TYB
https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/European_Resilience_from_Space_Earth_Observation
moar ESA
https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Week_in_images/Week_in_images_12-16_October_2026
https://www.pokemon.com/uk/features/our-visit-to-the-pokemon-esa-exhibition-at-cite-de-lespace
https://x.com/Soph_astro/status/2111123479709786534
https://x.com/Soph_astro/status/2110302224819662931
European Resilience from Space–Earth Observation
October 16, 2026
Against the backdrop of growing geopolitical challenges and their implications for security, the European Resilience from Space (ERS) initiative is a strategic effort by ESA and its Member States to strengthen Europe’s resilience, security and autonomy through space-based assets, while jointly and promptly addressing critical gaps.
ERS is conceived as a system-of-systems, bringing together complementary capabilities in the fields of Earth observation (EO), positioning, navigation and timing (PNT), and secure connectivity.
Rather than treating these as separate services, ERS aims to integrate them into a resilient architecture that can support Europe in preparing for, responding to and recovering from crises.
In short, the combination of Earth observation, navigation and connectivity for applications related to safety and security is the backbone of the ERS initiative.
As the Earth observation pillar of ERS, the ERS-EO programme aims to ensure that Europe has reliable, secure and timely access to the information needed to understand what is happening on the ground.
Earth-observing satellites can provide critical situational awareness during natural disasters, humanitarian emergencies, security incidents and geopolitical crises, helping authorised users make informed decisions based on independent space-based information.
By harnessing the power of Earth observation, ERS-EO aims to address the need for very high-resolution imaging and high revisit capabilities – made possible by large satellite constellations, while ensuring guaranteed, secure and rapid access to data. Its security posture will meet the needs of both civil and military users.
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ERS-EO is divided into two main elements.
Element 1 focuses on preparing the foundations for the European Union’s planned Earth Observation Governmental Service (EOGS), through technology development, in-orbit demonstration and validation activities.
These activities will enable new technologies and operational concepts to be tested and matured before decisions are taken on future operational capabilities.
In this respect, ERS-EO will provide the technological, architectural and operational foundations for this future service, helping to bridge today’s diverse European Earth observation assets with a more integrated service capable of delivering timely information when strategic circumstances demand it.
Element 2 focuses on scalable and adaptable solutions that bring together national, institutional and commercial Earth observation resources.
It advances a federated architecture in which these resources can contribute to a coordinated European capability through common standards, interfaces and secure operating arrangements.
Element 2 includes several projects, such as a Cluster enabling a subset of Participating States to establish their own federation of sovereign resources while remaining compatible with the overall ERS-EO architecture.
ERS-EO is therefore more than a conventional ESA Earth-observation programme. Its objective is to develop capabilities that are responsive, resilient and secure, while complementing the substantial Earth observation infrastructure that Europe already possesses.
This includes ESA Earth observation missions, Copernicus, national satellite systems and commercial resources. Rather than duplicating these capabilities, ERS-EO seeks to make better use of them and address critical gaps through a more coordinated and federated approach thanks to its two Elements.
The system of systems approach of the wider ERS initiative brings additional value to Europe’s Earth observation capacities.
In a crisis, collecting satellite images is only one part of the process. Secure and resilient connectivity is needed to transmit information rapidly to authorised users, while resilient PNT capabilities provide positioning, navigation and timing.
By integrating these elements, ERS aims to create a coherent space-based capability through which Europe can collect information, establish where and when events are occurring, and securely deliver relevant information to those who need it.
ERS-EO is therefore an integral part of the wider ERS vision rather than a standalone Earth observation programme.
ERS provides the overarching resilience architecture, ERS-EO provides the sensing and information layer, and the future EOGS represents a key governmental Earth observation service emerging from that layer.
Combined with resilient PNT and secure connectivity, these capabilities are intended to strengthen Europe’s ability to operate autonomously and respond effectively to emergencies and geopolitical challenges for a more resilient, secure and autonomous Europe.
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Japan-led team completes telescopes in Spain to study space mysteries
Oct 16, 2026 - 14:25
LA PALMA, Spain - Four giant telescopes developed under Japan's leadership have been completed on a Spanish island as part of an international effort to explore cosmic mysteries including black holes and dark matter.
A ceremony was held Thursday on La Palma in the Canary Islands to mark the completion of the telescopes, each equipped with a 23-meter reflector, ahead of the start of full observations, likely next year.
Takaaki Kajita, a distinguished university professor at the University of Tokyo, expressed hope that the telescopes would open a new important window into space.
The four telescopes are part of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory, or CTAO, an international project that will operate telescopes of different sizes on La Palma and at Paranal in Chile as a single observatory.
The telescopes will capture faint flashes of light produced when high-energy gamma rays from sources such as black holes and exploding stars enter Earth's atmosphere.
Analyzing these flashes, known as Cherenkov light, allows scientists to trace the rays to their sources, according to Hidetoshi Kubo, who leads the Japanese research group.
Each telescope has an ultrafast camera and can turn 180 degrees in 20 seconds, allowing it to quickly track sudden events in space.
Researchers say the telescopes will be able to study objects about 12 billion light-years away, offering a view of the universe just 1.6 billion years after its birth.
Masahiro Teshima, a University of Tokyo professor emeritus and a leading project member, said at a press conference after the ceremony that he hoped the observations using the telescopes would lead to the discovery of dark matter.
A total of 25 countries participate in the CTAO project, with around 30 Japanese institutions involved.
https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/88432
Trump could have Zelensky arrested – Galloway
15 Oct, 2026 18:57 | Updated 15 Oct, 2026 20:00
US President Donald Trump could have Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky arrested on corruption charges, former British MP George Galloway has predicted.
Tensions between the two men escalated after Zelensky challenged Trump’s deal with Moscow to ease restrictions on Russian diesel exports.
Washington has repeatedly demanded that Kiev stop striking Russian oil refineries, warning that continued attacks could jeopardize US intelligence sharing and Starlink support.
Kiev has pressed ahead with the strikes, while Zelensky has accused Trump of “betrayal” and “weakness.”
Speaking to RT on Thursday, Galloway, who also hosts The Mother of All Talk Shows, suggested that Zelensky’s defiance of Trump could cost him his position.
“I’m going to predict to you that Trump will organize the anti-corruption units that he arguably controls in Kiev to march into Zelensky’s office at some point soon and place him under arrest for grand larceny, for corruption on a scale that we have never seen in politics ever before,” he said.
“This is a regime in the process of collapse,” Galloway added.
He cautioned, however, that a change of leadership would not necessarily end the Ukraine conflict, arguing that Kiev would also have to abandon its NATO ambitions and adopt a policy of neutrality.
Galloway also argued that Ukraine had no viable replacement for Starlink and that losing access to the satellite service could severely hamper its military operations.
The former lawmaker criticized London’s continued financial support to Kiev, accusing UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s government of neglecting British pensioners and children living in poverty.
“He certainly never goes away from Britain empty-handed,” Galloway said, responding to Burnham’s assurance that Zelensky would not leave the country without further support.
