TYB
Russia Launches ‘Massive’ Missile-Drone Attacks On Ukraine’s Key Gas & Energy Facilities
January 15, 2025
Russia has launched a large-scale missile and drone attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on January 15th, 2025.
The strikes targeted key power facilities across several regions, forcing the Ukrainian government to implement emergency power cuts to prevent total grid collapse.
Ukraine’s Energy Minister, Herman Halushchenko, shared on Facebook that these attacks are aimed to disrupt daily life for Ukrainians. He urged citizens to stay in shelters, listen for updates, and avoid unnecessary power use.
The Ukrainian state energy company Ukrenergo confirmed that emergency power outages affected several regions, including Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kirovohrad.
These areas have seen frequent power disruptions throughout the war.
The focus of the Russian attack was the western Lviv region. Mayor Andrii Sadovyi confirmed that enemy missiles were fired at the area early in the morning. But no damage or casualties were reported.
Despite the intensity of the attack, Ukraine’s air defence forces intercepted a major portion of the missile and drone barrage. According to Ukraine’s air force, they successfully shot down 30 missiles and 47 drones.
27 drones were destroyed before reaching their targets. While some areas saw power restored by midday, Ukrenergo warned citizens to avoid using high-energy appliances to help manage the load.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed responsibility for these strikes, stating that they targeted critical energy facilities supporting Ukraine’s military capabilities.
Although they did not specify the exact locations of these strikes.
Earlier, Russia accused Ukraine of launching a missile strike on Russian territory. Russia claimed Ukrainian missiles had hit several key sites, including an oil refinery and fuel storage depot.
While Ukraine hasn’t confirmed the attack, the long-range nature of these strikes shows just how much both sides have developed their military capabilities over the course of this nearly three-year war.
With winter in full force and temperatures plummeting, the country already struggles to maintain its energy supply.
Previous Russian strikes have severely damaged Ukraine’s power grid, and the cold weather makes it even harder to restore services.
Last year, the United Nations reported that Ukraine had lost more than 60% of its energy generation capacity due to Russian bombardment.
Ukraine is working hard to rebuild its energy infrastructure, with support from Western countries.
But the constant attacks from Russia are slowing the repairs, leaving many Ukrainian citizens without heat and electricity.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned Russia’s actions.
In a social media post, Zelenskyy urged Western countries to speed up the delivery of promised air defence weapons, adding that these promises have yet to be fully fulfilled.
“We are grateful to everyone who is helping our nation,” Zelenskyy said. “But this is not just about us.
Right now, through the defence of Ukraine, we are determining whether Europe and the democratic world as a whole can reliably and effectively stop wars for the long term.”
https://www.marineinsight.com/shipping-news/russia-launches-massive-missile-drone-attacks-on-ukraines-key-gas-energy-facilities/
https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1879444015990354375
EPD uses drone to find suspect on the run
Jan. 15, 2025 at 6:36 AM PST
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) - Evansville Police say that they had to use a drone to locate a suspected drug dealer.
Officers say they saw 40-year-old Larry Lawrence near Elliott and Monroe on Tuesday around 2:40 p.m., where he picked up a passenger and drove off.
Police say Lawrence had two warrants out for his arrest.
After police say Lawrence made several abrupt lane movements, they attempted to pull him over.
Officers say Lawrence took off and they began to follow him before they lost sight of the vehicle.
After a short time, another officer says he saw the vehicle near the intersection of Cherry and 1st Streets.
EPD says the officer blocked the vehicle from fleeing and that’s when Lawrence ran away.
Police say Lawrence got away, after the officer slipped and fell on some ice.
A drone was deployed, which police say was able to find Lawrence, who was dumping out a large amount of white power from a plastic bag. Police then arrested Lawrence.
Officers say they found two more plastic bags with white powder, which tested positive for Fentanyl, where Lawrence was found, as well as marijuana and over $800 on Lawrence.
Lawrence was taken to Deaconess Hospital for exposure to Fentanyl.
After his release, he was taken to the Vanderburgh County Jail and charged with Dealing Narcotics and Resisting Law Enforcement.
https://www.14news.com/2025/01/15/epd-uses-drone-find-suspect-run/
Military Bans Drones In Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, 3 Others
Jan 15, 2025
The Nigerian military has announced a ban on the unauthorised use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), otherwise known as drones, in the Northeast region of the country.
The Air Component Commander, Air Commodore UU. Idris, issued the directives via a signal, sighted by Daily Trust.
Operation Hadin Kai, the Joint Task Force of the military in the North East, decried an upsurge in the unauthorised use of drones in the region.
Idris said the use of drones without consent poses threats in the region, particularly in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States respectively.
The statement, “The proliferation of drones for domestic and commercial purposes has led to serious security concerns.
“These concerns mainly stem from their possible use by non-state actors and criminal elements for subversive and offensive activities.
“More disturbing is that government agencies and private individuals operate these drones without due regard to the extant regulations on their operations.
”Also, the non-state actors have perfected the use of drones against military targets and Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) as witnessed in other climes.
“Recently, there have been reports of drone sightings and unauthorised drone operations in the Theatre.”
Idris further cited an instance when a passenger onboard an NGO flight from Maiduguri to Monguno was intercepted by a drone during a search at the helipad.
The event that occurred on January 7, 2025, led to the seizure of the drone, while the military commenced an investigation on the matter.
“These incidents, among others, revealed trends by individuals to operate drones without due course to safety and security with detrimental consequences,” Idris said.
The military added, “It is noteworthy to state that breaches of this restriction, no matter how insignificant, would be viewed very seriously.
“Given the aforementioned, you are please requested to strictly comply with the regulation on the ban on drone operation in the North East Theatre comprising Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa airspace in the interest of safety and security.”
https://thewhistler.ng/military-bans-drones-in-borno-yobe-adamawa-3-others/
India tests micro missile system Bhargavastra to counter Swarm drone
Updated 15-01-2025
Indigenously developed micro missile system Bhargavastra has been successfully tested at the Gopalpur Seaward firing range on 12th and 13th January.
The Indian Army Air Defence and Guided Missile School and Centre is situated at Gopalpur, Odisha.
The micro missile system has been developed to counter the threat of swarm drone attack. The successful tests were carried out in the presence of the senior Army officers.
The Bhargavastra has not been inducted into the Indian Army as the system has to undergo further tests and after the Army approves the system the government of India will decide to induct it or not.
Developer of the Bhargavastra weapon system
The Bhargavastra has been developed by the Economic Explosives Ltd (EEL), a subsidiary of the Nagpur based Solar Group.
It has been designed and developed indigenously and is said to be an effective low cost weapon system against swarm drone attack.
