Tag: usaf

Death of Air Force whistleblower set to reveal UFO secrets declared ‘suspicious’

A former US Air Force intelligence officer died before he could testify in a whistleblower hearing about UFOs, sparking demands for an FBI investigation.

Matthew James Sullivan was just 39 when he died on May 12, 2024 after reportedly taking his own life. However, his official cause of death has not been made public, nor was the case reported on by local media at the time.

Now, Congressman Eric Burlison of Missouri has told the Daily Mail that Sullivan was preparing to be a key witness for congressional investigators looking into Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, more commonly known as UFOs.

Burlison shared he had ‘grave concerns’ that Sullivan’s death appears ‘suspicious,’ suggesting that the veteran intelligence officer may have been targeted to silence him before revealing knowledge of non-human spacecraft and extraterrestrials. 

‘Look at Matthew Sullivan’s credentials and his experience. He certainly was someone who was read in at the highest classification levels and knew some of our nation’s most important secrets,’ Burlison explained. ‘And so did a lot of these other people.’ 

The congressman explained that an investigation by the Intelligence Community Inspector General uncovered ‘serious allegations of misconduct and potentially unlawful activities’ which pointed to the 39-year-old’s death not being a suicide.

Burlison said: ‘The fact that he had been scheduled by the UAP Task Force. That he had been scheduled to come and speak… After hearing about this tragedy, I felt it was worth looking into.’ 

On Thursday, he made a formal request to FBI Director Kash Patel to have agents investigate Sullivan’s death as a potential crime.

‘The sudden and suspicious circumstances surrounding his death raise significant concerns about potential foul play and the safety of other individuals involved in this matter,’ Burlison wrote in a letter to the FBI shared with the Daily Mail.

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UFO cluster spotted over mysterious base tied to missing Air Force scientist

A massive cluster of unknown flying objects was spotted near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, a military installation long rumored to be linked to UFO activity.

Witnesses near the Ohio base captured the craft on April 8, showing a silent triangle of glowing lights moving in perfect formation before splitting apart mid-flight.

The lights appeared to drift slowly downward, flickering, pulsing and changing brightness individually as they hovered in the night sky.

Reports described the sighting as having ‘no sound, no standard navigation lights, movement unlike any known aircraft, drone swarm or satellite.’

The video was reportedly taken from Rainbow Lakes, a 60-acre outdoor recreational retreat in Fairborn, about four miles from the base.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) has drawn renewed attention in recent months, as its research laboratory was previously led by retired Major General William Neil McCasland, who disappeared earlier this year.

McCasland, 68, went missing from his New Mexico home on February 28, reportedly leaving with only hiking boots and a .38-caliber revolver.

He led the Air Force Research Laboratory from May 2011 until his retirement in 2013, a facility long associated in UFO lore with alleged materials recovered after the 1947 Roswell incident.

WPAFB leads development in aerospace technology, advanced materials, sensors, human performance and AI.

The Daily Mail has contacted WPAFB for comment on the video.

The clip has flooded social media, where users are debating whether the lights are extraterrestrials or parachutists with flares.

One user on X claimed the lights were ‘non-human intelligent orbs,’ while another user on Reddit shared: ‘This is exactly what it looks like when parachuters have flares attached as they’re falling.’

‘I agree that is what this looks like. A free-fall team, whether it be military or civilian, gets into their final descent stack after their chutes have already deployed,’ a Redditor shared.

‘My issue with this is that the cloud ceiling is super low. If this is a training jump, this low a ceiling would cause it to get pushed or canceled. 

‘Obviously, it is hard to get an ideal grasp on everything since the video is short and in low light. That said, it looks like we lose visual on the flares intermittently as they pass through the clouds.’

Another Redditor joked, saying, ‘They’re coming for more scientists,’ likely referring to McCasland, who managed the Air Force’s $2.2 billion science and technology program along with additional customer-funded research.