He accused Britain’s political establishment of harboring a centuries-old hostility toward Russia, saying, “We are ruled by people who are still fighting the Crimean War.”
Galloway suggested that Britain could ultimately become Zelensky’s refuge if he loses power, describing the country as his “safest of havens.”
In September 2025, Galloway and his wife were detained and questioned by counterterrorism police at London’s Gatwick Airport after returning from Russia.
Both were released without charge. Last month, Galloway said the Bank of Scotland had closed accounts he held for 39 years without explanation. The bank denied closing the accounts on political grounds.
https://rt-english.com/news/647229-zelensky-us-trump-confrontation/
moar RT
https://rt-english.com/russia/647295-ukraine-alternatives-starlink-intelligence/
https://rt-english.com/news/647287-russian-oil-starlink-trump-pressure-zelensky/
https://rt-english.com/russia/647316-putin-strategic-companies-rules/
https://rt-english.com/news/647252-us-proposes-unfreezing-russian-assets/
DEEP STRIKE Ukraine unveils lethal ‘Thor Hammer’ strike drone as Kyiv blitzes chemical hub 3,000km from border
13:14, 16 Oct 2026
UKRAINE has unveiled a lethal “Thor Hammer” attack drone which promises to deliver crushing blows using AI guidance.
It comes as Kyiv launched a devastating blitz on one of Vladimir Putin’s key chemical hubs more than 3,000km behind the frontline.
Ukrainian defence firm SkyFall revealed its Thor Hammer drone – a middle-range weapon that can fly as far as 600km.
The cutting-edge device can carry warheads of up to 50kg and cost as little as £19,000 to make.
Two versions of the drone have been released so far, with range of up to 350km and 600km.
Each drone has a 3.5m wingspan and travel at breakneck speeds of up to 180km/h.
Ukrainian forces will be able to prepare the system for launch within just 18 minutes.
The weapon can carry fragmentation, high-explosive fragmentation or other warhead configurations.
It can be launched using a catapult or take off with rockets.
Starlink can be equipped for communication, and the UAV has rigorous internal systems defending against electronic warfare and jamming.
The groundbreaking weapon also uses AI algorithms to correct the drone’s trajectory.
Terminal guidance also helps the UAV to continue flying even if its radio and video communications are lost.
It comes as Ukrainian forces attacked an industrial facility in Russia‘s Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug on Friday.
Swarms of drones pummelled the chemical plant sparking a huge inferno.
The Ukrainian OSINT monitoring channel Supernova+ named the target as the Surgut Condensate Stabilization Plant, but this has not yet been confirmed.
It is Russia’s biggest facility for processing oil and gas condensate mixtures.
The attack follows a series of drone alerts across Russia’s remote Siberian energy-producing regions.
Kyiv and Moscow have intensified missile and drone attacks on each other following a diplomatic row between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky over Russian diesel.
It comes at a time of vulnerability for Ukraine following a major Starlink outage earlier this week which hampered their air defence systems.
https://www.the-sun.com/news/17159947/ukraine-thor-hammer-drone-blitzes-chemical/
other Russia and Ukraine
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/10/16/russia-repels-644-ukrainian-drones-as-trump-calls-attacks-on-russian-refineries-disgrace-a93997
https://www.timesnownews.com/world/russia-airport-chaos-update-drone-alerts-disrupt-flights-across-moscow-st-petersburg-article-156352904
https://www.the-express.com/news/world-news/218056/ukraine-hits-russian-vessel-black-sea-british-done
https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/fire-erupts-at-gazprom-plant-in-russia-s-1792165182.html
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/10/16/russian-courts-paralyzed-by-yandex-cloud-outages-after-drone-attacks-vyorstka-a94009
https://www.gadgetreview.com/ukraines-stargate-drone-would-evacuate-wounded-soldiers-without-a-crew
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/2026-10-16/live-updates-911900
other Israel
https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2026/10/israel-reportedly-blocks-board-of-peace-base-in-gaza-idf-reports-31-ceasefire-violations-october-1-15.php
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/s1eqdh1nfl
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/434717
https://vinnews.com/2026/10/16/idf-says-it-killed-hamas-weapons-commander-who-took-part-in-oct-7-attack-pij-operative-in-separate-gaza-strikes/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-commandos-nab-alleged-palestinian-arms-dealer-in-raid-on-west-banks-jenin/
https://www.timesnownews.com/videos/times-now/world/idfs-4-month-gaza-operations-target-hamas-tunnels-video-156349706
Live Updates: Saudi-led coalition intercepts missiles, drones as IDF prepares for strikes on southern Lebanon
October 16, 2026
IDF kills Hamas terrorist who stormed Re'im base on Oct. 7 • Germany will not tolerate Iranian hostility toward Europe, FM says • Trump threatens to strike Iran's Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site
October 16, 10:45 PM
Trump says Saudi Arabia may accept Israeli help against Houthis, revive Abraham Accords
Trump expressed confidence that the Abraham Accords could gain renewed momentum with Saudi Arabia.
US President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that Saudi Arabia would likely accept assistance from Israel in its fight against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, adding that efforts to bring the kingdom into the Abraham Accords could be revived.
When asked whether Saudi Arabia should accept the assistance Israel was offering against the Houthis, Trump replied, “Yes, I think so.”
“I think they will do it. Absolutely,” Trump said when asked whether he had spoken with Saudi Arabia about the possibility. “Israel has been very helpful to Saudi Arabia, and yes, they would certainly do it,” he added.
October 16, 9:09 PM
All 15 Indians safe after attack on vessel in Hormuz, India's shipping minister says
All 15 Indian seafarers are safe after a tanker was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, India's Federal Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said.
The crude oil tanker was struck by a projectile, with Sonowal confirming no injuries among the crew.
October 16, 8:14 PM
Two additional IDF intercepters launched at false target in southern Lebanon
Two additional IDF interceptors were launched at a false target near troop locations in southern Lebanon after an interceptor was previously shot at a suspicious aerial object, the military confirmed.
The IDF noted that no sirens were sounded in accordance with protocol.
October 16, 7:39 PM
IDF launches intercepter towards suspicious aerial object in southern Lebanon
An IDF interceptor was launched toward a suspicious aerial target flying near IDF troop positions in southern Lebanon on Friday, the military confirmed.
The IDF said that no sirens were sounded, in accordance with protocol.
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October 16, 5:48 PM
IDF kills Hamas Nukhba commander in Gaza who infiltrated Re'im base on October 7
Since the October 7 attacks, the terrorist continued his involvement in planning terror attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians, the military noted.
The IDF killed Hamas Nukhba cell commander Maher Walid Omar Al-Husseini in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, the military announced on Friday.
According to the IDF, Al-Husseini infiltrated the Kibbutz Re'im military base as part of Hamas's October 7 massacre.
Since the 2023 attacks, the terrorist has continued his involvement in planning terror attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians, the military noted.
October 16, 5:13 PM
Saudi-led coalition says it intercepts missiles and drones over Saudi Arabia, Red Sea
The Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen said on Friday that it had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched towards the Saudi Red Sea city of Yanbu, two cruise missiles over the Red Sea, and three drones in the Southern and Riyadh regions.