What is Swarm Drone Attack?
The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone is remotely controlled aerial objects which can be used for multiple purposes.
The use of drones in the battlefield was first used by the Americans to kill top leaders of Al-Qaeda and Talibans in Afghanistan.
The swarm drone attack refers to the use of multiple drones controlled by a single controller to attack the enemy.
The swarm drone as a weapon was recently used by the Iranians to successfully breach the famous Iron Dome anti- missile system of Israel.
The Ukrainians and the Russians are regularly using the swarm drone attack with loiter munitions capability to attack each other.
The swarm drone attack is very effective because the use of a sizable number of drones confuses the enemy’s radars.
The drones are comparatively cheaper and the existing counter defence weapon systems against the drones- the missiles are very expensive in comparison.
Hence many countries are searching for a cost effective anti drone weapon system.
Feature of the Bhargavastra weapon system
The Bhargavastra weapon system has a range of around 5- 6 kilometers and can neutralise multiple drones through micro munitions.
The weapon system can be mounted on mobile platforms for rapid deployment in all terrains including desert and high altitude areas.
It is a multi-layered weapon system that features a Command-and-Control Centre equipped with advanced C4I (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence) technology.
The radar of the system can detect unmanned aerial vehicles beyond 5 km and is capable of identifying targets as small as 0.01 square meters.
The weapon system can track,engage 64 targets and destroy the target within 16 seconds of its detection.
The weapon system has micro missile kill capabilities. The missiles launched by the system have lock-in capabilities on the target and can fire missiles at an interval of one second.
The weapon system is particularly effective against swarm drones which are resistant to traditional jamming or spoofing techniques employed against aerial threats.
https://utkarsh.com/current-affairs/india-tests-micro-missile-system-bhargavastra-to-counter-swarm-drone
https://www.eurasiantimes.com/pla-latest-drills-near-lac/
China ‘Drills’ With Exoskeletons, Robot Dogs & High-Power Laser Drones Close To Indian Border
January 15, 2025
China recently conducted military drills showcasing a variety of intelligent technology, including exoskeletons, robot dogs, and drones in conjunction with high-power lasers.
One of these drills was likely conducted near the disputed Line of Actual Control (LAC) ahead of India’s Army Day.
The PLA Army said in a statement on January 13 that a regiment under the PLA Xinjiang Military Command used a manned-unmanned collaborative model to enhance combat unit support during a recent logistics support exercise in an undisclosed plateau region, state-owned publication Global Times reported.
Faced with obstacles that impeded the convoy’s movement, the troops used all-terrain vehicles and unmanned vehicles to push forward with the mission.
In simulating an exigency where the roads were sabotaged, the unit members of the PLA Army unloaded the supplies from vehicles and used exoskeletons and aerial drones to navigate around the damaged areas and reach their destination.
Exoskeletons are wearable devices that enhance human strength and reduce physical strain.
One of the photographs released with the PLA statement showed a soldier with a robot dog carrying two supply boxes.
The use of robot dogs by PLA troops has been widely documented, especially in military drills at home and with overseas partners.
Using these robots for logistics reduces pressure on troops and makes the mobilization of supplies easier in difficult terrains, particularly in mountainous regions.
While the PLA did not disclose the exact “plateau location” of the drills, reports in the Indian media suggested that they were likely conducted close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the disputed border with India, which remains sensitive five years after the 2020 border stand-off.
A report in an Indian publication stated: “China’s logistics support exercise underscores its strategic intent to enhance operational readiness in high-altitude environments, particularly in the Xinjiang region, which borders Ladakh.
The inclusion of cutting-edge technologies, such as unmanned vehicles and drones, reflects Beijing’s focus on modernizing its military capabilities for asymmetric warfare.”
The report emphasized that these exercises serve as strategic posturing, demonstrating China’s capability to gather and maintain troops in disputed areas quickly.
With these training drills, the PLA wanted to iterate and establish that its soldiers could overcome the physiological difficulties of high-altitude combat by using exoskeletons.
Intriguingly, the drills come ahead of India’s Army Day on January 15.
In a recent press interaction, India’s Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi said that the two countries are still locked in a “degree of standoff” and the Indian Army was considering diplomatic negotiations to resolve the situation.
The two sides recently carried out complete disengagement in the last remaining areas in Eastern Ladakh, paving the way for the diffusion of tensions. However, that has failed to drastically alter the dynamics in the region.
“As far as the status of the standoff (with China) is concerned…we have to see what all has changed since April 2020.
Has the terrain been doctored over a period of time? Yes, both sides have doctored the terrain. Have both sides carried out constructions?
Yes. Both sides have carried out some stocking, deployment? Yes. Therefore, what it means is that there is a degree of standoff,” General Dwivedi said.
General Dwivedi described the situation along the border with China as “stable but sensitive.”
Moreover, the timing of these drills is particularly significant as it comes days after China announced the establishment of two new counties in Hotan prefecture of Xinjiang.
One of these counties includes a large portion of Aksai Chin, the Indian territory that remains under illegal occupation of China, according to India.
As per officials and experts, the move aims to buttress China’s control over the occupied territory.
Experts noted that these recent drills emphasize that it is crucial for India to continue to be vigilant and to advance its own military modernization initiatives in Ladakh.
On its part, the Indian Army also practiced winter combat in order to thwart any possible Chinese attack. However, the technological innovation in the PLA, as seen in the latest drills, maybe a cause of concern for the Indian Army.
1/2
PLA Going Hi-Tech Must Worry Its Adversaries
In a separate development, the PLA Northern Theater Command’s navy maritime defense engineering unit conducted an exercise on disposing of explosive ordnance at a shooting range on an island in Bohai Bay.
For this, the PLA troops used a drone that was fitted with a high-power laser.
First, the drone was deployed to search for the said explosive and mark its coordinates. This was followed by the deployment of a high-power laser to dispose of the explosives.
A unit member told Chinese state broadcaster CCTV that high-power lasers offer a safer and more effective way to dispose of explosives because they can be used remotely from a distance of several hundred meters.
The power is increased threefold, and the time required to dispose of an explosive is shortened by one-fifth.
China’s use of lasers is not unheard of. In fact, with drone warfare gaining prominence worldwide, mounting lasers on drones is fast becoming popular. In particular, laser-directed energy weapons (LDEWs) have the potential to revolutionize warfare.
They provide an innovative way to combat both conventional and asymmetric threats owing to their accuracy, quick targeting, scalability, affordability, and capacity to reduce collateral damage.
Laser beams have been used in combat for a long time. Their primary functions include precision aiming, distant sensing, and target tracking. However, they are increasingly being employed for disruptive missions.