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Application Denied: Another Dive into the Failures of Military Bureaucracy and COVID-19 Mandate Relief

On September 23, 2021, an active-duty Air Force officer who has served for 18 years submitted a request for a religious accommodation for the COVID-19 shot mandate. Four and a half years later, there is still derogatory paperwork in his personnel file, leaving him ineligible or significantly disadvantaged for all career advancement and more.

This story provides an update on developments from September 2025 and March 2026, reinforcing J.M. Phelps’ assertion that the Board of Correction of Military Records (BCMR) is “ineffective” and frequently highlights the widespread “bureaucratic malfeasance” within the military institution, providing little more than a “half measure” to service members, as in the case of Air Force Captain Anthony Monteleone.

Furthermore, concerning Air Force BCMR (AFBCMR), the situation underscores how their decisions are a direct affront to the goals of President Donald Trump and Department of War (DOW) Pete Hegseth to restore the military.

Case in point: On April 3, 2026, AFBCMR issued a “finding” that flatly denied any relief whatsoever to Capt. Monteleone. Given the overwhelming mountain of evidence reviewed by J.M. Phelps and provided to the Board, one can only conclude that the Board continues to undermine the efforts of President Trump and his appointees within the Department of War. This bureaucratic obstruction appears aimed at continuing the denial of mandated relief to those who suffered under the military’s unlawfully enforced COVID-19 shot mandate, which was rescinded in January 2023.

Mr. Richard Anderson, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserves, representing the AFBCMR and operating under the full delegated authority of the Secretary of the Air Force, stated that when it comes to Capt. Monteleone’s case, “the [AFBCMR] determined there was insufficient evidence of error or injustice. Accordingly, your application is denied.”

Sadly, for the author of this article, Mr. Anderson’s statement brings to mind the idiom, “If I had a dollar for every time I heard that.”

The Board’s stated reasoning behind this decision was that, although the entire mandate was ruled unlawful, the guidance from Undersecretary of War for Personnel and Readiness, Anthony Tata, to the branch BCMRs did not specifically state that all [emphasis mine] service members harmed by the entire COVID-19 mandate must be granted relief. Instead, in their interpretation [emphasis mine], his guidance indicates that only those punished for solely refusing the order to take the shot itself were eligible for remediation under the guidance.

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Ex-Air Force master sergeant pleads guilty in $37M bid-rigging scheme

A retired master sergeant in the Air Force on Wednesday pleaded guilty to inflating the cost of information technology contracts for the Pacific Air Forces by at least $37 million to enrich himself and co-conspirators, according to the Department of Justice.

Alan Hayward James, 51, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bribery and conspiracy to rig bids in a federal court in Honolulu.

From April 2016 until about April 2025, James and co-conspirators falsely inflated information technology contracts for Air Force installations across the Pacific. From at least May 2019 until about October 2022, James directed his co-conspirators on the amounts they should bid to circumvent the bidding process for contracts.

James agreed to pay more than $1.4 million in restitution to the Department of Defense.

“Over thirty-seven million dollars — that’s how much the U.S. Air Force overpaid because of the scheme that the defendant admitted to, under oath and in open court,” said Daniel Glad, acting deputy assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, in a statement.  “The Antitrust Division’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force will detect and prosecute those who rig bids and defraud their government customers.”

James and his co-conspirators channeled bribes to a federal official within the Pacific Air Forces named “Godfather,” according to court records.

They used some of the funds to pay for an all-expenses-paid multiday stay at a luxury resort on the North Shore of Oahu in 2023. They also disbursed funds to James, his family members, the family of an Air Force civilian employee and other co-conspirators.

A federal district court judge will determine James’s sentence.

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Sophisticated drones attacked Louisiana’s Barksdale bomber base

Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, in Bossier Parish not far from Shreveport, was attacked by drone swarms during the week of March 9. The attack disrupted B-52H aircraft launches in support of Operation Epic Fury against Iran. It is the first time a US airbase was temporarily put out of operation in wartime, something that never happened even in World War II.