October 16, 4:35 PM
Germany will not tolerate Iran's hostile activities, foreign minister says
Europe is in Iran's sights and Germany will not tolerate Iran's hostile activities, Germany's foreign minister Johann Wadephul said on Friday.
October 16, 10:30 AM
IDF fires interceptor near Lebanon border
The IDF launched an interceptor near the Lebanon border on Friday morning.
The military has yet to release a statement indicating why the interceptor was fired, or what it may have been targeting.
This comes as the Israel Air Force began striking a series of targets in Lebanon on Friday morning, warning communities in northern Israel that explosions would be heard.
October 16, 10:11 AM
IDF announces upcoming strikes in Lebanon
The IDF announced that it would conduct several strikes in Lebanon on Friday, warning Israelis in communities near the border that they would hear explosions.
October 16, 9:09 AM
'We'll knock it out fast': Trump threatens Iran's Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site with strikes
Trump did not confirm previous reports that the US would use a GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast.
The United States is looking at Iran's Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site as a possible target for a future strike, US President Donald Trump confirmed during an interview with Newsmax on Thursday.
"We may have to go there," he said. "We'll take a shot at that one. We'll knock it out fast."
He added that there were no plans for US ground forces to take part in such an attack, saying "No, I don't see that. I don't see that."
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IDF says it targeted 'suspicious objective' in Lebanon
October 16, 2026
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported on Friday that its troops launched an interceptor missile at a "suspicious aerial target" in Lebanon.
"A short while ago, an interceptor was launched toward a suspicious aerial target identified in the area in which IDF soldiers are operating in southern Lebanon," the Israeli military said on Telegram.
Earlier this week, the IDF said that it had discovered a Hezbollah position and an explosive device during a military operation in southern Lebanon.
https://breakingthenews.net/Article/IDF-says-it-targeted-'suspicious-objective'-in-Lebanon/67336669
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/10/16/raf-mystery-drones-britain/
RAF reports mystery drones over Britain
16 October 2026 8:30pm BST
Near misses occur days apart during military exercises, with one object spotted at 17,000ft – 40 times the legal height limit
Royal Air Force jets reported close encounters with two unidentified drones in British skies this year, The Telegraph can disclose.
The near misses took place days apart during simulated air combat training and an air-to-air refuelling exercise over the North Sea.
One of the mystery objects was spotted at an altitude of 17,000ft, more than 40 times the legal height limit for commercial drones.
Incident logs seen by this newspaper show that the RAF reported the sightings to police and that “multiple different external investigations” are ongoing.
The incidents occurred amid growing fears that hostile powers are using drones to spy on the West.
Weeks after the RAF sightings in February, the US armed forces were put on high alert after unidentified drones were spotted at Fort McNair, a military outpost in Washington DC where senior US government officials live.
Earlier this year, defence experts said that drones spotted over US air bases in Norfolk and Suffolk were linked to a Russian ship stationed just off the coast.
The RAF encounters also took place days before the start of the US war with Iran.
Newly disclosed incident logs reviewed by The Telegraph reveal that the first near-miss occurred on Feb 18, when an RAF Airbus Voyager tanker was refuelling a Typhoon fighter jet off Cromer, Norfolk.
The unidentified object passed so close to the tanker that its pilot instinctively ducked.
Audio recordings reviewed by investigators reveal how the Voyager’s commander reported the sighting to military controllers.
“Uh yeah, just had something go overhead of us – potential drone at one seven zero – have you got anything on your screen?” the pilot asked the RAF radar controller overseeing the refuelling exercise.
“One seven zero” is aviation code for an altitude of 17,000ft, the height at which the aircraft were flying.
The controller said he could not see the drone on radar, prompting the pilot to reply: “Okay that’s copied it was, uh, it was a pretty small uh I would say kind of size of a drone and travelling east to west literally just went straight overhead.”
‘It made me instinctively duck’
He added: “Yeah, just uh chatting to [the Typhoon being refuelled] ‘cause they also saw it uh uh kind of estimated between us about 100 to 150 feet above us directly overhead.”
In a subsequent report, the pilot said: “The proximity was such that it made me instinctively duck and was notified to ATC [air traffic control] as a drone.”
Narrative Description of Incident One
Conducting AAR with Typhoon 84 at FL160 in good VMC conditions I was the non handling pilot in the Captain's seat.
As we progressed east bound in the towline (N5324.6/E00143.9) I caught something directly in front of the aircraft and gained visual as it went past but only for a matter of seconds.
The object was black and circular in nature passing approximately 100ft - 150ft directly above the Voyager. The proximity was such that it made me instinctively duck and was notified to ATC as a drone.
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The second incident occurred on Feb 23, when a Typhoon was practising dogfights with another jet and its pilot spotted a “black circular object (similar in size to a car tyre) pass directly above him”, according to a Defence Aviation Safety Occurrence Report filed immediately afterwards.
The object was said to have passed “approximately 300ft above” the Typhoon, which was operating about 30 miles off Humberside.
“I’ve got some waypoints for you, had a drone or what looked like a drone pass about two hundred feet above me at heading [easterly] direction at … 12,500 feet,” the Typhoon pilot told the radar controller monitoring the mock dogfight.
That controller was so worried by the drone sighting that he reported it to North Yorkshire Police.
Narrative Description of Incident Two
Warlord 31 was operating in 323A/B with Pirate 11 conducting DACT. Whilst setting up for the next event straight and level at 300kts & 12,000ft, Warlord 31 observed a circular black object (similar in size to a car tyre) pass directly above him.
It was assessed to be approximately 300ft above Warlord 31, tracking East in straight and level flight. Warlord 31 seperated away from the location sighted and an airprox was made to Swanick East a few minutes after the event. The RTB was conducted with NFTR.
The RAF concluded both pilots had acted appropriately, with a local investigation into the second incident finding that “as the Airprox [air proximity incident] happened off frequency and the drone did not display on radar, there were no causal factors found”.
There is no evidence linking the sightings to hostile powers. However, the reported drones were operating at an altitude far above levels reachable by most commercially available craft. Neither showed up on radar.
The near misses were recorded in RAF reports as “Voyager vs drone” and “Typhoon vs drone”. The Voyager pilot added that “upon reflection and discussion” it was impossible to “positively identify” what he had seen as a drone, and it could have been a balloon or something similar.
Any private drone operator entering the RAF’s training areas off the east coast would have to obtain prior permission from military authorities first, suggesting drones seen by the RAF pilots may have been controlled by a potentially hostile state.
Drones are normally legally barred from flying higher than 400 feet.
Three years ago a major diplomatic crisis erupted over high-altitude Chinese spy balloons drifting across the US.
One such item, thought to have been a typical balloon used for gathering weather data but fitted with extra intelligence-gathering sensors, was shot down on the orders of then-president Joe Biden.
Officials feared that Beijing had been using the balloon to gather sensitive intelligence as it drifted over US military bases. Pentagon officials later said it was not collecting information, despite having drifted from Alaska to the eastern seaboard of the US.