Integrating lasers on drones would enhance pinpoint precision. China’s efforts to develop sophisticated laser weapons range from low-powered tactical beam emitters that can stop hostile drones to high-energy strategic systems that can destroy adversary satellites and missiles.
The country has frequently made headlines for launching military-grade lasers or dazzlers at fighter jets and warships.
However, the development of high-energy laser weapons has captured the imagination in recent years. China is said to have developed multiple laser guns and is now arming warships with laser weapons.
Chinese military expert Song Zhongping pointed out that the PLA is using unmanned technology for non-combat activities, including logistics assistance and explosives disposal, in addition to using them for actual combat missions.
“In the past, these support missions could be difficult and required manpower, but the deployment of intelligent equipment has made them more efficient,” he told the Global Times.
He stressed the employment of unmanned systems is growing quickly because they can effectively lower casualties and improve the performance of other military assets.
EurAsian Times has reported on China’s deployment of robots for logistics and combat on multiple occasions. In November 2024, for instance, China unveiled the “Lynx” advanced quadruped robot designed for rugged, off-road environments.
As per reports, it can navigate extreme terrain at high speeds and perform stunts like backflips and sharp turns, enhancing its utility in real-world applications like disaster response, combat situations, as well as exploration.
These features make it suitable for various tactical and logistical operations in military contexts, from reconnaissance missions in complex environments to providing logistical support in combat zones.
In another instance, Chinese troops deployed a machine-gun-toting “robodog” for the China-Cambodia war games that were held in May 2024.
The armed “robodogs” came equipped with remote-controlled drone soldiers with back-mounted machine guns and demonstrated exceptional mobility, even though no live-fire test was conducted.
The PLA has been put through a groundbreaking modernization drive since President Xi Jinping came to power in 2013, with the integration of cutting-edge technology and automation in combat forming a major part of this effort.
This high-tech military force is only expected to become bigger and better, as evidenced by the recent drills.
2/2
https://defensescoop.com/2025/01/14/ukraine-drones-uas-biden-administration-security-assistance-final-rundown/
A final rundown of the drones committed to Ukraine by the Biden administration
January 14, 2025
The Ukraine-Russia conflict has been the most intense two-way drone war in human history, with unmanned aerial systems being employed by both sides on a large scale for one-way attacks and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.
The Biden administration has committed more than $65 billion worth of security assistance to Kyiv since Russia’s full-scale invasion nearly three years ago, including thousands of UAS platforms via presidential drawdown authority and USAI funds.
As Joe Biden’s presidency nears its end and President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office next week, DefenseScoop has compiled a rundown of the various drones that Washington has acknowledged committing to Ukraine thus far.
Phoenix Ghost family of systems
In the early months of the war, the Pentagon made headlines when it announced that it was sending secretive “Phoenix Ghost” systems to Ukraine.
For a long time, U.S. defense officials were tight-lipped about the capability, which is a kamikaze drone, or loitering munition, that attacks its target by crashing into it.
Its development was overseen by the Air Force’s Big Safari office — which works on special projects — in partnership with AEVEX Aerospace.
In October 2024, AEVEX revealed that Phoenix Ghost is a family of systems, not a single drone model.
One of them is a loitering munition called Dominator, a Group 3 UAS (the Pentagon characterizes drones by groups on a scale of 1-5, based on size and other factors, with Group 1 on the smaller end and Group 5 on the larger end) with 5-plus hours of endurance, a range of about 500 kilometers, a top speed of 55-plus knots, and a 37-pound frag or penetrator payload capacity.
The system is 5 feet long with a 15-foot wingspan and weighs about 100 pounds with a gas engine. It can be launched and recovered from a short runway or pneumatically, and operate in GPS-denied environments, according to the manufacturer.
The system can also perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), communications relay, “full spectrum” electronic warfare and cyber missions, the company says.
Other platforms in the Phoenix Ghost family include the Disruptor — a Group 3 drone with a configuration-dependent range of 600 to 1,150 kilometers, that uses a pneumatic launcher or rocket-assisted take-off and can carry a 50-pound payload — and the Group 2 Atlas, which has a couple hours of endurance, 50-plus knot top speed, and 120-plus kilometer range with an 8-pound payload, according to AEVEX.
The vendor’s loitering munitions “achieve autonomous flight through algorithms and sensor fusion, enabling them to navigate, make decisions, and complete missions without direct intervention,” according to a company website, which noted that the platforms use visual-based navigation to “autonomously identify and follow landmarks or features in their environment, enabling precise positioning and pathfinding without reliance on GPS.”
Switchblades
The Switchblade 600 is a kamikaze drone that has a 40-plus kilometer range, 40-plus minutes of endurance, a “sprint speed” of 115 miles per hour, and can carry an anti-armor warhead, according to manufacturer AeroVironment. The all-up round weighs about 65 pounds.
“Equipped with … high-resolution EO/IR gimbaled sensors and advanced precision flight control, Switchblade 600 empowers the warfighter with quick and easy deployment via tube-launch, and the capability to fly, track and engage non-line-of-sight targets and armored vehicles with precision lethal effects without the need for external ISR or fires assets,” per the product description.
“Patented wave-off and recommit capability allows operators to abort the mission at any time and then re-engage either the same or other targets multiple times based on operator command.”
The tube-launched Switchblade 300 Block 20, meanwhile, can be deployed in less than 2 minutes and has a range of 30 kilometers, upwards of 20 minutes of endurance, and a “sprint speed” of 100 kilometers per hour. The all-up round weighs only about 7 pounds, according to the vendor.
“Cursor-on-target GPS coordinates provide situational awareness, information collection, targeting and feature/object recognition, that together deliver the actionable intelligence and precision firepower needed to achieve mission success across multiple domains,” per a product description.
1/3
Altius-600
The Altius-600, originally built by AREA-I — which was acquired by Anduril — is a tube-launched drone that weighs up to 27 pounds, has an endurance of up to four hours, and can be deployed from ground vehicles, aircraft and other platforms.
It’s able to carry mission-specific payload configurations that can contribute to ISR, electronic warfare, counter-UAS or “kinetic” engagement, according to a product description.
The platform’s autonomous capabilities allow one operator to control multiple assets, according to the Anduril.
“Altius-600 launches from a variety of platforms and altitudes, providing increased capabilities to any mothership,” per a product description.
Jump 20
The drone has 13-plus hours of endurance, a range of 115 miles, and a payload capacity of up to 30 pounds, according to the company.
“Runway independent, the system can be set up and operational in less than 60 minutes without the need for launch or recovery equipment,” per a product description.
Black Hornet
Black Hornet nano drones and their ISR capabilities provide dismounted soldiers with “covert situational awareness,” according to manufacturer Teledyne FLIR.
