Within Official Actions
How Tom De Longe Made UAPs a Policy Issue
Tom DeLonge's celebrity reach helped former officials recast UFO reports as questions of air safety, intelligence and accountability.
On this page
- Building a media facing team of former officials
- Turning military footage into mainstream news
- Where celebrity influence ended and institutional action began
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Introduction
Tom DeLonge did not persuade the US government to treat unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) as a policy issue on his own. His significance lies in the way he connected celebrity visibility with the credibility of former defence and intelligence officials, helping move discussion away from popular culture and towards questions of aviation safety, intelligence collection and government accountability. Rather than convincing institutions to embrace extraordinary explanations, DeLonge helped create a public platform where military personnel, former officials and journalists could present UAP incidents as matters worthy of official investigation. That shift in framing proved far more influential than celebrity endorsement alone, because it aligned public attention with concerns already emerging inside parts of the US national security community.[WIRED]wired.comWhat Is Up With Those Pentagon UFO Videos?The article included videos of UAPs and featured accounts from Navy pilots. The program, Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program…
Building a media-facing team of former officials
The defining feature of DeLonge’s approach was not simply that he spoke publicly about UFOs. Many entertainers had done that for decades with little institutional effect. His innovation was to establish To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science (TTSA) in 2017 as a hybrid organisation combining entertainment, research and former government expertise. The founding team included former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Christopher Mellon, former intelligence officer Jim Semivan, physicist Hal Puthoff and Luis Elizondo, who said he had overseen the Pentagon’s Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP).[Wikipedia]WikipediaTo The Stars IncTo The Stars Inc
This composition mattered because it changed who was delivering the message. DeLonge attracted audiences that defence officials alone would rarely reach, while Mellon and Elizondo translated unusual aerial encounters into language familiar to policymakers:
- restricted military airspace;
- pilot safety;
- sensor performance;
- intelligence collection;
- national security risk.
That combination broadened the audience beyond UFO enthusiasts. Journalists covering defence, Congress and national security increasingly treated the issue as one involving military reporting standards rather than folklore.[WIRED]wired.comWhat Is Up With Those Pentagon UFO Videos?The article included videos of UAPs and featured accounts from Navy pilots. The program, Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program…
The partnership also created useful role separation. DeLonge often discussed speculative ideas about non-human intelligence that government agencies have never endorsed. His former-government colleagues, by contrast, generally argued for a narrower proposition: trained personnel were encountering objects they could not immediately identify, and those encounters deserved systematic investigation regardless of their ultimate explanation. That distinction allowed institutional actors to engage with the issue without adopting DeLonge’s broader beliefs.[WIRED]wired.comWhat Is Up With Those Pentagon UFO Videos?The article included videos of UAPs and featured accounts from Navy pilots. The program, Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program…
Turning military footage into mainstream news
The most important moment in DeLonge’s policy influence came in December 2017.
On the same day that The New York Times revealed the existence of the Pentagon’s AATIP programme, TTSA published Navy cockpit videos that became widely known as FLIR1, Gimbal and, later, GoFast. The simultaneous appearance of investigative reporting and military imagery transformed public discussion. Instead of relying primarily on eyewitness stories, journalists and policymakers were examining authenticated military sensor recordings connected to trained aviators.[WIRED]wired.comWhat Is Up With Those Pentagon UFO Videos?The article included videos of UAPs and featured accounts from Navy pilots. The program, Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program…
The videos themselves did not establish what the observed objects were. Subsequent reporting highlighted unresolved questions about their release process and noted that the available footage lacked sufficient contextual data to determine the nature of the objects. Nevertheless, the recordings achieved something politically significant: they reframed unidentified objects as documented military incidents rather than anecdotal civilian claims.[WIRED]wired.comWhat Is Up With Those Pentagon UFO Videos?The article included videos of UAPs and featured accounts from Navy pilots. The program, Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program…
The US Navy later confirmed that the videos depicted genuine unidentified aerial phenomena, carefully avoiding any claim about extraterrestrial origin. That official terminology further reinforced the shift away from sensational language towards operational reporting and risk assessment.[HISTORY]history.comNavy Confirms UFO Videos Are Real and Show Unidentified Aerial Phenomena | HISTORY…
How publicity became policy attention
Celebrity attention alone rarely produces lasting policy change. DeLonge’s influence worked because it intersected with existing institutional concerns.
