The DOD Taps AI to Monitor Washington D.C.’s Airspace, and AARO Gets a New Website
This week, we look at the DOD and its plans to use artificial intelligence (AI) to help monitor the airspace over the nation’s capital.
Micah Hanks
Micah Hanks is a writer, podcaster, and creator/co-founder of The Debrief. He covers science, technology and futurism, and you can find him at micahhanks.com and on Twitter @MicahHanks.
Aerial Threats Over the United States
This week, we look at recent UFO sightings logged by American pilots involving harrowing encounters with strange objects they couldn't identify.
Pilot UFO Sightings Collected by NASA Reveal Serious Safety Concerns Over Objects in U.S. Airspace
Incident reports describing recent U.S. pilot UFO sightings in controlled airspace convey the serious concerns aviators have about potential collisions with unknown objects, The Debrief has learned.
Aurora Spaceplane Concept Looks Like an Area 51-style ‘Black Jet,’ and It Could Revolutionize Hypersonic Spaceflight by 2030
German aerospace company POLARIS is advancing its development of AURORA, a next-generation spaceplane with a familiar and intriguing name.
Northrop Grumman’s Phantom Laser Delivers Compact, Rugged, High-Energy Beam Weapon Source to Empower U.S. Tactical Capabilities
Northrop Grumman just equipped the U.S. military with Phantom, a compact-sized high-power laser beam weapon designed for rapid deployment.
Questions About Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Enter the 2024 Presidential Race
As things start gearing up for the 2024 election season, the UAP question already managed to make its way into the first round of debates featuring eight GOP hopefuls.
Watchers: Surveillance, UAP Secrecy, and the MH370 Enigma
This week, we examine issues related to UAP secrecy and U.S. surveillance technologies, along with an analysis of what U.S. officials have recently had to say about the mysterious objects.
Mysterious New Properties of “Ghost Particle” Neutrinos Unveiled With Help From an Ancient Supernova
Researchers may now be closer to understanding the secret interactions that occur between neutrinos when stars explode, according to new research into the behavior of the mysterious subatomic particles.
Iran Just Unveiled the Mohajer 10, Its Extremely Familiar-Looking New Strike Drone
Iran revealed a familiar-looking new addition to its aerial arsenal on Tuesday, the Mohajer 10, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) the country says can fly non-stop for up to 24 hours.
Clean Power Breakthrough: “Impossible” Energy Generation Using Graphene Challenges Century-Old Physics Paradigms
Researchers have upended a long-held tenet of modern physics that says useful work cannot be obtained from random thermal fluctuations, with a little help from the novel properties of graphene.
Eerie Afterglow of What May Be the Most Violent Cosmic Event Observed by Astronomers Could Challenge Existing Theories
On October 9, 2022, an unusual gamma-ray burst possessing a prolonged visible afterglow was observed by a team of astronomers that was unlike anything they had previously witnessed.
Russian Spacecraft Crash Ends Country’s “Last Hope” to Revive Its Lunar Program, Raises New Questions
A Russian spacecraft crash that occurred over the weekend saw the country's Luna 25 craft collide with the moon, bringing a mission aimed at ending the country’s 47-year hiatus in lunar exploration to a smashing conclusion.
Strange New Stellar Object Has the Most Powerful Magnetic Field Ever Discovered, Astronomers Say
Researchers have discovered a new stellar object with “highly unusual” characteristics, which they say possesses the most powerful magnetic field anywhere in the known universe.
Mysterious Pulses Could Reveal Unknown Radiation and Plasma Properties of Distant Celestial Object
Researchers report that they have detected unusual pulses being generated by a celestial object that could help them unveil new clues about its behavior.
Amidst Controversy, Google Has a New Secret Project to Help it Dominate the AI Landscape
Google is reportedly working on a new secret AI project amidst turmoil in the tech industry's race toward AI dominance.
Antigravity: Zero Point and the Classified World of UAP Technology
This week on The Micah Hanks Program, we go in search of the truth about the classified world of antigravity, and the DoD’s efforts to make this science-fiction technology a reality.
The Air Force Aims to Fast-Track Development of Transformational New Blended Wing Body Aircraft Prototype
The USAF is fast-tracking designs for a new blended-wing body aircraft that consumes less fuel and has increased range and payload delivery.
Cool Lasers: Nearing Absolute Zero, Researchers Use Clever New Method to Chill Membrane to Shockingly Low Temperatures
A team of researchers says they have developed a new technique that allows them to cool a small membrane to temperatures nearing absolute zero with nothing more than light from lasers.
Powerful New Hypersonic Missile Interceptor to be Developed by the U.S. and Japan
The U.S. and Japan are jointly developing a powerful new hypersonic missile interceptor to combat threats from foreign adversaries.
NOAA’s Massive Weather Supercomputing System Just Got a Significant Upgrade
NOAA has recently upgraded its weather supercomputing system that the scientific agency relies on to model and forecast American weather.
Strange Patterns Discovered on the Red Planet Offer Tantalizing New Evidence for Ancient Life on Mars
The discovery of hexagonal patterns in ancient Martian mud suggests it once had seasons, increasing the chances of life on Mars in its distant past.
The Department of Defense Just Announced the Launch of Its New AI Task Force
The Pentagon has announced the creation of a new generative AI task force that aims to implement AI capabilities throughout the DoD.
The Struggles of a Whistleblower: Separating Fact From Fiction in the Latest UAP Revelations
In this week's Intelligence Brief newsletter, we look at a recent report involving UAP whistleblower David Grusch’s past struggles since leaving active duty.