The “extremely light, nearly silent” pocket-sized systems transmit live video and HD still images back to their operators, according to a product description.
Scan Eagle
Scan Eagle is a long-endurance ISR platform that’s launched by a catapult. The Group 2 UAS can operate at altitudes up to 19,500 feet and has an endurance of about 18 hours.
It has a maximum payload weight of 11 pounds, according to manufacturer Insitu, which is owned by Boeing.
“Field-swappable payloads can be rapidly reconfigured to support a wide range of missions—electronic warfare, ISR, comms relay, overwatch and targeting,” per a product description.
Penguin
Edge Autonomy makes multiple variants of the Penguin long-endurance UAS, which can be tailored for different configurations.
The catapult-launched Penguin C Mk2 has an endurance of 20-plus hours, a 180-kilometer range, and a flight ceiling of 13,000 feet, according to the manufacturer.
“A crew of two can operate the Penguin C Mk2 and all the necessary equipment, including the pneumatic launcher.
The whole system is packed in several ruggedized containers and weighs up to 265 kg (585 lb), all of which can be transported in a single minivan, pickup, or helicopter and assembled in under an hour,” according to a product description.
There’s also a VTOL variant of the Penguin C — which has 12-plus hours of endurance — and another system known as Penguin B.
The Pentagon has not identified which variant was sent to Ukraine.
Raven
The hand-launched Raven has a range of 10 kilometers, upwards of 75 minutes of endurance, is 3 feet long and weighs less than 5 pounds.
It can be operated manually or programmed for autonomous navigation, according to maker AeroVironment.
The system “is ideal for low-altitude intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions that depend on rapid deployment,” per a product description.
“Lightweight and simple to operate, the Raven is rucksack portable and can be hand-launched for day or night observation.
The Raven has an optional stabilized gimbaled payload and delivers real-time color and/or infrared imagery to the ground control and remote viewing stations.”
2/3
Puma
Puma small UAS, manufactured by AeroVironment, can be hand launched and it’s designed to perform ISR missions.
The Puma 3 AE, a Group 1 drone, has a 20-kilometer link range, is less than 5 feet in length, weighs about 15 pounds, and has up to 3 hours of endurance, according to the company
The system “features a reinforced airframe with an optional under wing transit bay for secondary payloads and third-party applications,” per a product description.
“Available kits and accessories expand the operational capabilities by providing vertical take-off and landing in constrained area operations and GPS-denied navigation in contested environments.”
The Puma LE, a Group 2 drone that weighs about 23 pounds, can also be launched by hand and has up to 6.5 hours of endurance. The system is about 7 feet long, according to AeroVironment.
The drones have a 60-kilometer range when assisted by the company’s long-range tracking antenna.
DOD has not disclosed which variant was committed to Ukraine.
Cyberlux K8
CyberLux does not provide images or specs about the K8 on its main UAS product page.
“Lightweight and man-portable, Cyberlux UAS solutions are capable of beyond line-of-sight engagements that are enabled by first-person view (FPV) command and control.
Military customers have options including the integration with Battle Management Systems (BMS) as well as fire-and-forget technologies substantially resistant to EW,” the company states on its website.
In a Nov. 15, 2024, shareholder update, company CEO Mark Schmidt noted that the firm has “evolved” the original K8 drones into newer configurations that are part of its “X” series, noting that the manufacturer had “ongoing activity in Ukraine working to secure additional contracts” for its UAS and other business units.
One of the vendor’s X series drones, the X-8.10, has a range of about 6 miles, a payload weight of 6 pounds, a max speed of 86 miles per hour, and an endurance of 12 minutes when carrying a payload, according to a product description.
The company did not respond to a request for K8 product info and imagery.
The Wall Street Journal published a story about the company in March 2023 that included a photo of the K8.
‘Other UAS’
The latest DOD fact sheet on Ukraine security assistance, published Jan. 9, referenced “Other UAS” on the list of equipment that’s been committed to Kyiv.
Pentagon officials have not provided additional information about those platforms. The department has previously cited operational security reasons for not providing certain information about the military systems going to Ukraine.
What’s next?
It remains to be seen whether the next U.S. administration, set to take power on Jan. 20, will commit additional drones to Ukraine.
President-elect Donald Trump said he aims to quickly bring an end to the war after he’s back in the Oval Office.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has a strong industrial base for manufacturing its own UAS, and it can keep churning them out on a large scale.
Other European nations have also contributed high-tech drones to Kyiv’s arsenal, and they may continue on that course even if Washington stops sending systems.
3/3
FBI visits Ben Affleck’s home, reportedly seeking footage of unauthorized drone
January 14, 2025 | 1:44 PM
As the city of Los Angeles continues to battle ravaging wildfires, the FBI paid a visit to the home of actor Ben Affleck over the weekend, reportedly seeking footage of a private drone that impeded firefighting efforts.
Page Six published photographs of FBI field agents and LAPD officers visiting Affleck’s home in Brentwood, Calif. on Sunday.
According to Page Six, law enforcement officials were canvassing the neighborhood to see if security cameras had captured footage that could assist an investigation into a private drone flown over the wildfires.
The FBI’s Los Angeles field office set up a tip line seeking information about an unauthorized drone that collided with a firefighting aircraft known as a “super scooper” above the Palisades wildfire.
“An unauthorized drone flying in violation of an FAA temporary flight restriction (TFR) collided with a firefighting aircraft,” read the FBI’s release.
“The aircraft, commonly referred to as a ‘super scooper,’ was conducting fire suppression operations at the Palisades Fire near Malibu, California, and was able to land safely.
The collision left a 3 x 6 inch hole in the left wing.”
An FBI source told Page Six that “members of the FBI‘s Ground Intercept task force” would continue to visit residences in the area regarding “unauthorized drone activity.”
Affleck headed to the home of ex-wife Jennifer Garner and their three children — Violet, 19, Seraphina, 16, and Samuel, 12 — after the Palisades wildfire forced him to evacuate last week.
He was ultimately able to return home, and his residence was seemingly undamaged.
Celebrities who lost their homes in the California wildfires include Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore, Mel Gibson, Paris Hilton, and Jeff Bridges.
As of Tuesday morning, the wildfires have killed at least 24 people and destroyed more than 12,000 structures.
Due to continued high winds, meteorologists at the National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for extreme fire danger in effect for large swaths of the greater Los Angeles area through Wednesday.
https://www.boston.com/culture/celebs/2025/01/14/fbi-visits-ben-affleck-drone-footage-wildfires/
Anger after drones ground water bombers at Manypeaks bushfire in Western Australia
January 14, 2025
Emergency services say recreational drone users are putting firefighters at risk after a fleet of water bombers had to be grounded during a bushfire in southern Western Australia.