Several mechanisms helped convert publicity into official attention:
- Agenda setting. High-profile media coverage encouraged mainstream news organisations to devote sustained attention to military UAP reports rather than treating them as entertainment stories.
- Credible intermediaries. Former officials such as Mellon and Elizondo could brief journalists and legislators using defence terminology and institutional experience.
- Political framing. Rather than arguing that aliens had been proven, advocates increasingly focused on unidentified objects operating near military training areas and sensitive installations.
- Public accountability. Questions shifted towards whether reporting systems were adequate and whether Congress had sufficient oversight of government investigations.
This reframing lowered the political cost of engaging with the issue. Members of Congress could ask whether unidentified objects represented foreign surveillance technology, drones, sensor anomalies or other aviation hazards without endorsing extraordinary explanations.[Axios]axios.comNavy reports increase in UFO sightingsNavy has reported an increase in UFO sightings, particularly near sensitive military zones, following the establishment of the Space Forc…
By 2019, reporting connected growing congressional interest with material publicised by TTSA and its former-government advisers. Although multiple actors—including military aviators, investigative journalists and defence officials—were independently driving attention, DeLonge’s platform amplified their voices to audiences that traditional defence channels rarely reached.[Axios]axios.comNavy reports increase in UFO sightingsNavy has reported an increase in UFO sightings, particularly near sensitive military zones, following the establishment of the Space Forc…
Where celebrity influence ended and institutional action began
It is important not to overstate DeLonge’s role.
Official developments—including revised Navy reporting procedures, congressional briefings, intelligence assessments and later creation of dedicated Department of Defense UAP offices—were governmental decisions responding to multiple pressures. Military personnel had been reporting unusual encounters independently, investigative journalists uncovered important documentation, and lawmakers pursued oversight through established legislative processes. DeLonge neither controlled nor directed those institutional actions.[Axios]axios.comNavy reports increase in UFO sightingsNavy has reported an increase in UFO sightings, particularly near sensitive military zones, following the establishment of the Space Forc…
Equally important, government agencies did not adopt DeLonge’s broader claims about extraterrestrial visitors. Official investigations consistently framed UAPs as unidentified observations requiring better data collection rather than evidence of alien technology. Later assessments emphasised that many reports remained unresolved because available information was incomplete, not because extraordinary explanations had been confirmed.[HISTORY]history.comNavy Confirms UFO Videos Are Real and Show Unidentified Aerial Phenomena | HISTORY…
This distinction illustrates the limit of celebrity influence. Public advocacy can shape what institutions investigate, but it cannot determine their findings. DeLonge helped elevate the subject onto the policy agenda; the subsequent investigations remained governed by military, intelligence and scientific standards rather than celebrity narratives.
The lasting “DeLonge effect”
The lasting significance of DeLonge’s campaign lies less in any specific claim than in the communication model it pioneered. By combining celebrity reach with former national security officials and strategically releasing military-related material through mainstream journalism, TTSA demonstrated that UAPs could be discussed as questions of public administration rather than solely as paranormal entertainment.
That communication strategy altered the public conversation in three enduring ways:
- it normalised discussion of UAPs within mainstream political reporting;
- it encouraged policymakers to frame unidentified objects as potential aviation and intelligence issues;
- it separated the question of whether incidents deserved investigation from the far more contentious question of what ultimately caused them.
For that reason, DeLonge’s contribution is best understood as a mechanism of agenda-setting rather than proof of any particular explanation for UAP reports. His celebrity status opened doors, but sustained institutional attention depended on military evidence, investigative journalism, congressional oversight and official reporting systems operating beyond the influence of celebrity advocacy.[wired.com]wired.comWhat Is Up With Those Pentagon UFO Videos?The article included videos of UAPs and featured accounts from Navy pilots. The program, Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program…
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Endnotes
1.
Source: wired.com
Title: What Is Up With Those Pentagon UFO Videos?
Link:https://www.wired.com/story/what-is-up-with-those-pentagon-ufo-videos
Source snippet
The article included videos of UAPs and featured accounts from Navy pilots. The program, Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program...
2.
