On Tuesday (April 28), Tom DeLonge’s decades-long UFO research and efforts to publicize sightings finally got acknowledgement, when the U.S. Navy officially released three of the clips the former Blink-182 singer has been talking about for years.
The clips, titled “GIMBAL.wmv,” “FLIR.mp4” and “GOFAST.wmv” were first published by the New York Times and DeLonge’s UFO research organization, To the Stars Academy, in 2017 and 2018.
Trying to find the countless interviews of DeLonge talking about his connection with the extraterrestrial world would take hours, so we’ve broken it down for you. Here’s a timeline of the rocker’s most notable UFO moments.
1999 – Blink-182’s third studio album Enema of the State features single titled, “Aliens Exist”
“I know the CIA would say/What you hear is all hearsay/I wish someone would tell me what was right” DeLonge sings in the upbeat punk tune. The last line of the song references a folklore called Majestic 12, an organization formed in 1947 composed of scientists, military and intelligence officials dedicated to the investigation of alien spacecraft. Blink-182 since released other space-themed songs, such as “The Flight of Apollo” and “Valkyrie Missile.”
Early 2000s – DeLonge’s talks passionately about hidden UFO information in the military
In the clip that seems like it was recorded in 2001 based on his attire, Delonge talks to an unidentified interviewer. He mentions a friend on the east coast who spent years talking to government employees who have witnessed UFO activity—and also shows the camera his collection of video tapes with 136 hours of testimonies. The singer then gives an example of a man who was part of a nuclear clean-up task force. The man says in his testimony that he was brought seven stories below the Pentagon, through a maze of elevators and tunnels and ended up face to face with an alien, and “ instantly every little motion—fear, pain, happiness, everything—came out at the same time.”
January 2015 – DeLonge leaves Blink-182
The original statement by the remaining band mates quoted that a week before the band was scheduled to go into the studio, DeLonge’s manager emailed the group explaining that the guitarist would rather work on non-musical endeavors for the foreseeable future. In a later interview with Mic, he said he needed to take the opportunity to help out with a “national security issue” (which he denied on Twitter).
Don’t believe the media, ridiculous articles saying I quit blink over my work with Government on Sekret Machines Project. Not true. Hahaha
— Tom DeLonge (@tomdelonge) June 21, 2016
February 2015 – DeLonge tells Papermag that he’s made contact with aliens
DeLonge recounted a time in the interview where he was camping at a secret base on the flight path to Area 51. He was told that by shutting down his mind and projecting his thoughts, he would be able to achieve extraterrestrial communication. He then woke up at 3 a.m. and felt a strange phenomenon: “My whole body felt like it had static electricity…It sounded like there were about 20 people there, talking. And instantly my mind goes, OK, they’re at our campsite, they’re not here to hurt us, they’re talking about shit, but I can’t make out what they’re saying. But they’re working on something.”
Late 2015 – DeLonge is the founder, President and CEO of To the Stars Academy of Arts & Science
According to the company’s website, the mission is “to be a powerful vehicle for change by creating a consortium among science, aerospace and entertainment that will work collectively to allow gifted researchers the freedom to explore exotic science and technologies with the infrastructure and resources to rapidly transition them to products that can change the world.” The company was built based on the frustration of government secrecy on the topics of space and the universe.
April 2016 – Sekret Machines Book 1: Chasing Shadows is released
The book, co-written by A.J. Hartley, dives deep into the U.S. Department of Defense, exploring metaphorical dark corners of the government. “This is not just Tom talking about UFOs again,” DeLong told Entertainment Weekly. “I think that it’s a heroic story and it’s an important topic that we’re still dealing with today.” The next chapter of the franchise, Sekret Machines: Gods: Volume 1 of Gods Man & War, was released in March 2017.
October 2016 – WikiLeaks show DeLonge’s connection with the U.S. government
Among the piles of information exposed by WikiLeaks was the extensive email chain between DeLonge and Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta. The Wall Street Journal reported that the rocker wrote to Podesta vaguely about their shared interest of intellectual life and greater government disclosure. Furthermore, DeLonge revealed that he had been working with former Air Force Major General William N. McCasland to help the rocker assemble his UFO advisory team. In an email from 2015, DeLonge told Podesta that he would like to introduce him to two officials who “were in charge of most fragile divisions, as it relates to Classified Science and DOD topics.” There was no further information on whether DeLonge actually met with Podesta.
February 2017 – The guitarist receives UFO Researcher of the Year Award
OpenMinds.tv gave DeLong the honor at the 2017 International UFO Congress. While he wasn’t there to personally accept his award he delivered an acceptance speech on video, mentioning that his work isn’t done: “I want you as an educated group of people to read between the lines and look at the history of what I’ve been doing over the past couple years and get a sense for what the hell I’m getting ready to do. If you guys come along for the ride, it’s going to be pretty fantastic.”
December 2017 – To the Stars Academy of Arts & Science releases UFO “evidence”
The footage of declassified military videos was released at the same time as the New York Times article. While the actual visual isn’t clear enough to give definitive evidence of UFOs, the videos from 2004 show a white oval object moving quickly and erratically. Two Navy pilots can be heard trying to make sense of the phenomenon and one shouts “Look at that thing, dude!” The New York Times also posted the pilot’s firsthand account of the experience.
October 2018 – DeLonge calls out report on $37 million deficit
A report published by Ars Technica claimed that the Blink-182 frontman’s UFO research organization, To The Stars Academy of Arts and Science, has accumulated a $37,432,000 deficit according to a mid-year SEC filing.
DeLonge took to Instagram in a since-deleted post to quickly shut down what he called a “blatant lie.” “APPARENTLY, THIS WRITER CAN’T READ,” he wrote. “BTW- TTSA never even raised $37m!!? So how in the hell did we spend it?! Lord. I ask all of you that believe in the @tothestarsacademy mission to go write a complaint on their website RIGHT NOW for trying to hurt an admirable effort to help humanity by using negative attacks and—-> lies.”
March 2019 – DeLonge announces he is taking part in a UFO series
The six-part History Channel series, Unidentified: Inside America’s UFO Investigation, discusses the government’s secret UFO program.
“With this show, the real conversation can finally begin,” DeLonge said in a statement, according to Radio.com. “I’m thankful to History for giving the To The Stars Academy team of world-class scientists, engineers and intelligence experts the opportunity to tell the story in a comprehensive and compelling way. I think everyone that watches the show will walk away with questions answered and a feeling of, ‘Wow, I get it now.’”
October 2019 – UFO Videos acknowledged by Navy as ‘Unidentified Aerial Phenomena’
The U.S. Navy spoke out for the first time on footage of “unidentified” objects that pilots captured on film. “The Navy considers the phenomena contained/depicted in those three videos as unidentified,” spokesman Joseph Gradisher told Vice.
April 2020 – Navy publishes three of DeLonge’s UFO videos
DeLonge was elated that the videos were officially declassified, as evidenced by a series of tweets. “With today’s events and articles on my and @TTSAcademy’s efforts to get the US Gov to start the grand conversation, I want to thank every share holder at To The Stars for believing in us. Next, we plan on pursuing the technology, finding more answers and telling the stories,” he wrote.