Firefighting efforts at Manypeaks, 430 kilometres south-east of Perth, were hampered last week when air support had to be suspended due to drones flying over the blaze.
The issue is growing internationally, with the FBI searching for the owner of a drone that crashed into a firefighting aircraft in Los Angeles last week.
Crews and residents at risk
Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) superintendent of aviation services Ray Buchan said drones were becoming increasingly problematic for fire crews.
"Whenever we get a drone sighting over a fire, it makes us put all the aircraft on the ground or send them back to their base until we can clear the area," he said.
"We've had several incidents recently where we've suspended operations for up to an hour or more waiting for clearance of the drone from the area."
With aerial support critical in fighting fast-moving fires, Superintendent Buchan said the behaviour was putting crews and residents at risk.
"It is becoming a bigger part of our operations, so if we take that element out it's effectively like taking fire trucks off the ground," he said.
"We don't have those assets over the fire, dropping water, and protecting the safety of the firefighters."
Superintendent Buchan said a drone's maximum altitude often converged with the operational altitude of DFES aerial units, creating danger zones for pilots already flying in difficult conditions.
"The most risky part of any operation is as they approach to drop," he said.
"If they're coming in at low speed, they're heavy and they've dropped their load and they are departing out under low speed and under full power — that's when the aircraft is most vulnerable."
'No room for error'
Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) rules stipulate operators are not allowed to fly drones over or near areas where emergency operations — including firefighting efforts — are underway, with significant penalties for breaches.
There are numerous apps for drone operators that show active fires, and where drones can and cannot be flown.
But commercial drone pilot Brad Harkup said recreational users were still putting others at risk.
"I've seen it firsthand, drones flying around in bushfires," he said.
"They're not people out to do the wrong thing, a lot of people aren't educated … however, it can have grave or timely consequences.
"Because water bombers are flying at such low altitudes, there is no room for error at all."
Unlike recreational drones, commercial drones have aircraft surveillance technology, stopping them from interfering in emergencies.
"My drones have what we call ADS-B on them, so the aircraft can see my drone, I can see the aircraft," Mr Harkup said.
Professional camera technology on larger drones also enables them to capture photos from a safe distance.
Mr Harkup said if unlicensed pilots continued to encroach on no-fly zones, tracking technology being used by private industries like the mining sector could be a solution.
"Hopefully, down the track, there will be a drone detection system [for unlicensed pilots]," he said.
"It can pinpoint exactly where the pilot is, where the drone is, the serial number — that would be one way to do it."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-15/recreational-drones-ground-water-bombers-battling-fire-wa/104815554
Hamilton County sheriff unveils crime-fighting drone program to respond to calls
Updated: 6:42 PM EST Jan 14, 2025
CINCINNATI — The Hamilton County sheriff's department unveiled its new high-tech crime center and the program that makes it the first in Ohio to use drones as a first responder.
“It’s pretty futuristic,” said Kevin Boyle, spokesman for Skydio drone systems.
“What we're able to do from the Skydio X-10 is provide real-time situational awareness to members of the sheriff’s department in the Real Time Crime Center.”
The Skydio X-10 drones are equipped with cameras and night vision that can be monitored at the sheriff’s Real Time Operations Center on Hamilton Avenue.
The drones will be dispatched in an emergency and, in many cases, will arrive before officers.
The camera feed from the drone is monitored and details about the scene are relayed to deputies arriving at the scene.
“The real hope is to provide oversight and safety to our officers,” said Hamilton County Lt. Steve Sabers, who is in charge of the Real Time Operations Center.
The reach of the center is evolving, but from inside, they are able to tap into cameras on the street, in schools, in libraries and elsewhere, and the network is expanding.
It also includes the body camera worn by every deputy.
“We’re able to livestream their body cameras, see where they're at,” Sabers said.
“So we're going to – we'll be able to see all of our deputies who are on details out on patrol, at the courthouse, anybody wearing a body camera we’ll be able to see where they're at.”
The program is running eight hours a day right now but is expected to expand to 16 hours a day within the year and eventually 24 hours a day.
https://www.wlwt.com/article/los-angeles-fires-victims/63409150
Wrong sauce
https://www.wlwt.com/article/hamilton-county-sheriff-crime-fighting-drone-program/63425386
A UFO true believer made a grand strategy space game with input from alien abductees, but now claims shadowy forces have shut it down with a bomb threat
January 15, 2025
Take a big old sip of coffee. Universal Conquest, a space grand strategy game "based on personal interviews with alien abductees" and allegedly in development for over a decade, has been voluntarily de-listed from Steam by its solo dev, following what they describe as "an offer we couldn't refuse".
And breathe. Universal Conquest first appeared on Steam in June last year, promising a 4X/RTS hybrid set in the far-flung space future where you "carve your empire out of the cosmos".
It was nothing if not ambitious, featuring land, air, sea and space combat, over 5000 different units, a procgen universe, species customisation, and then of course that special sauce: "Developed through the consultancy of alien abductees and their contacts."
The developer of Universal Conquest is listed as Reptilian Games, which will interest David Icke, alongside Darkweb Warlocks.
They also seem to go by the name "Dan" and, when replying to negative comments on Steam, "Big Chungus."
So are you ready to "Strech [sic] your mighty hands across the vast reaches of space and dominate the universe"? Tough luck:
"We're being forced to take the game offline," begins a new Steam announcement, which appeared as all previous developer blogs on the game were deleted.
"We can't answer too many questions, but law enforcement knows. And that's part of the problem."
The developer claims "we received a threat that wasn't entirely lawful in nature to shut down the game and remove it from sale.
Because the threat was a real, valid threat—and we have indirectly reported it to law enforcement already—we felt that it was wise to not allow the product to be sold anymore for the physical protection of our users and staff and relations."
Universal Conquest is no longer available for purchase on Steam. But things don't stop there.
The developer says they don't have the money "to fight something this large in court," before adding that "we probably couldn't fight it in court regardless."
Here come the Men in Black? Apparently so, because "there's bigger fish in the sea than us" and now we get to the real problem: "Some of the information we made the game with wasn't supposed to be shared with the public […]
I will say that it was for entirely good reasons that this information wasn't being shared, and that the 'disclosure' scenario has a happy ending. Regrettably, this game did not."
So a game made in consultancy with alien abductees is here implying that some of the information the game contained was of such Earth-shattering significance that dark forces have conspired to shut it down. Forces beyond the law!
It was all too much for one player, who took to the game's review page to share his own experience with Universal Conquest.
