Joe Rogan Experience #1645 - Christopher Mellon

For decades, pilots and operators feared ridicule or career damage, so incidents went unreported or were literally torn up. Only after the 2017 New York Times story did many feel 'permission' to come forward, exposing a massive blind spot in national security awareness.

In 2004, numerous Navy personnel plus Aegis radar, infrared systems, and cockpit visuals all corroborated a Tic Tac-shaped object performing impossible maneuvers (instant altitude changes, extreme acceleration, radar jamming) with no visible propulsion, making it one of the strongest single cases.

Mellon argues that databases from systems like ballistic missile warning radars, space-based infrared, and global acoustic monitoring probably contain unexamined UAP signatures, and that systematic data-mining by specialized contractors could reveal patterns and origin clues.

Reports from U.S. ICBM fields, nuclear plants, warships, and foreign sites suggest UAPs sometimes loiter over or interfere with strategic systems, which, if verified, raises profound questions about intent and underscores that this is not a mere curiosity but a defense issue.

Mellon describes layered metal materials (e.g., bismuth–magnesium–zinc) that appear engineered at micron or even atomic scales and don’t match known industrial uses. While intriguing, he remains cautious, emphasizing the need for peer-reviewed analysis (like work by Jacques Vallée).

Given U.S. intel coverage, it would be extraordinary for Russia or China to be generations ahead in propulsion, stealth, and materials without detection. Yet if the tech is non-human, that raises its own existential questions; either option demands urgent investigation.

Mellon proposes a small, centralized function (within DoD, leveraging labs and academia) to receive reports, mine existing sensor data, coordinate scientific studies, and strategically design collection events, rather than creating a vast new bureaucracy.