Stories by Sean Kirkpatrick

Sean Kirkpatrick recently retired from federal service as the first director of the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office at the U.S. Department of Defense. He holds a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Georgia.

Drone flying in front of New York skyline at sunset

OpinionDecember 27, 2024

The U.S. Drone Panic Mirrors UFO Overreactions

We need less uproar over everyday drones and more critical attention about ones near airports and other restricted airspace

Sean Kirkpatrick

Illustration of UFO abducting a man with a lightbeam, the top of the UFO looks like the dome of the United States Capitol Building in Washington D.C.

OpinionMarch 6, 2024

We Need to Investigate UFOs—But Without the Distraction of Conspiracy Theories

A former government official calls for investigating unidentified anomalous phenomena without succumbing to conspiracy theories about extraterrestrials

Sean Kirkpatrick

Illustration of a detective and people screaming at an alien.

OpinionJanuary 19, 2024

Here’s What I Learned as the U.S. Government’s UFO Hunter

A forthcoming investigational report from an office of the Pentagon has found no evidence of aliens, only allegations circulated repeatedly by UFO claim advocates

Sean Kirkpatrick