"This game is a scam, the vast majority of the developer's claims are false, and I was banned from discussions for questioning him," says Wyxian.
"He claims to have gotten a bomb threat and 'an offer he can't refuse, but cannot substantiate either of these claims and is being extremely vague about them which makes him look like a liar."
Wyxian goes on to drop further bombs, claiming that the game "is not made with any actual information from real aliens" and the developer "takes Internet larpers calling themselves aliens on random forums at face value".
They call on the developer to prove their various claims and that they're in contact with them aliens, before accusing them of fabricating reasons to abandon the game.
Amazingly enough, developer Big Chungus responds to say "we did receive a bomb threat", before accusing Wyxian of "talk[ing] smack" and in fact being emblematic of the "miserable" reviews and posts "that killed this project". Wait, I thought it was the Feds?
Big Chungus graciously concedes that "Star Wars: Total War or whatever can have the limelight" now, and they want nothing more to do with videogames.
"I spent 15 years on video games, built the game everyone wanted to play, and this was the feedback I got. Meditate on that." They end by offering a "word scabble [sic]" to Wyxian: "kFcu Ouy."
I'm not sure we need the NASA codebreakers for that one. You can no longer buy Universal Conquest and the Discord has disappeared, though the official website remains live.
Because the internet is the internet, some are already spreading the rumour that this was taken down by shadowy figures for containing real information about aliens.
That could possibly be the case. Or this could all have been one man's fever dream. All I can say for sure is… the truth is out there.
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/game-made-in-consultancy-with-alien-abductees-delists-itself-after-claiming-it-received-a-bomb-threat-and-the-authorities-are-part-of-the-problem/
A huge drone-like object was reportedly seen flying over Huntsville, Ontario
Jan 14, 2025 Updated
A drone-like object the “size of a bus” was reportedly witnessed flying in the sky over the small Ontario town of Huntsville last week.
But what was it exactly? We might never know definitively.
This recent sighting comes after a flurry of media coverage of unidentified drone sightings in New Jersey and elsewhere in the world — including in Ontario.
The sightings have left many wondering about the strange objects seen in the sky.
Last month, Christian Stepien, chief technology officer for the National UFO Reporting Center, a U.S. based non-profit that collects UFO reports from the U.S., Canada and around the world, confirmed their organization is experiencing a surge in reports of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) — including from Canada.
Here's what was witnessed in Huntsville recently — and how you can report a strange sighting in the sky.
What was seen in Huntsville?
Devid Otto and his fiancé Diana Lizeth reported seeing something strange in Huntsville when stopped at the intersection of Highway 60 and King William Street around 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 7.
Otto said approximately 60 to 80 feet above them hovered a massive, black, rectangular object, its three dim yellow lights glowing in the night.
“I want you to understand that this … was the size of a bus,” he said. “I don't care what anybody tells me.”
What did authorities say about that incident?
While an Ornge helicopter had been in the area the same morning the couple said they encountered the strange object in the sky, they remain convinced it was not a helicopter.
A Transport Canada spokesperson said they haven't received any reports regarding sightings of a large drone in the area of Huntsville on Jan. 7.
Other strange sightings in Ontario skies
The Canadian UAP reports collected by the National UFO Reporting Center are primarily coming from Ontario — including a video submitted from London described by Stepien as “one of the most dramatic videos we've gotten in a long time.”
Stepien said a woman in London saw “one of these drones” what “hovered over a tree in her backyard and was shining an incredibly bright light.”
According to the National UFO Reporting Center's website, the incident began at 6:58 p.m., on Dec. 13 and lasted for a period of 3.5 hours where a witness observed multiple large dronelike objects with white lights that flashed red and green.
“The event escalated when a giant, bright spotlight silently hovered above the trees in their yard for about 40 minutes,” the report description reads.
“Multiple additional objects, smaller in comparison, seemed to fly around this central light.”
What should I do if I see something dronelike, UAPs or UFOs seen in the sky?
Transport Canada said it reviews all complaints and reports of possible violations involving a drone to determine if an investigation is warranted and whether an offence has occurred under the Canadian Aviation Regulations.
“Local police may also be involved if other laws were broken,” a Transport Canada spokesperson said. “Anyone who witnesses unsafe or illegal drone use should contact Transport Canada or local law enforcement.”
Transport Canada urges witnesses to record as much information as possible to help the department review incidents more effectively, such as clear photos or videos, date, time, drone type and other identifying marks.
Witnesses can report their concerns to Transport Canada through its drone incident reporting portal. Other aviation incidents may be reported at Incident reporting: Report an aviation incident.
The U.S.-based National UFO Reporting Center encourages people to use its website to report occurrences.
https://www.toronto.com/news/a-huge-drone-like-object-was-reportedly-seen-flying-over-huntsville-heres-what-to-do/article_f4f2db7b-ef42-5a6f-8d68-a322e02e451d.html
https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/drone-safety/report-drone-incident
'UFO Revolution' Jeremy Corbell Pushing For UAP Transparency… With Target on His Back!!!
1/15/2025 12:01 AM PT
The "UFO Revolution" is now on Congress' doorstep … and Jeremy Corbell is on a mission to let the American public know what's going on in our skies.
The new season of "TMZ Presents: UFO Revolution" follows Jeremy's mission to uncover the truth about UFOs … and this time, he's up against powerful figures in Washington D.C. who are trying to cover up the truth.
Jeremy, a journalist and filmmaker, is taking matters into his own hands in Season 2 … making sure the world knows the real UFO story.
The 3-part docuseries follows Jeremy after his release of one of the most jaw-dropping videos of a UAP we've ever seen: the Jellyfish UFO … and takes you behind closed doors of the events leading to the latest Congressional hearing on the topic.
This Congressional hearing was held in November to tackle the UFO issue … and cameras were rolling for one of the most controversial and talked-about hearings in recent memory – and Jeremy was right in the thick of things.
Jeremy won't let a lie go unchecked before the American public … and he's not going quietly into the night.
Watch 'UFO Revolution' a 3-Part Event January 15, 16 and 17 on Tubi for FREE.
https://www.tmz.com/2025/01/15/ufo-revolution-season-2-trailer/
https://tubitv.com/series/300002259/tmz-presents-ufo-revolution
https://www.instagram.com/jeremycorbell/
Army Green Beret claims alien technology recovered from UFO crash is stored at underground Naval base
Updated: 18:21 EST, 14 January 2025
An Army Green Beret has made startling claims about encountering alien technology inside a secret underground US Navy base in 2014.
Randy Anderson, who served eight years in the Army Special Forces, was conducting weapons training at the Naval Support Activity Crane in Indiana when he and another Green Beret were escorted into an elevator and taken below ground.