Source: history.com
Link:https://www.history.com/articles/navy-confirms-ufo-videos-real
Source snippet
Navy Confirms UFO Videos Are Real and Show Unidentified Aerial Phenomena | HISTORY...
3.
Source: Wikipedia
Title: To The Stars Inc
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_The_Stars_Inc
4.
Source: axios.com
Title: Navy reports increase in UFO sightings
Link:https://www.axios.com/2019/04/27/navy-reports-increase-ufo-sightings
Source snippet
Navy has reported an increase in UFO sightings, particularly near sensitive military zones, following the establishment of the Space Forc...
5.
Source: history.com
Title: [Tom De Longe]({{ ‘tom-de-longe/’ | relative_url }})
Link:https://www.history.com/shows/unidentified-inside-americas-ufo-investigation/cast/tom-delonge
6.
Source: decur.org
Title: To The Stars Academy
Link:https://decur.org/programs/ttsa
7.
Source: 4orbs.com
Link:https://4orbs.com/research/aatip/
Additional References
8.
Source: vice.com
Title: Ex Intel Official Says He Was the Source of the Pentagon’s UFO Videos
Link:https://www.vice.com/en/article/this-guy-says-he-was-the-source-of-the-pentagons-ufo-videos/
Source snippet
October 20, 2020 — EX INTEL OFFICIAL SAYS HE WAS THE SOURCE OF THE PENTAGON’S UFO VIDEOS By MJ Banias October 20, 2020, 9:18am Share: * *...
Published: October 20, 2020
9.
Source: uapedia.ai
Title: Tom [De Longe]({{ ‘de-longe/’ | relative_url }}) and the Modern UAP Era: A Rocker Kickstarting Change
Link:https://www.uapedia.ai/wiki/tom-delonge-and-the-modern-uap-era-a-rocker-kickstarting-change/
Source snippet
Tom DeLonge and the Modern UAP Era: A Rocker Kickstarting Change - UAPediaNovember 26, 2025 — TTSA – TO THE STARS ACADEMY: PLANNING A PUB...
Published: November 26, 2025
10.
Source: au.rollingstone.com
Title: tom delonge ufo video pentagon release blink 182 10815
Link:https://au.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/tom-delonge-ufo-video-pentagon-release-blink-182-10815/
Source snippet
DeLonge on the Pentagon Releasing UFO Videos: ‘I Can’t Believe We Pulled This Off’May 8, 2020 — May 8, 2020 1:04PM TOM DELONGE ON THE PEN...
Published: May 8, 2020
11.
Source: euronews.com
Title: Revealed: the US’ secret programme to probe UFOs | Euronews
Link:https://www.euronews.com/2017/12/17/revealed-the-us-secret-programme-to-probe-ufos
Source snippet
Revealed: the US’ secret programme to probe UFOs | Euronews...
12.
Source: youtube.com
Title: UAP’s or UFO’s — what are the facts, and are they a threat?
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsyEi6bhqd4
Source snippet
Tom DeLonge To The Stars Academy UFO policy Pentagon Tom DeLonge & UFOs - The full story...
13.
Source: abcnews.go.com
Title: By Luis Martinez
Link:https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/pentagon-declassifies-[navy-videos
Source snippet
declassifies Navy videos that purportedly show UFOs - ABC NewsApril 27, 2020 — PENTAGON DECLASSIFIES NAVY VIDEOS THAT PURPORTEDLY SHOW UF...
Published: April 27, 2020
14.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Tom Delonge: Skinwalkers & CIA Spooks | With Jim Semivan
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBSdg3nwxoo
Source snippet
Chris Mellon, a key conduit for strategic DC partnerships...
15.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Chris Mellon, a key conduit for strategic DC partnerships
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jisjb9tXxXw
Source snippet
What Happened To Tom Delonge & To The Stars Academy?...
16.
Source: youtube.com
Title: What Happened To Tom Delonge & To The Stars Academy?
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLGRZLjFjSE
Source snippet
UAP's or UFO's — what are the facts, and are they a threat?...
17.
Source: theblackvault.com
Link:https://www.theblackvault.com/casefiles/to-the-stars-academy-of-arts-science-tom-delonge-and-the-secret-dod-ufo-research-program/