Surveillance campaign ‘waged with impunity’
The Kremlin has previously been accused of waging a drone surveillance campaign over military bases in the UK and Europe.
A report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies said the drone campaign occurred between August 2024 and February 2026.
It determined that the drones were likely to have been launched from the Kremlin’s so-called “shadow fleet” of oil tankers transporting sanctioned fuel.
The report’s authors concluded that Russian intelligence had waged the drone campaign “with substantial impunity… representing both a series of tactical successes for the Kremlin and a strategic failure of allied air defence”.
Incidents included drones flying low over RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and at least two other air force bases in England which are shared by the US.
Experts who spoke to The Telegraph said the two sightings were highly unusual and that there were no immediately comparable examples of similar incidents off the east coast within a few days of each other.
The MoD was contacted for comment.
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FAA Bans Drones Along Entire US-Mexico Border Until October 2027
October 16, 2026 · 14:55 ET
Drones are banned within one nautical mile of the entire U.S.-Mexico border for the next year, from the Pacific coast to the Gulf coast, under three FAA NOTAMs published Friday.
The Department of Transportation, the Department of War and the Department of Homeland Security announced the restriction together. It covers the surface to 400 feet (122 meters).
The departments called the temporary flight restriction effective Friday.
The NOTAMs themselves, 6/9954, 6/9955 and 6/9956, take effect at 00:00 UTC on October 20, which is Monday evening along the border, and run through October 19, 2027. DroneXL pulled their full text from the FAA’s NOTAM Search on Friday afternoon.
Permission to fly inside the band now runs through U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the ban covers every drone, including recreational ones under 250 grams.
CBP’s Approval List Leaves Out Routine Commercial And Hobby Flights
The approval list in the NOTAMs has no category for routine commercial work or recreational flying.
CBP can clear flights in direct support of national defense, homeland security, law enforcement, firefighting, medevac, search and rescue or disaster response, plus event operations, which the NOTAMs don’t define.
Requests go to SWBDRONEZONEWAIVERS@CBP.DHS.GOV at least 48 hours before the flight, according to the FAA’s Domestic Notice.
Each one needs the operator’s name, FAA certifications and phone number, the flight’s date, time and location, and the drone’s Remote ID, make, model and serial number.
First responders working a disaster or other emergency may be eligible for expedited coordination by calling CBP at 951-570-4185.
One nautical mile is about 1.15 miles (1.85 kilometers). That takes in the downtowns of El Paso, Laredo and Brownsville in Texas, along with downtown Nogales, Arizona, and downtown Calexico, California.
CBP’s detection figures, which DroneXL reported Thursday, count flights within 500 meters of the line. The no-fly band is more than three times as deep.
The FAA has closed a smaller stretch of border airspace to drones before.
In August 2025, at DHS’s request, it banned drones across about 150 square miles north of Nogales through February 9, 2026, citing only “special security reasons,” AZFamily reported.
Violators Risk Criminal Charges And Losing Their Drone
The FAA classifies the band as National Defense Airspace under 49 U.S.C. 40103(b)(3).
A pilot who flies in can be intercepted, detained, fined, stripped of an FAA certificate or charged under 49 U.S.C. 46307. The government can also use deadly force against an aircraft judged an imminent threat.
The NOTAMs also warn that the Defense Department (the name the NOTAMs use), DHS or the Justice Department may interfere with, seize, damage or destroy a drone judged a credible threat, under 10 U.S.C. 130i and 6 U.S.C. 124n.
In the joint release, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the military is equipped with directed energy weapons and that “our warfighters will shoot down any cartel drone that threatens America’s sovereignty.”
Military officials have credited an Army laser with cutting cartel drone flights over the Rio Grande Valley by about 75%. In February, a Pentagon laser destroyed one of CBP’s own drones near Fort Hancock, Texas.
The Border Ban Was Missing From The FAA’s TFR Map And Drone Data On Friday
As of 2:55 p.m. Eastern on Friday, none of the three NOTAMs appeared on the FAA’s graphic TFR list at tfr.faa.gov or in its UAS Data Delivery System, the agency’s public data feed for drone airspace. The FAA’s Domestic Notice does carry a map of the full line.
The restriction starts Monday evening, so the FAA has the weekend to load it. In January, NOTAM FDC 6/4375 banned drones near federal mobile assets, and no flight planning app could show those zones because they moved with the convoys.
The border band follows a fixed line that apps can draw.
https://dronexl.co/2026/10/16/faa-bans-drones-us-mexico-border-october-2027/
moar US drones
https://www.war.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/4626366/navy-demonstrates-successful-drone-ship-landing-without-gps/
https://screenrant.com/far-side-funniest-alien-invasion-cartoons-gary-larson/
7 Flawless Far Side Comics About Alien Invasions
Oct 14, 2026, 7:02 PM EDT
Gary Larson grew up in the 1950s, meaning The Far Side's creator came of age in an era of rampant UFO sightings, and more importantly, the first wave of classic science fiction movies about alien invasions.
Like all of Larson's interests and obsessions, this rattled around in his brain until he started doing daily Far Side cartoons, at which point it became the fodder for many classic jokes.
Aliens popped up constantly in The Far Side, appearing in all shapes, sizes, and colors.
Alien jokes are an entire genre of their own when it comes to The Far Side, which in turn means that there are identifiable subgenres of Far Side alien joke. One of those is the space invader joke, the best of which are collected below.
"In The Middle Of Laverne & Shirley"
Laverne and Shirley is one of those sitcoms, like MAS*H, which straddled the 1970s and '80s.
The show debuted in 1976 and ran for eight seasons; it was in the middle of Season 5 when The Far Side first started to appear regularly in the San Francisco Chronicle on New Year's Day 1980.
This early Far Side cartoon was published in June of that year, about a month after the Season 5 finale of Laverne and Shirley.
Meaning the aliens in this Far Side cartoon at least had the decency to wait until summer reruns to invade the Earth. (That's a joke that hits different in the streaming era, but would have landed at the time this comic first appeared in newspapers. Alas…)
In this panel, Gary Larson cleverly gives the reader a POV from the sky, as a fleet of saucers descends, which the old woman complaining about the TV going out can't see out her living room window just yet. But she's about to.
"ZZZ!"
This Far Side cartoon has no words, just a sound effect. Or, more technically, an onomatopoeia. It's one of the funniest, and also cruelest, pranks in Far Side canon. (Notice how those two things tend to go hand-in-hand.)
In the panel, a flying saucer lands in the park as a couple are having a picnic. A trio of aliens march, or more accurately, slither up to the humans carrying scary-looking alien weapons. One points its gun at the couple and squeezes the trigger.
A flag comes out the end, with "Zzz!" on it. The aliens crack up. The humans scream. It might not be a full-scale invasion, but these extraterrestrial jokesters certainly invaded this couple's idyllic moment.
And, presumably, left them scarred for life, always watching the skies wondering what kind of cosmic prank could befall them next.
"Cowboys And Aliens"
If the 2011 movie Cowboys & Aliens, directed by Jon Favreau as his follow-up to Iron Man 2, and starring Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig, and Olivia Wilde, sounds like a fever dream to you, it is because the premise is basically like a Far Side cartoon.
