Former intelligence official explains government investigations into UAPs
Retired Defense Intelligence senior executive Jay Stratton discusses the government’s investigations into unexplained UAPs on ‘Special Report’ with Bret Baier. Stratton recounts startling military encounters involving black triangular aircraft, examines the potential national security implications and explains how nuclear submarines were reportedly used as bait to track the mysterious objects.
President Donald Trump said Air Force pilots once told him that a mysterious, round object passed an F-22 fighter jet at three times the aircraft’s speed. He also vowed to investigate allegations that a secret government program studying UFOs could operate without the president’s knowledge.
Trump made the remarks in an interview with correspondent Ross Douthat that aired Sunday on CBS’ “60 Minutes.”
Douthat asked whether anything Trump had seen, heard or been told persuaded him that unidentified objects observed in the sky might represent something more. Trump said he was “not too much of a believer,” but cited conversations with Air Force pilots at the Oval Office.
“These are not people that you would say are conspiracy theorists – they don’t even know what it means – but they’re great, great pilots,” Trump said, adding a joke about their appearance. “Young, handsome, they have beautiful, nice flat tops. I’d like to have a haircut just like them. They look perfect, like Tom Cruise.”
An image included in a 2026 FBI report shows a black triangular object above mountainous terrain. Federal agents said they watched a silent triangular craft hover over a ridgeline before rapidly disappearing into a canyon. Authorities have not determined whether the image is a genuine photograph or a reconstruction. (Department of War)
Trump described the pilots as “the real deal” and said they had shared “things that are very strange” with him.
He then recounted one reported incident involving an F-22 fighter jet.
“They’re flying an F-22, which is the best there is, the fastest, the best plane that anyone’s ever seen,” Trump said. “And something goes by them at three times their speed. And it’s round. It’s not aerodynamic.”
Trump did not name the pilots or provide details about the time and location of the alleged encounter.
President Donald Trump previously instructed the War Department to make UAP and UFO files public. (Aaron Schwartz / AFP via Getty Images)
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Douthat also asked Trump about claims by alleged whistleblowers that the government maintains a secret UFO research program unknown even to some presidents.
A still image from video showing an alleged unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP) sighting in the northeastern United States in July 2025. The incident was described in files released by the DOW and initially obtained by the FBI. (DOW/FBI)
“No, and I haven’t heard that,” Trump replied. “But if there is, I’m going to find out about it right after this interview.”
Trump later acknowledged that “a lot of very solid people” believe the allegations, while emphasizing that he remains personally doubtful.
A black-and-white surveillance image shows an object identified as a UFO and circled in red. (iStock)
News Media contacted the White House seeking comment.
Trump spoke just weeks after the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) published newly declassified records covering UFO reports from several decades.
One of the files described a 2026 incident in which federal law enforcement agents reportedly saw a matte-black triangular object rise straight up above a mountain ridge, hover without making a sound and then shoot into a canyon at a speed they compared with that of a fighter jet.
The witnesses said they saw no engines, rotors, exhaust or other conventional propulsion systems. Handheld thermal devices detected an even heat signature across the object’s surface, rather than the concentrated heat generally linked to an operating propulsion system.
The object was not identified. The Pentagon also noted that the reported speed was based on witness estimates, not instrument measurements.