Each wave forced the Air Force to halt operations and send its personnel to shelters. Barksdale is the command hub of the US Air Force Global Strike Command. Not only are B-52s based there, but the base is part of America’s nuclear triad. It shelters long range nuclear cruise missiles (such as the AGM-86B) and will soon house a new Long Range Standoff cruise missile. Shelters and storage sites for the new missiles are under construction.

The only other significant US airbase for B-52s is in Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota. Both bases are supporting Epic Fury. The aircraft can either fly to the UK and then on to Iran, or (as they did during the period when the UK blocked them) fly directly from Barksdale to Iran, a very long mission requiring eight in-air refuelings.

The drone waves lasted around four hours each day, an extraordinarily long loiter time for a drone. It is not known if the drones were fixed wing or quadcopter types, or how they were powered (liquid fuel or electrical). Each wave consisted of 12 to 15 drones, and the drones flew with their lights on, intentionally making them visible.

Barksdale AFB does not have air defenses, nor does it have fighter jets that can take down drones.

The airbase does have some electronic countermeasures that were designed to disable GPS and the datalinks between the drones and their remote operators. The electronic countermeasures failed to work.

The drones themselves may have been autonomous or semi-autonomous, and operated in ways suggesting the drones were equipped with multiple sensors that directed the behavior of each drone over the base and in response to attempts at jamming.

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Siblings Indicted in Alleged IED Plot at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, One Suspect Believed to Have Fled to China

Alen Zheng and his sister, Ann Mary Zheng, have been indicted in connection with a possible improvised explosive device (IED) allegedly planted at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. MacDill is home to CENTCOM and U.S. Special Operations Command.

On March 16, 2026, a suspicious package was discovered outside the Visitor Control Center at the Dale Mabry Gate of MacDill, which appeared to have “possible energetic materials.”

Following the discovery, the gate and nearby roads were shut down for about 6–7 hours while first responders and the FBI investigated. The device was described as potentially “very deadly” if it had detonated, though it did not explode.

The base raised its threat level to FPCON Charlie (the second-highest force protection condition, indicating a serious incident has occurred) and implemented heightened security.

On March 26, 2026,  federal prosecutors unsealed indictments against the pair. Alen, who has allegedly already fled to China, is accused of planting the device.

He faces charges including:

  • Attempted damage to government property by fire or explosion
  • Unlawful making of a destructive device
  • Possession of an unregistered destructive device
  • He is currently believed to be in China and remains at large.

His sister is facing charges of accessory after the fact and tampering with evidence.

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Air Force Officer Continues His Fight Against Vindictiveness and Intolerance Over COVID-19 Shot Mandate

An Air Force officer continues to battle one of the most egregious cases of vindictiveness and intolerance stemming from the military’s 2021 COVID-19 shot mandate, which was rescinded in January 2023 and deemed “unlawful as implemented” across all military departments in May 2025.

Following up on a story from September 2025, The Gateway Pundit spoke to Captain Anthony Monteleone to get an update on his case at the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records (AFBCMR).

On July 8, 2025, as directed by the Department of War, Capt. Monteleone submitted his packet to the AFBCMR to correct the harms from the unlawful mandate in collaboration with his attorney, Jeffrey Addicott, Director of the Warrior Defense Project, and Mike Rose, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Stand Together Against Racism and Radicalism in the Services (STARRS).

Two months later, on September 03, 2025, the AFBCMR denied his application, stating that his request “falls outside the jurisdiction of the AFBCMR,” and then reversed itself and accepted his case due to the directives from President Donald Trump and War Department leadership.

However, a grueling nine months after he submitted his package, and despite Congressional Representatives and multiple high-ranking Air Force officials reaching out to the AFBCMR on several occasions on behalf of Capt. Monteleone to stress the immediate need for relief in his case, the Board continues to delay the processing of his package.

