Pentagon UFO chief accused of lying to public and could be replaced
The Pentagon’s UFO chief, Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, will be replaced by the end of the year, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Kirkpatrick, who has been leading the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) since its inception in June 2022, has faced criticism from UFO whistleblowers and activists who accuse him of lying to the public and ignoring witnesses.
AARO is the Pentagon’s official office for investigating and reporting on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), commonly known as UFOs. The office was created after a landmark report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) in June 2021, which acknowledged that UAP posed a potential threat to national security and called for more resources and coordination to study them.
However, AARO has been mired in controversy since its launch, as some former and current officials have come forward with allegations of cover-ups, corruption and misconduct within the Pentagon’s UFO programs.
One of the most prominent whistleblowers is David Grusch, a retired Air Force and intelligence agency veteran who testified under oath before Congress in July 2023 that he had witnessed evidence of crashed UFOs, recovered beings and UFO-related deaths during his career.
Grusch also claimed that Kirkpatrick and other senior officials had lied to Congress and the public about the extent and nature of the Pentagon’s UFO investigations, and had suppressed or destroyed vital information and evidence.
Grusch’s testimony was reportedly corroborated by other defense sector witnesses in classified hearings, some of whom may appear before a House Oversight hearing on UFOs scheduled for next week.
Kirkpatrick has denied Grusch’s allegations and defended his office’s work, saying that AARO is taking the UFO issue seriously and is committed to transparency and accountability. He also said that Grusch’s testimony was insulting and unfounded, and that he had no direct knowledge or access to any UFO programs or evidence.
However, sources told DailyMail.com that Kirkpatrick has lost the trust and confidence of many UFO whistleblowers and insiders, who do not want to cooperate with his office or share their information with him.
They also said that the Pentagon has already interviewed four major candidates to replace Kirkpatrick, and has made a decision on his successor, who will be announced soon.
The personnel change comes amid growing public interest and pressure on the UFO topic, as more sightings, videos and testimonies have emerged in recent months.
The White House National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications, Rear Admiral John Kirby (ret.), said on Monday that UFOs are having an impact on US fighter pilots’ training ranges and need to be treated as a legitimate issue. He also said that the Pentagon wants to get to the bottom of the UFO mystery and better understand what is going on in the nation’s restricted airspace.
