News · 10 November 2026
Avi Loeb on Trump's F-22 account: the pilots are “well-trained” and “do not hallucinate”, but a round object faster than sound should leave a shock wave
interview · NewsNation, Jesse Weber Live (Rob Taub) · Original source
Avi Loeb, who chairs the White House UAP Science Advisory Council, called the pilots' reports Trump described on 60 Minutes reliable but puzzling, and said a round object outrunning an F-22 should have produced a shock wave that was not observed. He gave no details of the pilots, dates or sensor data; Trump himself did not identify the pilots or say when or where the encounter happened.
Facts and claims
- claimed Asked on NewsNation about the Air Force pilots' accounts Donald Trump described on 60 Minutes, Loeb said the pilots are “people who are well-trained”, adding: “And they do not hallucinate. They use their best instruments.” — Avi Loeb Source: newsnationnow.com (archived)
- claimed According to a Soap Central write-up of the same interview, Loeb also said: “Yes, I did speak to some pilots. And indeed, these reports are quite reliable and puzzling.” The write-up does not say whether these were the pilots Trump met. — Avi Loeb Source: soapcentral.com (archived)
- claimed On the round object said to pass an F-22 at three times its speed, Loeb said: “The puzzle is if they move faster than the speed of sound such an object, since it’s round, should create a shock wave, a blast wave in the air, and that was not observed.” — Avi Loeb Source: newsnationnow.com (archived)
- claimed He repeated his call for better sensors where the objects are seen, and, per Soap Central, said of a new observatory project: “Within a year, we hope to put a passive radar system that will scan the sky and then steer a large telescope towards an object of interest.” — Avi Loeb Source: soapcentral.com (archived)
Connected files
People
- Avi Loeb (features)
- Donald Trump (about)
Organizations
- UAP Science Advisory Council (about)
More news
- CBS Sunday Morning: Ryan Graves, now on the UAP Science Advisory Council, says the released files are “not satisfactory to me”
- Avi Loeb wants sensors at the PURSUE sites where the triangle and the orbs were reported
- Loeb's council: more than 8% of PURSUE sensor videos may show birds
- Trump on 60 Minutes: pilots saw a round object pass an F-22 at “three times their speed”; he hasn't heard of a secret program