(NewsNation) — New details are coming to light about an alleged secret FBI working group that is said to investigate unidentified aerial phenomena, also known as UFOs.
The group has never been publicly disclosed before, but Politico reports the group’s members fear they could be purged in cost-cutting efforts by President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency. Led by Elon Musk, DOGE has been seeking to make deep cuts to the federal budget.
Former Navy pilot Ryan Graves says the group is made up of more than a dozen staff who spend much of their time tracking down UAPs.
Graves was the first active-duty pilot to come forward about regular sightings of UAPs and provided testimony during a congressional hearing on the subject last year.
Graves is also the co-founder of Americans for Safe Aerospace. He joined NewsNation to discuss the secret group.
“These agents have taken upon this responsibility as part of a bottom-up approach in order to understand what potential illegalities might be occurring with objects that are operating within our airspace that we’re not properly tracking or mitigating,” Graves said.
Graves told NewsNation that his understanding is the group began their work in 2020 and that his organization has been working with them on reports that have national security implications.
“We’ve referred the pilot to interview with these groups such that the agents can follow up on the reports, gather additional reports, talk to additional witnesses and look for gaps in our national security,” he said.
Graves said he doesn’t know what the group has uncovered so far, but he believes the investigations have been productive and gained ground.
The agents fear they could get swept up in a larger purge within the FBI as Trump has sought to remove agents involved in investigating the riots on Jan. 6. Graves hopes that the next FBI director could formalize the effort and expand it.
“My message would be to the administration to recognize the fantastic work that these agents are doing for our national security,” Graves said.