight upwards at a 90-degree angle. It was indicated that this event occurred off the eastern coast of the United States. Several other sources confirmed the photo's existence; however, they declined to provide any further specifics of the incident.
Then there's a report from the UAP task force that reportedly focusses on underwater detections of apparent "transmedium" (going between air and water) craft and "fast-movers" (what it sounds like, but specifically a sonar return that looks like a fast-moving object)
Article: Agreeing only to speak on background, a senior member of the Intelligence Community whose responsibilities for decades involved underwater surveillance and reconnaissance programs told The Debrief there was validity to claims of extremely fast-moving underwater objects being detected by U.S. military systems.
"On occasion, there are detections made of non-cavitational, extremely fast-moving objects within the ocean." The intelligence official declined to elaborate further, citing the high-levels of security classification associated with underwater reconnaissance.
Officials who had read the reports say the UAPTF appears particularly interested in "transmedium vehicles."
Fun stuff, but not a lot that submits to analysis, because there's no actual data, just stories. Without seeing these photos and without any useful numbers (other than the silver balloon-like object at cruising altitude), there's very little to analyze from my perspective.
One mischaracterization caught my eye, and I've already seen this repeated elsewhere.
Article: McClintock, who also served as Senior Defense Attaché to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, seemed equally doubtful that UAP might represent the technology of a foreign adversary.
"It is not outside the realm of the plausible that an adversary would test the ability of the United States to detect some new capability, although it would be more likely they would only do this after testing the capability within or closer to their own territory before trying to penetrate U.S. airspace," he stated.
McClintock is not saying that he's "doubtful that UAP might represent the technology of a foreign adversary," he's saying that a foreign adversary would not use US airspace for initial testing. This is a hugely significant difference.
One thing that is interesting is the statement from "a senior member of the Intelligence Community" that: "On occasion, there are detections made of non-cavitational, extremely fast-moving objects within the ocean."
Non-cavitational, put simply, means it does not make any bubbles. When something is moving quickly underwater the changes in pressure cause some of the water to vaporize into a gas. Commonly this is an issue around propellers where cavitation happens on the leading edges, causing both damage and a distinctive audio signal. Any very fast-moving object underwater is going to cavitate, and much attention is paid to the shape of the object (like a propellor, a submarine, or a torpedo) to avoid this.
Here's what cavitation looks like around a very fast-moving object that is not designed for underwater travel.
The trail of cavitation behind the object is presumably something that could be detected as the collapsing bubbles would create a sonic signal, something like the thunder created by lighting.
But avoiding cavitation is not always the goal. The fastest underwater objects actually use a technique called "supercavitation" where cavitation is encouraged at the front of the object, creating enough vapor to form a bubble around the object, greatly reducing surface friction. Of course, you've still got the make the bubble, and sustained cavitation requires a powerful engine - usually a rocket in torpedos - so while the object is very fast, it's not quiet.
So for something to be "non-cavitational, extremely fast-moving" that would be highly unusual, representing an inexplicable jump in technology. Almost seeming physically impossible, because, in the same way that the insanely fast reported speeds of "tic-tac" UFOs would have to violently push aside vast amounts of air, underwater objects would have to push aside the water, which means vast changes in pressure, which would result in cavitation.
So the more likely explanation is that these detections are not actually of "non-cavitational, extremely fast-moving objects," but rather are false returns of some sort that simply look like they come from a fast-moving object. The lack of detectable cavitation is a strong indication it's not a real object. The underlying cause of these false returns is either unknown or classified.
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