As reported multiple times by The Gateway Pundit, numerous service members claim that the BCMR process is largely ineffective and that the Board’s willingness to engage amounts to little more than a superficial effort.

In short, despite the explicit directives from President Trump, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Undersecretary of War for Personnel and Readiness Anthony Tata, and the Secretary of the Air Force Troy E. Meink, Capt. Monteleone continues to have active derogatory paperwork in his personnel file. He is still experiencing significant and ongoing damage to his career due to the unlawful COVID-19 shot mandate, which is solely attributed to the prolonged time it is taking for the Board to review his case.

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‘Multiple waves’ of unauthorized drones recently spotted over strategic US Air Force base

A drone sighting that temporarily raised alarms at one of the United States Air Force’s largest and most strategic airfields earlier this month was more extensive, and potentially more dangerous, than first reported, according to a confidential internal briefing document reviewed by ABC News.

Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana said it was under a shelter-in-place order March 9 after “a report of an unmanned aerial system operating over the installation.”

The sighting raised concerns because Barksdale houses long-range B-52 bombers and plays a critical role in command and control of the Air Force nuclear defense capabilities.

The shelter-in-place order was lifted later that day but the unauthorized drone flights continued for nearly a week.

“Barksdale Air Force Base detected multiple unauthorized drones operating in our airspace during the week of March 9th,” Capt. Hunter Rininger of the 2nd Bomb Wing said in a statement provided to ABC News. The additional drone incursions had not been previously reported.

According to the confidential briefing document dated March 15, the drones came in waves and entered and exited the base in a way that may suggest attempts to “avoid the operator(s) being located.” Lights on the drones suggested the operators “may be testing security responses” at the base.

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Air Force Special Operations Wants Backpack-Sized Kamikaze Drones

The U.S. Air Force is seeking small, backpack-portable one-way attack drones for its special operations forces, according to a request for information (RFI) posted this week.

“Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) and Special Tactics units currently lack a purpose-built First-Person View (FPV) unmanned capability,” the RFI notes. “This deficit restricts the force’s ability to employ FPV systems in specialized mission sets and limits the development of standardized Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures essential for modern, high-intensity conflict.”

According to the RFI, AFSOC wants the drones to be capable of striking targets up to 12 miles away with a fragmentation warhead weighing 3 to 6.5 pounds. The system must be launch-ready in under three minutes and able to operate in GPS-denied environments.

“This system needs to integrate Global Positioning System (GPS), 4G/LTE/5G cellular connectivity, true frequency hopping between bands, and an optional repeater to extend operational range to over 20 kilometers,” the RFI said.

The systems are expected to integrate with handheld controllers and the Android Team Awareness Kit, or ATAK, used by small military units for battlefield awareness and targeting.

Companies have until April 17 to respond to the RFI. 

The Pentagon plans to spend $1.1 billion over the next 18 months on its Drone Dominance program, an initiative launched in December aimed at testing and purchasing more than 200,000 drones of various sizes by January 2028, Owen West, the Pentagon’s senior adviser on the program, said during a March 5 congressional hearing.

The program is intended in part to build a domestic industry around small drones to enable higher production volumes at lower costs.

In its initial phase, the Pentagon is paying about $5,000 for each “Group 1” drone, Drone Dominance program manager Travis Metz said during the hearing. He added that by the end of the program the goal is to “get down to less than $2,000 for a one-way kamikaze attack drone.”

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DoW Identifies Air Force Casualties

The Department of War announced the death of six Air Force Airmen who were supporting Operation Epic Fury.

Maj. John A. Klinner, 33, of Auburn, Ala.; Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31, of Covington, Wash.; and Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Ky., were assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. and Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38, of Mooresville, Ind.; Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30, of Wilmington, Ohio; and Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28, of Columbus, Ohio were assigned to the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, Columbus, Ohio.

The six Airmen died on March 12, 2026, in the crash of a KC-135 in western Iraq. The incident is under investigation.

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