No wait, it is literally a Far Side cartoon. Gary Larson published his "romanticized idea of cowboys and aliens" in 1994, 12 years before the release of the graphic novel Cowboys & Aliens, which was later turned into the movie.
Larson has never been officially credited as an inspiration for the sci-fi/western mash-up. Maybe he never wanted to, after it became a notorious box office flop. It is just as likely a case of the same bolt of inspiration hitting multiple people over the years.
The thing about The Far Side is that Gary Larson made many jokes over the years that were 'just sitting there," so to speak. Like riffing on "cowboys and Indians" by subbing in invaders from space.
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"Henry Never Knew What Hit Him"
In this six-panel Far Side cartoon, a flying saucer lands right in front of a man as he is walking through an open field. An alien comes out.
The alien throws a mean left hook at the man out of nowhere. Punches him right in the kisser and knocks him on his butt. Then just as quickly as it came, the alien gets back in its saucer and flies off.
A flawless comic sequence. One that could stand on its own as a captionless Far Side and still get a solid laugh. What makes this panel perfect is the caption Gary Larson adds: "Henry never knew what hit him."
Larson plays with language at a high level here. The phrase "never knew what hit him" is often used in a situation where, say, a car runs a stop sign and hits a pedestrian. Or a piano falls out of the sky on someone's head, as was liable to happen at any moment in The Far Side.
Here, the victim sees the blow coming, as sudden as it is. "Henry" literally doesn't know what hit him, in the sense that it is a random act of senseless violence from an alien he has no way of identifying, or holding accountable.
"Shall We Commence With Our Plan?"
What if aliens invaded our world in disguise? It's a classic science fiction question. What if the invaders were disguised as crosswalk signs?
Well, it would certainly explain why they seemed to have popped up "on every street corner" by 1988, the year this Far Side cartoon was published.
In fact, electronic "Walk/Don't Walk" signs had been ubiquitous, at least in major cities, for a long time by '88, which played right into Gary Larson's punchline.
That is, the crosswalk aliens have been silently maneuvering into position to enact their "plan." What plan? "To gradually eliminate" humanity by "malfunctioning," causing incremental losses via traffic accidents.
It is a perfect Far Side joke, by virtually every metric, even if the visual dimension of its gag might require a double take. Actually, in fact, that's another virtue, a feature of this Far Side, not a bug.
"Inadvertently, Roy Dooms The Entire Earth"
Gary Larson frequently exhibited the mind of a sci-fi author, even if he was applying those big ideas to static bursts of cartoon humor.
In this classic Far Side first contact moment, when "Roy dooms the entire Earth to annihilation" because of a miscommunication about greeting customs.
When the first saucer touches down on Roy's farm, and aliens that look exactly like human hands come out, it spells disaster. "In an attempt to be friendly," the caption explains, "he seizes their leader by the head and shakes vigorously."
It is a hilarious representation of the concern that radical differences in physiology, as well as customs, will be the thing that ruins interstellar relations once humanity and aliens meet.
"The Foolish Earthlings Do Not Suspect A Thing"
This is a riff on the same premise as the crosswalk aliens from '88. Published three years later, in 1991, this cartoon feels like something Gary Larson cooked up after having a John Carpenter movie marathon.
It gives They Live vibes, certainly, with a little of The Thing thrown in. Mainly when it comes to the tentacles.
The cartoon answers the nagging question, in case anybody was wondering, "why we see news anchorpersons only from the waist up."
The answer, hysterically, is that they are aliens in disguise, but their human disguises only cover the top halves of their bodies. Still, they've successfully taken over "a prime source of information," and humanity is none the wiser.
It is a silly Far Side gag but with a bit of a jaded social commentary to it.
Gary Larson says, in no uncertain terms, that even an obvious attempt to control the flow of information for nefarious purposes would go unnoticed by the majority of the world's population. Scary stuff, but put in a perfectly funny Far Side frame.
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https://www.liberationtimes.com/home/former-army-sniper-says-he-was-told-of-deadly-encounter-with-reptilian-beings-near-area-51
https://x.com/ChrisUKSharp/status/2110685191437959404
https://x.com/RT_Breaking_/status/2111008529834230050
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AEpYgHmtxA (Liberty Risk: Aliens, Bigfoot & Bar Fights 🤘🏼👽🤘🏼 • Ep. 37 • Crew Cast)
Former Army Sniper Says He Was Told of Deadly Encounter With Reptilian Beings Near Area 51
15 October 2026
Former U.S. Army sniper Nick Betts recounted an alleged deadly encounter with reptilian-looking beings on the Liberty Risk podcast, released on 5 December 2025.
Betts said an unnamed man who claimed to have taken part in the operation told him that U.S. personnel had entered an underground installation near Area 51, killed three beings and lost one of their own men.
Betts heard the story in a hotel room in Poland. He had been travelling through Eastern Europe to film a documentary about the war in Ukraine, alongside a friend who had served in a Ranger battalion, the storyteller, an older man and another companion.
According to Betts, the storyteller and the older man had served together in the same squadron and both participated in the alleged operation. The older man was asleep elsewhere when the story was told.
Betts and his friend, whom he called ‘Ranger’, were downloading footage in their shared hotel room when the storyteller arrived with four bottles of wine. Ranger brought up aliens and asked what the man knew.
The man initially refused to answer. After further prompting, he collected their phones and placed them in a microwave, which Betts described as an improvised Faraday cage intended to block electronic signals.
He then described an alleged deployment years earlier, while serving in an unnamed squadron at Fort Bragg. The installation is home to Delta Force’s squadrons and includes Pope Army Airfield, where the U.S. Air Force’s 24th and 21st Special Tactics Squadrons are based.
Betts referred to Joint Special Operations Command, or JSOC, during his account, but did not identify the squadron or either alleged participant.
The squadron had been on quick reaction force duty. A quick reaction force, or QRF, is held ready to respond rapidly to an emergency. It describes a role rather than a particular unit; military accounts describe infantry, Rangers and Marines performing such duties.
The storyteller said he had been at a bar when the recall came. Personnel were ordered back to base, told to collect their equipment and put on an aircraft without being briefed on their destination or mission - it was added that this was highly abnormal.
A few hours later, they landed in intense heat. Two men met them outside a hangar, brought them inside and took them to a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, or SCIF, a secure facility for handling sensitive intelligence.
There, they were allegedly told:
“Gentlemen. Welcome to Area 51.”
The mission briefing followed. Security personnel at an underground installation a few miles away had stopped conducting their regular radio checks. A QRF had already been sent to investigate, but that team had also fallen silent.
The personnel flown in from Bragg were therefore the second QRF dispatched to the installation. According to Betts, they were tasked with entering the facility and requested and received a map and a plan for getting in and out.
Before departing, they asked to check their firearms’ sights at a range. They were told they would not need those guns and were instead issued unfamiliar weapons that did not take magazines. Betts described them as “a high-energy weapon system”.
A Black Hawk helicopter took them to the entrance. They descended through a tunnel and entered a long hallway leading to a T-junction and a horseshoe-shaped passage. The storyteller described a strong, sewer-like smell.
