Ryan Graves
Before the sighting
Commissioned ~2009 via OCS, F/A-18F pilot, USS Enterprise 2012 Operation Enduring Freedom, assigned VFA-11 at NAS Oceana.
During the sighting
2014-2015 off Norfolk/Virginia Beach. After AESA radar upgrades, daily persistent unknown radar contacts corroborated by ATFLIR. Squadron-mate reported cube-in-sphere ~5-15 ft. Squadron filed hazard report, no formal response.
After the sighting
Left Navy 2019. BAE Systems FAST Labs 2019-2021. First named 2019 NYT. Founded Americans for Safe Aerospace nonprofit (2023). First Chair AIAA UAP Integration Committee. Hosts Merged Podcast. Sworn testimony House Oversight 26 Jul 2023.
Research notes
Best-documented modern witness via primary government sources. Multi-witness VFA-11 corroboration, sworn testimony, no recantations, no story drift across 5+ years. Bias is transparent and openly disclosed (financial entanglement). Score 7/10 defensible given primary sourcing minus financial-stake discount.