'We moved down a hallway and entered an area with a marking on the wall that said 'Off-world technology,'' Anderson recalled. 'Immediately, alarm bells went off in my head. That's when the strange sh** started happening.'
Anderson described a room containing a 'metallic, basketball-sized sphere' that was 'levitating above a podium' and appeared 'unnatural.'
'[The researchers] began explaining that it had been recovered from a craft that had crashed,' he said. 'I remember them saying it was a control mechanism for the craft… and that it interacted with consciousness.'
He also described being shown a rectangular metallic object with a crystal-like screen that could wrap around a person's forearm.
'It almost looked like a mirage effect,' Anderson said. 'Above the screen, hieroglyphic symbols began to appear. It seemed to be some kind of communication tool.'
Anderson explained that he decided to come forward after a decade of silence, inspired by other whistleblowers who have spoken out.
He mentioned his friend Mike Herrera, a US Marine who went public in 2023, really inspired him.
Herrera claimed that he and his six-man unit witnessed a flying saucer being loaded with weapons while serving in Indonesia in 2009.
'I saw David Grusch was brave enough to come out [and] that guy had some really high level information,' Anderson said while speaking with Jesse Michels, the host of American Alchemy.
'That took a lot of risk doing that and who am I to protect my little story? I think it's important to tell it because it adds to the credibility and of all these guys that are doing it.'
Grusch - a former high-ranking intelligence official - was one of three military whistleblowers who testified under oath that they had firsthand encounters or knowledge about secret government programs involving technology that is 'non-human.'
He claimed that the US has had UFOs since 'the 1930s’ and has been secretly back-engineering them and carrying out a public disinformation campaign to prevent the details from leaking publicly.
Naval Support Activity Crane is a US Navy facility that provides technical support and engineering services for the military.
Anderson said he was at the facility to do a course in advanced weapon training, along with units of armorers, special operations and other Green Berets.
'There was only me and one other guy who was exposed to what we were exposed to,' he said.
Anderson then pulled a document that shows he was certified at Naval Support Activity Crane for completing the 'USAOCSOF-p Weapons Repair Course, but the certificate does not feature a date for when it was given.
The [elevator] door opens, we go through a security-type checkpoint,' he said.
'The first thing that stood out to me was that it was significantly more modern than everything up top and that that was odd.'
The soldiers said there were foreign weapons in the secret facility from Russia and China that America had captured. 'It was pretty advanced stuff,' he said.
A few moments later, Anderson spied a plaque on a door that read 'Off-world technologies' that led to the metallic orb.
He told Michels he had an uncomfortable, ominous feeling looking at the strange object.
'It could have been something that triggered an evaluation for me and this guy, and they brought us out there to see if we would react to the technology,' said Anderson.
He gave a similar interview five months prior to YouTuber UAP Gerb, where he discussed the technology in more detail.
During that discussion, Anderson described the orb 'almost looking like liquid, but it was metallic.'
'Both the items they had under there, they said somehow interacted with consciousness,' Anderson said. 'Certain people will go up to the object and it will respond.'
He suggested the response could have been related to the person's DNA or consciousness.
However, Anderson claimed something may have been done to his memories following the secret meeting below the Indiana base.
'There's a really weird component to this, and I don't know what this means, but when I think back to this particular memory and, and this never happens to me in any other thing, I get real fuzzy,' he said.
'It gets real fuzzy like almost something was purposely done to make it that way.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14285049/army-green-beret-alien-technology-ufo-crash-naval-base.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sct30Qijfv8
UFO Whistleblower: “I Saw Alien Tech In An Underground Base”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sct30Qijfv8
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/alien-abduction-ufo-wyoming-father-2_n_6786ed52e4b009ff25909b7b
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp8uAcZYT3g
My Dad Was A Famous Alien Abductee. I Thought He Was A Joke — Here's Why I'm Not So Sure Anymore.
Jan 14, 2025, 06:06 PM EST
There’s one video available on the internet concerning my father, Patrick McGuire. It’s strange. Uploaded to YouTube 15 years ago — though clearly recorded much earlier — the video frames another TV screen.
There is constant static, and the image is fractured as if the broadcast comes from far away. My father is discussing cattle mutilations under hypnosis.
“We come up on a cow that was dead. They cut the nose off, tongues out and the sex organs were gone,” he recounts as though he is sleepwalking through a nightmare.
He goes on to describe in great detail a “spaceship” that landed on his ranch and took members of his herd ― their distant, terrified animal cries filling those dark prairie nights.
One comment below the video reads, “Having lived and worked with cow-men, can you immagine this guy going to town after this got out publicly. I mean they are a finicky bunch to say the least.”
I don’t have to imagine. I grew up with him walking through our small Western town, his life by then fractured like that broadcast.
He was completely destitute, picking through my classmates’ garbage, and when a classmate came to school the next day and told me what they saw, their grin, and subsequent laughter, left little to the imagination.
However, I then joined in with their laughter. That commenter was right: We are a finicky bunch, to say the least.
On May 14, 2009, my father passed away in a Colorado hospital due to cancer. He was 67. I did not speak to him before he died. His last years were spent in homelessness, though he hadn’t always lived that way.
His last words, so I heard, were about grand conspiracies and sinister deep states, though he hadn’t always spoken about such topics.
My father’s legacy in our small Wyoming town ― and inside our family ― is stained with his tales of alien abduction, interstellar prophecy and the insistence he was chosen, though he had not always been chosen.
There was a time before my birth when he was obsessed with the lore of his rural community, the spiraling complexities of high school dances and the schemes of enlarging his Roman Catholic family. He was normal, caring and complete.
That was before the stars came knocking.
When I first saw the bold headline “Intelligence Officials Say U.S. Has Retrieved Craft of Non-Human Origin,” published June 5, 2023, in The Debrief, I initially didn’t think about whether the headline was true.
I didn’t contemplate what the recovered crafts might look like or that “non-human” was just another euphemism for the same thing we have been talking about since 1947 ― I thought about my father.
I can see him now as though he were alive today, black cowboy hat tilted, face tanned and cracked from the high plains sun, saying, “Who’s laughing now?”
I’m not laughing anymore, but not because I know what that headline is saying is absolutely true and proof lies just around the corner; I’m not laughing because I should never have laughed in the first place.
In 2017, The New York Times broke news about a previously unknown Pentagon department: the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP).
This department was involved in investigating what were formerly called UFOs, now referred to as Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP).
More shifting euphemisms and acronyms for us to track. Since then, the news surrounding these phenomena has steadily grown.
There was a congressional hearing in 2022, the creation of a governmental department called the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) and a NASA hearing devoted to encountered ― or not encountered ― UAPs.