As the team moved around the curved passage, the serviceman on its outer, left-hand side was allegedly struck in the chest by a weapon of the same kind they had been issued. He was killed, and the surviving personnel returned fire.
According to Betts’s retelling, the attacker walked on two legs, looked mildly reptilian, had fingers and was carrying the weapon. The team had allegedly been told there were three beings inside the installation and killed all three.
Asked later in the podcast how many personnel had entered, Betts said the storyteller had not supplied a headcount. He guessed six.
The storyteller claimed the dead serviceman’s body was cremated immediately. His colleagues allegedly objected because he was Catholic and cremation went against his beliefs.
Betts separately said the team had been prevented from taking the body home in a casket, with sterilisation given as the reason it had to remain at the site. His death was said to have been recorded as a training accident.
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The surviving personnel allegedly signed documents, had their identification photographed and underwent further biometric scans.
Betts acknowledged that the storyteller had been drinking, telling the hosts:
“He was drunk, but he wasn’t fucking sloppy.”
What happened the next morning, Betts said, was why he took the account seriously.
The group was due to meet in the hotel lobby in the morning. On his way downstairs, Betts encountered the older man whom the storyteller had identified as another participant in the operation.
Betts casually mentioned that their mutual companion had said the older man knew something about aliens.
The man immediately grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against a wall, Betts alleged. He warned Betts never to discuss the subject again, then demanded to know where he had heard the story.
Betts later saw the two men arguing. The storyteller subsequently confronted him and demanded that he leave the country. Betts said neither man would speak to him for the remainder of the trip.
Betts said the fallout cost him the documentary job. He and Ranger were told to pack after breakfast, and he recalled hiding beneath bedsheets and pillows while calling his wife to say he was coming home early.
“I literally got canned off the job,” he said.
He and Ranger were then taken to a facility Betts described as a “black site”, driven to an airport and flown home from Poland.
On the flight, he asked Ranger what he made of the incident. His friend replied: “I think you shut the fuck up about it.”
The hosts suggested the story and confrontation could have been a prank. Betts questioned why a joke would end with him losing his job and thousands of dollars in paid work.
He also acknowledged that discussing the account publicly made him nervous. Asked whether one of the men would be angry to hear him recount it, he replied:
“That’s why I’m nervous.”
His account was published nearly ten months before David Grusch’s appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience on 30 September 2026.
Grusch, the former Air Force intelligence officer who testified before Congress in July 2023, told Rogan that his contacts had described reptilian-looking beings, some more than seven feet tall, with scaly skin and a gorilla-like appearance.
He added that others were described as more humanoid in appearance.
He alleged that U.S. personnel had shot living reptilian beings during a crash retrieval, and that Americans had been injured and killed.
Asked why the beings were shot, Grusch said: “It posed a threat.”
Betts and Grusch are not alone in relaying claims about reptilian-looking beings.
In May 2025, Dr Eric W. Davis, a theoretical physicist and former Pentagon contractor, told lawmakers during a multi-panel event that his sources had described beings resembling reptiles among the crews of some UFOs.
Separately, an intelligence community source speaking to Liberation Times described alleged reptile-like beings referred to as “strangers”.
The source described them as aggressive beings based beneath the Moon’s surface and claimed they were competing with a “Nordic” group characterised as more empathetic.
The source did not describe a conventional war:
“Competition between the sides may be nearly as old as humanity itself. What I've heard described isn't an outright war, but rather a scaled-down adversarial relationship.
“It's unclear which sides have aligned with international governments, or which sides are cooperating with factions within the program. It's quite possible that every government has had to manage this competition among the sides.”
The account echoes Grusch’s broader claims on The Joe Rogan Experience of conflict between different non-human groups.
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https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/former-pentagon-ufo-chief-claims-roswell-included-non-human-bodies-that-were-refusing-food-1825589
https://x.com/JesseBWatters/status/2110899290897785186
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXoAbZRQruQ
Former Pentagon UFO Chief Claims Roswell Included 'Non-Human Bodies' That Were 'Refusing Food or Contact'
14 October 2026, 1:51 PM BST
A former Pentagon investigator revives extraordinary Roswell allegations that remain unsupported by publicly verified evidence
Former Pentagon UFO investigator Jay Stratton says an unidentified insider described living non-human beings allegedly recovered near Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947, with some reportedly dying after refusing food or contact.
The claim appears in Stratton's memoir, 'Out of the Shadows,' released on 13 October 2026. He discussed it in an exclusive interview with People, but supplied no independently verified evidence of the alleged survivors.
Debris was recovered near Roswell in 1947. Official US Air Force investigations subsequently attributed the material to military balloon research, not an extraterrestrial spacecraft.
Jay Stratton's Roswell Claim: 'Alive' Non-Human Occupants
Stratton writes that his unidentified source described a spacecraft breaking into two pieces near Roswell in 1947.
Military personnel then allegedly recovered the wreckage and non-human bodies. Some occupants, the insider claimed, were still alive.
The memoir offers a description of their supposed fate.
'Some were dead on arrival. Others, allegedly, were alive but later perished, refusing food or contact. Communication was limited and often futile.'
Stratton does not claim to have witnessed the recovery. The insider has not been publicly identified, and the published interview includes no independently authenticated records supporting the story.
The allegation should not be mistaken for an established account of what happened at Roswell.
The Air Force reached a different explanation. Its 1994 investigation traced the debris to Project Mogul, a classified balloon-based programme designed to detect Soviet nuclear testing.
A later Air Force review examined reports of alien bodies. It connected some accounts to anthropomorphic test dummies and unrelated military accidents that occurred years after 1947. Neither investigation established that extraterrestrial occupants were recovered.
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AARO Findings Undercut Wider Crash Retrieval Tales
Stratton's allegations extend beyond Roswell. He claims military contractors possess at least a dozen crashed spacecraft in secure facilities across the United States. His book also describes covert teams recovering unusual craft and non-human remains.
In March 2024, the Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, or AARO, reported finding no verifiable evidence that government agencies or private companies possessed extraterrestrial technology.
It also found no empirical evidence of programmes reverse-engineering alien spacecraft.
The findings do not resolve every unidentified sighting, but they directly challenge the broader recovery narrative Stratton recounts.
He also relays allegations that people involved in the purported discoveries suffered psychological distress, resigned or died by suicide.
No independently corroborated individual cases are identified in the interview, and no causal connection has been established.
Stratton says his interest in unexplained objects began in autumn 2005, when a colleague showed him footage reportedly recorded near a nuclear missile silo.
He recalls a triangular object with coloured lights accelerating rapidly and disappearing. The footage and his interpretation are not independently assessed in the published account.
The Pentagon approved its Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force on 4 August 2020. Stratton served as its first director before retiring in 2022.
Security Fears, Family Encounters and a Life in Uap
The former investigator believes non-human intelligence exists on Earth. That remains his conclusion rather than a verified finding.
He also describes glowing orbs and dark figures allegedly appearing at his family home from 2010. Those experiences have not been independently substantiated.
The Pentagon has disputed claims of recovered extraterrestrial technology, as former UFO investigator Jay Stratton recounts an insider's unverified allegations about the 1947 Roswell incident.
'DoD photo by Master Sgt. Ken Hammond, U.S. Air Force.', Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. His representative says 21 agencies and departments reviewed 'Out of the Shadows' before publication.
Such a security review does not amount to government endorsement of the memoir's factual claims.
Stratton appeared in the 2025 documentary 'The Age of Disclosure,' which featured former officials discussing UAP allegations. He says his concerns are shaped by the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, when he was at the Pentagon and lost friends.
He fears that unexplained activity near sensitive military installations could expose weaknesses in intelligence-sharing. He has compared the possibility of an unexpected threat to Pearl Harbor.
The Pentagon regards unexplained incursions near military facilities as a potential safety and security issue. That concern does not establish that unidentified objects are extraterrestrial, or that an alien craft and its occupants were recovered at Roswell.
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Trump shares key details on full UFO files release in recent interview
October 16, 2026
'Trump said, We are releasing everything when asked if he will disclose the truth about aliens and UFO reverse-engineered technology'
In a major update, President Donald Trump has promised to release the complete files on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), commonly known as UFOs.
During an interview with Newsmax, recent remarks have revived interest in government records about transparency regarding anomalies.
Trump addressed whether aliens have visited Earth and if reverse-engineered technology exists, presenting pilot observations of a unique craft quadrupling the speed of an F-22.
He pointed to strong public interest which is pushing federal agencies toward transparency.
This remark coincides with ongoing UAP file releases since May 2026 and claims from ex-Pengton official Jay Stratton about unverified extraterrestrial craft though his assertions lack independent verification.
Further materials are expected soon, building on previous iterations of videos and documents.
On social platform X, users have been responding with one writing, “ He sounds exactly like someone who is deflecting and pretending like he doesn’t care so you won’t have to bother him about any disclosure speeches.
If you believe otherwise, it’s severe.”
Second added, “ Releasing everything would be the biggest document drop in history.
I want to believe it, but we've heard promises before. If it's real, start with the custody records for recovered material.”
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1420218-trump-shares-key-details-on-full-ufo-files-release-in-recent-interview
https://dailybeirut.com/en/world/trump-confirms-spoke-military-pilots-witnessed-ufos/
https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2111093861086835020'
https://x.com/warDaniel47/status/2111045976597078381
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfH1J0QAMFc (Vetted: Donald Trump Drops UFO Bombshell)
Claims of strange humanoid creature stir mystery in Juárez Valley
Updated Thu, October 15, 2026 at 12:14 PM PDT
A strange humanoid creature is supposedly stalking chickens in the Valley of Juárez, claims Mexico's most famous ufologist during a visit to Juárez, where he is conducting an investigation "that will go around the world."
"El Ser de Valle de Juárez," also known as the Valley of Juárez Creature, was described as a small, hairless, alien-like being that stands about two-feet tall (70 centimeters), ufologist Jaime Maussan recently said on his shows and Mexican TV news interviews.
"It's a predator. I'm not saying it's extraterrestrial, but it is something scary," Maussan told Juárez news outlet NetNoticias.Mx on Monday, Oct. 12. "It has agility. It has intelligence.
It walks on two feet. It appears human. It has a head like a human. What can I tell you, it's very similar to 'El Ser de Metepec,' only that one was an infant. This is an adult being."
Mystery monster in Valley of Juárez
The monster has supposedly killed several chickens and has been seen by witnesses, including a boy who saw the creature grab a chicken by the head and scamper up a tree, Maussan claimed, adding he doesn't believe the creature would attack people.
Details on where the sightings specifically occurred and who the witnesses are have not been revealed.
"Why did it appear there? It's a mystery. Are they interdimensional beings? Are they beings who came with other beings? Did they come in ships?" Maussan said in a local news report.
Maussan has reported on UFOs for more than three decades and hosts the longtime Mexican TV show "Tercer Milenio" (Third Millennium) about UFOS and other paranormal topics. He has a YouTube channel with over a million subscribers.
The white-bearded ufologist was spotted at Juárez's Tepeyac Cemetery on Monday, Oct. 12, where he was working on an unspecified investigation.
"This story will go around the world. Not just Mexico but the entire world," he told local news reporters.
'El Ser de Valle de Juárez.' Real or fake?
Juárez Civil Protection director Sergio Rodriguez told Telediario Juárez that his department has not received any reports of anything out of the normal in the Valley of Juárez.
The Valley of Juárez is dotted by small rural communities and farms located along the Rio Grande southeast of Juárez.
The El Paso Times reached out to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office and El Paso County Animal Welfare Department to find out if there have been any supposed incidents on the Texas side of the Rio Grande.
Sheriff's spokeswoman Priscilla I. Contreras said in an email that the sheriff's Peter J. Herrera Patrol Station had not received any reports involving unusual chicken or farm animal deaths or sightings of a strange creature.
The station covers a district along the Rio Grande stretching east from the El Paso city limits to Hudspeth County.
Maussan compared the Juárez creature to the Metepec Creature.
"El Ser de Metepec" (The Being of Metepec or the Metepec Creature) is an urban legend about a small, alien-like creature captured by a Mexican farmer in a rat trap in Metepec, near Mexico City in 2007.
Maussan obtained the dried body, which he claimed may have been alien, but skeptics said it was a small monkey that had been skinned and modified by a taxidermist as a hoax.
Maussan has faced public criticism over the years, accusing him of gullibility and too eagerly believing tales of UFOs and promoting what turn out to be hoaxes.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/claims-strange-humanoid-creature-stir-191411471.html
https://www.thetimes.com/us/news-today/article/secret-pentagon-study-warp-speed-travel-pssg9mmdz
Revealed: secret (and strange) Pentagon study on warp speed travel
October 16 2026, 12.01pm
Declassified UFO documents from the 2020s show that the US government was looking into Star Trek-style propulsion
The earliest files come from the 1940s. In 1949, for instance, the Rev Charles Barnes sent a letter to the director of the FBI about four beams of light he had seen in the sky. J Edgar Hoover thanked him for his “thoughtful communication”.
The biggest files in the latest tranche of declassified US government UFO documents come from the 2020s, when the modern day versions of Barnes were able to send the FBI shaky video of unexplained aerial phenomenon.
And the strangest file? Well, that prize goes to one that doesn’t mention aliens at all. It is, instead, the file titled “Defence Intelligence Reference Document DIA-08-1004-001”.
And what its contents show is that the US government, at least at one point, was looking into Star Trek-style warp drives.
This year President Trump put a post on social media. He ordered the secretary of war “to begin the process of identifying and releasing government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life”.
So it was that the government prepared for the declassification of hundreds of documents. Most are a chronicle of 75 years of fuzzy images, hazy recollections and, in one notable instance, seagulls confused for flying saucers.
But among these are also those files that relate to scientists’ serious attempts to understand what it would mean to carry out interstellar travel. If aliens really were to come to Earth, how could they do it? And, equally, how could humans make the journey in the other direction?
