Ryan Graves
Ryan Graves is a former U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet pilot and the founder of Americans for Safe Aerospace, an organization that collects and advocates on behalf of military and commercial aviator UAP reports. Graves became one of the most prominent pilot witnesses in the modern UAP disclosure era after publicizing his and fellow Navy pilots' encounters with unidentified aerial objects off the U.S. East Coast beginning around 2014–2015. He testified before the House Oversight Committee in July 2023, alongside David Grusch and David Fravor, in the most significant public congressional UAP hearing in decades.
| Role | Former U.S. Navy F/A-18 pilot; UAP witness; founder of Americans for Safe Aerospace |
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UAP Encounters
Graves has described repeated encounters with objects characterized as a "dark gray or black cube within a clear sphere" — a UAP shape reported consistently by multiple Navy pilots operating in the same airspace. These objects reportedly appeared stationary in high winds, transitioned seamlessly from hover to hypersonic speeds, and demonstrated no visible propulsion. The encounters were persistent over a multi-year period rather than isolated incidents.
Sean Kirkpatrick, as AARO director, publicly dismissed reports of this type as likely Chinese "ball drones" — a characterization UAP researchers including UAP Gerb criticized as a modern equivalent of the Robertson Panel's weather balloon dismissals. Graves himself has noted that if Chinese drones were violating U.S. military airspace with that frequency and impunity, the failure to respond would itself represent an extraordinary national security lapse.
Americans for Safe Aerospace
Graves founded Americans for Safe Aerospace to serve as a formal channel for military and civilian pilots to report UAP encounters without career repercussions. The organization collects testimony from aviators who have not previously disclosed encounters due to stigma or institutional pressure, and advocates for aviation safety policies that treat UAP as a genuine flight safety concern regardless of origin.
Congressional Testimony
In his July 2023 House Oversight Committee testimony, Graves stated that UAP encounters in military airspace are neither rare nor isolated, and that pilots routinely do not report them due to professional and cultural stigma. He framed the UAP phenomenon as primarily a flight safety issue requiring systematic, unclassified investigation.