And now a new whistleblower, former intelligence official and AATIP task force member David Grusch, claims a government cover-up.
“These [programs] are retrieving non-human origin technical vehicles, call it spacecraft if you will, non-human exotic origin vehicles that have either landed or crashed,” he stated to NewsNation recently.
What once seemed to be the premise for the next ”X-Files” reboot has become front page news, gaining mainstream consideration by the serious, the rational, the institutional and the scientific.
1/3
It’s strange to be here in this cultural moment. I think many people feel that to some degree.
Whether this is all true or not, it is unmooring to read that U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) is demanding disclosure on a subject that, only a decade ago, would have been political suicide to even mention.
To read former Pentagon official Lue Elizondo state, “My personal belief is that there is very compelling evidence that we may not be alone” is surreal, and stranger still is reading about governmental UFO agencies and “Black Money” in The New York Times.
D.W. Pasulka, author of the 2019 book ”American Cosmic,” an exploration of our cultural interaction with the UFO phenomena, recently referred to this specific whistleblower event and to the preceding media coverage as a “paradigm shift,” a fundamental change in the way we conceptualize an issue.
“That is,” she explained, “there is huge pressure from [the] fringe, then marginal sources that finally initiate a shift in consensus.”
And there is an unexpected change in our current moment from the one that preceded it, though now it feels to me — perhaps, given my family history, more than most — like there has also been an unexpected change in the past.
The stigma against people who believe in UFOs may go back to the very birth of the topic itself, when the first reports of UFOs described by Kenneth Arnold went from “saucer,” “disk” and “pie pan” to sensational terms like “flying saucers” in the press, for which Arnold later stated, “I have, of course, suffered some embarrassment here and there by misquotes and misinformation.”
From there, this subject expanded to include tropes like anal probes, stock characters in films living their lonely, manic lives in houses criss-crossed with spiderwebs of yarn.
Abductees have been satirized on “Saturday Night Live” and in popular beer commercials.
Even famed Harvard psychologist Richard J. McNally stated in his past clinical research into the abduction phenomenon that “it occasionally took [a researcher] several tries to record these [abduction] narratives properly.
He would sometimes burst out laughing while trying to record these stories with the necessary solemnity.”
Insincerity and mockery has shrouded the subject so thoroughly that NASA recently shared at a hearing that “the stigma associated with reporting UFO sightings — as well as the harassment of people who work to investigate them — may be hindering efforts to determine their origins.”
I know that stigma well ― having experienced it from both sides. My father was born and raised in Wyoming and was a rancher like his father and his grandfather.
He nestled into a Western community that branded their cattle and youth alike with abstract symbols, that found definition in the regularity of rain and saw acreage as an inappropriate subject to discuss openly.
“Asking about the size of a man’s spread is like asking to look at his checkbook,” he said to me once, laughing.
And one local recently told me, “He could break a horse like nobody’s business. He was real sharp like that. Shame what happened to him.”
My father saw UFOs. Not one, once, like a dinner guest might claim after a few glasses of wine, but many times.
Numerous UFOs all at once, up close, lingering in the western Wyoming sky like a nightmare that refused to dissipate come sunrise.
In 1981, on NBC’s prime-time TV show “That’s Incredible,” my father’s story gained national attention as he related, under hypnosis, the specifics of his abduction claims and the demands aliens had made upon his life.
On the March 5, 1980, airing of ABC’s ”Eyewitness News,” he reported that UFOs had landed on his ranch “somewhere around 25, 30 times,” and witnesses present were quoted as saying they saw “two or three of them land at separate times… [and] we stayed and watched the sun come up and we saw two of them, in daylight, hovering in two separate places.”
A headline in the March 24, 1981, National Enquirer reads, “Farmer: Aliens Use My Ranch as Their Landing Place,” and it reports that “Local newspaper and television reporters have also seen strange lights darting over the McGuire ranch.”
There appeared to be no shortage of witnesses to what was happening on his land.
“While we cannot be certain of what we saw,” Casper Star Tribune investigative reporter Greg Bean wrote on June 29, 1980, “none of us left the McGuire farm with as much skepticism as we arrived with. Perhaps we can return.”
2/3
My father’s claims continued. Under hypnosis with famous UFO psychologist R. Leo Sprinkle, he recounted abductions by “Star People,” who demanded his actions in conjunction with their plan for humanity.
These Star People told him of a coming climate apocalypse.
Following this hypnosis, in a mere handful of years, he was completely destitute without home or family, and he claimed that governmental forces were keeping him that way because of what he saw and said.
This story is a regular in the UFO community. In fact, the story of Grusch, the whistleblower, is no surprise to the community, the folks who did believe and respect my father.
Covert conspiracies, recovered craft, Nazi research and “non-human origins” ― almost everything the whistleblower related, my father related to me in similar fashion at some point in my life.
From the earliest points in my childhood, I was told that UFOs were nothing to make light of. At every turn, every nightfall, through any locked door — the Star People could take anyone, even me.
My father’s description of the Star People, and my subsequent nightmares, matched what our culture has come to expect: 5-foot hairless beings with eyes like colorless pools hovering by my bedside.
Soon classmates and teachers alike were smirking at my fears, and then, like any sociological contagion, I began to smirk, too.
Then TV took over for my teachers, and “South Park, “Coneheads” and “Mars Attacks” taught me that this was, indeed, a laughing matter.
My brothers and I laughed when our father talked about the implants and their accompanying pain.
We laughed when he claimed he could barely walk after what the Star People did to him.
We laughed when he said that he was suing the government for the land they took from him, for destroying his life, for destroying our lives. We laughed. The world laughed.
If you were not one to laugh about UFOs, then you didn’t say anything at all, and if you did, you hesitantly considered the person you were talking to first, making sure they would not laugh at you, too, before you said anything at all.
For many, it was a precarious high-wire if one was to discuss the trauma of the phenomenon or its reality.
When we weren’t getting our meals in school, my father often took us to the local soup kitchen in a basement bunker in the town Episcopal cathedral.
I remember best the dampness of the walls and the claustrophobia of dining elbow-to-elbow with the other folks weathering the financial storms outside.
Breaking expired bread to share over lentil soup, we were often the only children in attendance. For most of the diners, this was the last place to go.
The person across from me would make small talk between spoonfuls, but nothing of the weather or local gossip. In the soup kitchen, the talk was of remote viewing, reverse-engineering and tapping into the collective unconscious for cosmic spiritual growth.
I would nod with feigned excitement and encourage them to continue, go deeper.
“What about the face of Mars?” I would ask with a smile. My brothers and I often failed to contain our laughter.
3/3