The problem is distance. If, as Einstein told us, the speed of light is also the speed limit of the universe, then it is hard to see how we will ever make it to the closest star outside of our solar system.
It is even harder to understand why aliens would do the reverse, making trips that would last many decades, just to pretend to be seagulls or put on a light show for people such as Barnes.
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The technology that would make such travel make sense? A warp drive. The speed of light might be as fast as you can move through space, but what if, instead, you make space move past you?
As the now declassified paper, which was commissioned in 2009, explains: “The basic idea is to create an asymmetric bubble of space that is contracting in front of the spacecraft while expanding behind it.
Using this form of locomotion, the spacecraft remains stationary inside this ‘warp bubble’ and the movement of space itself facilitates the relative motion of the spacecraft.”
How to do this? In 1994 the physicist Miguel Alcubierre proposed a mathematical framework in which it could work. The problem was that making such a bubble appeared to take a lot of energy — and, in another technical detail, it would be “negative” energy.
It would be a significant multiple of the energy in the sun, in fact. With the sort of energies we could access, they calculate in the paper that we might in theory make a warp drive, but only one that moved at 5 x 10^-6 m/s.
“Garden snails,” the author explains, “can crawl faster than this.”
There is, though, one source of energy that is promising: dark energy. We know that the universe is expanding faster than it should, and it is hypothesised that it is due to an unknown repulsive force.
The defence department paper is an investigation of how that dark energy could be exploited, via some speculative exploitation of higher dimensions and string theory, to make a true warp drive.
Does it have merit? Other physicists were … mixed. Lord Rees of Ludlow, the former astronomer royal, was not the only one to use the words, “crackpot” and “fringe”.
Carlo Rovelli, of Aix-Marseille University, said the authors clearly knew their science, but it was “an extremely speculative idea (even for the very low standard of string theorists)”.
Katy Clough, of Queen Mary University of London, said the paper made theoretical sense. “I had low expectations because using dark energy to build warp drives is a common crackpot notion.” But, she said, it was obviously and unashamedly speculative.
“Once you start discussing warp drives you are well into the realm of bonkers and then it is more a question of the degree. There are so many practical objections to warp drives that I don’t know where to start.
If you just want one, travelling faster than light allows us to go places faster, which is great, but it also potentially means you could break causality and change the past, which probably isn’t so great.”
Then again, if warp drives don’t exist, what was Barnes looking at? As the anonymous defence department paper puts it:
“Modern physics is full of many exciting and marvellously imaginative creations … it seems entirely possible that the creative minds of the future may indeed find ways to accomplish what, to us, may seem like magic.”
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>They all know they just don't want to be the first to say it.
Are we ready for when they do though?
Ain't no going back after that.
Recently Obtained FOIA Records Reveal AARO Quietly Built UAP Partnership With Uruguay
October 16, 2026
What the Pentagon Records Now Show
AARO arranged a private Pentagon meeting with Uruguay’s CRIDOVNI one day before its August 2025 UAP workshop, including reciprocal mission briefings and talks about “future collaboration.”
The released attendee roster lists CRIDOVNI twice and separately identifies an “Australian Government” participant, although the Australian agency and individual remain undisclosed.
Uruguay now says the relationship went further — its CRIDOVNI director says a formal cooperation agreement with AARO is being developed and could include shared investigations, data, software and equipment.
Pentagon records released through the Freedom of Information Act reveal that the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office did considerably more than invite foreign observers to a UAP conference.
AARO arranged a separate August 4, 2025 meeting inside the Pentagon with representatives of CRIDOVNI, Uruguay’s official government organization for investigating unidentified aerial phenomena.
The agenda is unusually direct.
From 10:00 to 10:30 a.m., CRIDOVNI was scheduled to deliver a mission briefing. AARO followed with its own briefing.
Then an entire hour was reserved for “Discussion of Briefings and Future Collaboration.” Pentagon visitor approvals had already been obtained. Lunch and a private Pentagon tour followed.
AARO also told the Uruguayans exactly what it wanted to learn — CRIDOVNI’s investigative process, analytical tools, how it evaluates cases with little technical data, its most interesting UAP cases, its relationship with the Uruguayan Air Force and its partnerships with other South American organizations.
That is considerably more significant than another government delegation sitting through a UFO conference.
The records show AARO was examining how another country actually investigates UAP and exploring ways the two offices could work together.
The FOIA production itself is incomplete. AARO located 89 responsive pages but withheld 19 pages entirely under FOIA Exemption (b)(5), which covers certain deliberative government communications.
Portions of another 70 pages were also redacted under exemptions protecting deliberations and personal privacy. The Black Vault
The attendee roster provides another intriguing detail. Alongside NASA Headquarters, the U.S. Air Force, RAND Corporation, universities and civilian UAP organizations are two entries for CRIDOVNI (Uruguay) — followed immediately by Australian Government.
The records do not disclose which Australian agency was represented or identify the person associated with that entry. The Black Vault
AARO's February 2026 public paper described the August 5-6 workshop as an interdisciplinary effort involving 40 participants focused on improving UAP data collection, integrating databases and determining how artificial intelligence and machine learning might assist analysis.
It did not publicly spell out this separate Pentagon engagement with Uruguay. AARO
And there is now an important development beyond the FOIA file.
CRIDOVNI director Ariel Sánchez recently told Uruguay's El Observador that his organization and AARO are working toward a formal cooperation agreement stemming from the August 2025 Pentagon meeting.
Sánchez said the proposed arrangement could involve joint investigations, information exchange, logistical cooperation and equipment. He also said AARO had offered hardware and software to help CRIDOVNI advance its work. El Observador
Sánchez further said AARO wants a future workshop in Uruguay involving official UAP investigation offices from across the Americas, potentially aimed at standardizing scientific investigative methods and data exchange. El Observador
If an AARO-CRIDOVNI agreement is formally approved, the United States could soon have a publicly acknowledged bilateral arrangement with one of the world's longest-running government UFO investigation organizations.
https://usaherald.com/recently-obtained-foia-records-reveal-aaro-quietly-built-uap-partnership-with-uruguay/
https://documents3.theblackvault.com/documents/osd/26-F-1773.pdf
https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/
Dr. Steven Greer: The Government Has Alien Technology?! | Planet Tyrus
October 15, 2026
Dr. Steven Greer tells Tyrus on Planet Tyrus that the government hides advanced extraterrestrial tech and UAP truths—including mysteries like the Buga Sphere. Is it a massive cover-up, or are we missing the real story behind UFO sightings?
Dr. Steven Greer joins Tyrus on Planet Tyrus to expose what he believes is the truth behind UFO sightings, UAP disclosure, secret government programs, extraterrestrial technology, and the mysterious Buga Sphere.
Are we being told the truth about aliens, or is there a much bigger cover-up happening behind the scenes?
In this explosive conversation, Dr. Steven Greer, founder of The Disclosure Project and a leading UFO disclosure advocate, discusses his new documentary and shares extraordinary claims about classified military projects, reverse-engineered UFO technology, and alleged efforts to manufacture fear of an alien invasion.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6406909325112
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQVSDNrPQ4g