DARPA Aims to Develop New Synthetic Quantum Materials That Could Radically Improve Quantum Computing
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has announced a new program it says will develop new synthetic metamaterials that could lead to breakthroughs in quantum computing and information science.
Breakdown of Standard Gravity Reported in New Study Defies Newton’s Law of Gravitation and General Relativity
The breakdown of standard gravity has been reported in a groundbreaking new study that challenges the theories proposed by Newton and Einstein.
Non-Human Intelligence: UAP, Humanoids, & Flying Saucer Folklore
This week we delve into UFO folklore in search of whether credible reports exist of alleged examples of non-human intelligence.
Australian Space Agency Confirms Fireball Seen Over Melbourne Was Russian Rocket Reentry
A brilliant fireball seen streaking through the skies over Australia has been identified as the reentry of a Russian rocket, according to a statement from the Australian Space Agency.
Scientists Replicating Milestone Nuclear Fusion Experiment Now Report Even Higher Energy Yield
Scientists report they have succeeded at producing an even greater energy yield than last year's milestone DOE nuclear fusion experiment.
NASA is Gearing Up for the First Rocket Launch from Another Planet
This week, we examine recent tests being carried out by NASA are paving the way for the historic first rocket launch from Mars.
Researchers Create “Unnatural” Amino Acids Unlike Anything Found in Nature
"Unnatural" amino acids unlike anything that occurs in nature have been created by a team of researchers in a new research breakthrough.
Strange Metamaterial with “Fourth Dimensional” Properties Leads to Breakthrough in Energy Manipulation
Scientists have engineered a new metamaterial possessing “fourth dimensional” properties, allowing the novel control of energy waves.
The Congressional Hearing on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena
In this installment of The Micah Hanks Program, we provide an analysis of last week’s hearing and the explosive statements the former military witnesses provided under oath to members of Congress.
U.S. Law of War Gets a Reboot as the Pentagon Updates Its Handbook on Law in Military Operations
The Department of Defense announced this week that it has issued an update to its official manual that governs the implementation of law in military operations.
Director of Pentagon’s UAP Investigations Challenges Claims Made in Recent UAP Hearing
The Pentagon's chief scientist involved in the investigation of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) fired back at assertions made during a Congressional hearing this week that his Office was not being fully transparent with its findings.
The Congressional Hearing on UAP: What We Learned From Yesterday’s Testimony
This week's Intelligence Brief newsletter looks at the key takeaways from the latest in a recent series of Congressional hearings on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP).
Crashes, Casualties, and Cover-Ups: Assessing the UAP Whistleblower Claims
This week, we take a balanced look at historical cases involving UAP crashes, deaths related to UAP incidents, and other details in the controversial claims made by UAP whistleblower David Grusch.
Lockheed Martin to Build Experimental Nuclear Propulsion System for Joint DARPA and NASA Collaboration
DARPA and NASA have selected Lockheed Martin to help build a nuclear propulsion rocket capable of taking humans to Mars for future missions.
Congressman Provides Account of Military UAP Image That He Says Matches No “Human Capability”
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz says he was recently shown a UAP image by USAF personnel that he was “not able to attach to any human capability.”
Whistleblowers Testify Under Oath Regarding “Craft of Non-Human Origin” and Military Encounters with UAP
Congress has received testimony from three former officials about UAP encounters and alleged U.S. retrievals of craft of non-human origin.
Mystery Surrounds Deaths of Three Marines Found Near Camp Lejeune
The deaths of three U.S. Marine lance corporals found near Camp Lejeune remains unclear two days after their bodies were first discovered.
Archaeology in Space? New Science of Planetary Geoarchaeology Focuses on Preservation of Space Heritage
A newly proposed scientific subfield involving archaeology in space could help humans preserve the record of exploration on the Moon and Mars.
Alien “Super-Earth” Discovery Reveals Existence of Large Planet 120 Light Years Away
The discovery of a newfound alien “super-Earth” observed orbiting a distant red dwarf star has been reported by an international team of astronomers.
National Security Subcommittee Hearing on UAP: Here’s What to Expect Next Week
This week, we look at the latest news in advance of next week’s National Security Subcommittee Hearing on UAP.
The Senate’s Fight for UAP Transparency
This week on The Micah Hanks Program, we look at what has been presented in draft language as “The UAP Disclosure Act of 2023."
Pentagon Official Warns of Potential Threat From Extraterrestrial “Technical Surprise” as UAP Hearing Approaches
The Pentagon’s chief UAP investigator has warned about the potetial of extraterrestrial "technical surprise” in advance of a Congressional hearing on UAP.
Could the Equivalence Principle be Wrong? New Measurements Put Einstein’s Theory of Relativity to the Test
Researchers have used a half century of lunar ranging data to test the equivalence principle, one of the core principles of modern physics. Here's what they found.
Defying All Odds, Woman Reports Being Struck by Falling Space Rock Outside Her Home
A French woman says she was struck earlier this month by a falling space object in an incident that occurred outside her home in the village of Alsace, Eastern France.
Northrop Grumman’s B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber Celebrates Three Decades of Air Dominance
Northrop Grumman’s B-2 Spirit, the U.S. Air Force’s multi-role bomber and one of the most iconic military aircraft in modern history, celebrates three decades in service today.
Mysterious Vortex Rings Could Hold the Key to Helping Make Fusion Energy Viable, New Research Reveals
Nuclear fusion could be made more efficient with help from a new model that improves our understanding of mysterious vortex rings.
The ‘UAP Disclosure Act of 2023’: What We Know About Chuck Schumer and the Senate’s New Push for UAP Transparency
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is leading a new effort to establish a commission to declassify United States government documents and other materials related to unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP).