Interview Overview
A newly published interview with former U.S. government official Jay Stratton focuses on his experience investigating unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and the government’s efforts to assess reports involving unexplained aerospace objects. The conversation, hosted by John Catsimatidis on The Cats Roundtable, was published October 18, 2026, and accompanies discussion of Stratton’s book, Out of the Shadows.
Stratton said he spent nearly 33 years in government service, including military and civil-service positions, and devoted approximately 16 years to studying UAP and what he described as non-human intelligence on behalf of the U.S. government. The available transcript is identified as an automated, uncorrected version, and the published summary notes that its key takeaways are editorial.
The 2005 Nuclear-Silo Incident
A central part of Stratton’s account concerns a video he said he encountered in 2005 while serving at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) as chief of Air and Space Warfare. In that role, he said, he was responsible for assessing emerging and disruptive threats, as well as understanding classified U.S. aerospace programs and the capabilities of foreign adversaries, including China and Russia.
Stratton said he was shown footage of a black triangular object flying over a U.S. nuclear missile silo. According to his account, the object appeared to move in a manner he could not explain as an aerospace engineer, including behavior that seemed to “defy gravity.” He said he consulted officials and reviewed known American and foreign programs before concluding that the object was not associated with either the United States or an adversary.
The interview does not provide the video, technical data, location, date beyond the year cited, or independent confirmation of Stratton’s assessment. As a result, his description remains an allegation presented in the interview rather than a publicly verifiable finding.
Government Programs and Historical Context
Stratton said the 2005 incident helped prompt the creation of a DIA program in 2008 known as OSAP, which he characterized as the first U.S. government effort after the Air Force’s Project Blue Book to systematically track and analyze UAP. Project Blue Book, the best-known official Air Force investigation of UFO reports, ended in 1969.
According to Stratton, the government had no comparable program between Blue Book’s closure and the establishment of the DIA initiative. That characterization concerns formal investigative programs and does not necessarily account for classified, compartmented, or unrelated military reporting channels. In subsequent years, UAP investigations have also involved other Pentagon offices, including the former Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program and the current All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office.
Claims About Nuclear-Related Activity
Stratton further asserted that unexplained objects appear to be drawn to nuclear weapons, submarines, and aircraft carriers, describing them as “attracted to nuclear sources.” Such claims have been made by other witnesses and former officials, but the interview provides no statistical analysis or publicly released evidence demonstrating a causal relationship.
He also said Out of the Shadows underwent a 10-month security review involving 21 government agencies before publication. Stratton presented the review as evidence that the book’s contents had been examined and cleared for release. However, a security review or publication clearance does not independently validate every claim in a book; it generally addresses whether material contains classified or otherwise restricted information.
The interview’s broadest conclusion was expressed in Stratton’s statement that “we’re not the only intelligent life in the universe.” That assertion reflects his interpretation of the evidence he says he encountered during government service. No public scientific consensus has established that UAP represent extraterrestrial or non-human intelligence, and the available interview material does not include new physical evidence or independent verification.
