Walker also wants to know if the Navy is aware of any "private companies or foreign nations" who might have made revolutionary aerospace developments that would explain the UAP reports.

These requests, as well as the letter's very existence, are notable. That the Congressman from North Carolina does not already have answers to his questions, including the full scope of the Navy's publicly announced new UAP reporting procedures, strongly suggests that the U.S. government continues to treat these sightings almost exclusively as military and foreign intelligence issues, rather than ones that could impact homeland security.

This would certainly fit with what we have learned so far about AATIP, and its predecessor, the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications (AAWSA) program, which were housed at various times under the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. AAWSA, in particular, was under the direction of the DIA's Defense Warning Office, which exists specifically to monitor for potential advanced technological developments that could threaten U.S. national security.

Even so, it would be particularly curious if none of the members of the House's Homeland Security Committee had received a briefing from the Navy on the subject, given the obvious domestic security implications. If some members of the committee had received such a briefing, but Walker had not, it is hard to imagine he would not have complained about this fact in his letter. The Navy has publicly said that it has provided briefings to multiple legislators with regards to the UAP issue, though it has not provided a full list of lawmakers who have gotten one or offered details about the information therein. Some of these briefings may have included still-classified explanations for at least some of the UAP reports.

The War Zone has already reported that the UAP issue had become so pronounced that Navy base commanders on the East Coast of the United States were issuing Notices to Airmen (NOTAM) warning about them simply as potential hazards to safe flight. This would support Walker's assertion that these are national airspace and domestic security issues as much as they are military and foreign intelligence ones.

With his letter to Secretary of the Navy Spencer now a matter of public record, it will be interesting to see if Walker shares any information he gets in response and whether his open prodding has an impact on how the service, as well as the U.S. military as a whole, together with the U.S. Intelligence Community, treats UAP sightings going forward.

Contact the author: joe@thedrive.com