A football-field-sized mysterious object hovered above Vandenberg Air Force Base 20 years ago, according to testimony during a House of Representatives panel’s hearing on unidentified flying objects.

The alleged sighting came up about an hour into the hearing by the House Oversight Committee’s national security subcommittee on Wednesday. Since the sighting, the installation’s name has become Vandenberg Space Force Base.

The subcommittee hearing focused on UFOs, now known as unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs. 

The Vandenberg comment occurred in response to a question from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Florida.

“In the 2003 time frame, a large group of Boeing contractors were operating near one of the launch facilities at the base when Vandenberg Air Force Base when they observed a very large, 100-yard-sided red square approach the base from the ocean and hover at low altitude over one of the launch facilities,” said Ryan Graves, a former Navy fighter jet pilot who has formed a nonprofit organization focused on UAP sightings. “This object remained for about 45 seconds or so before darting off over the mountains.”

The sighting occurred at approximately 8:45 a.m. and was followed by a second sighting within hours.

“Later in the evening, post sunset, there were reports of other sightings on base, including some impressive behaviors. These objects were approaching some of the security guards at rapid speeds before darting off,” Graves said.

Graves, who formed Americans for Safe Aerospace, said one of the witnesses provided him with the information about the odd sightings. 

“They had official documentation and records from the event that the witness held over the years,” Graves said.

The alleged sighting of the odd flying object was not reported by local media at the time. 

Graves was one of three former military members to testify at the hearing, but they withheld answers to many questions, saying it would have wait until they were in the sensitive compartmented information facility or secure location for classified information.

Others testifying were David Grusch, a former U.S. intelligence officer, and David Fravor, a former Navy commander who shared about his own UAP sighting off the coast of San Diego.

“This is an issue of government transparency,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tennessee, said at the start of the hearing. “We can’t trust a government that does not trust its people. 

“We’re not bringing little green men or flying saucers into the hearing — sorry to disappoint about half of y’all — we’re just going to get to the facts. We’re going to uncover the coverup.”

Questions and answers also centered on allegations that those reporting sightings often experienced harassment, intimidation and other negative effects. 

Rep. Robert Garcia, a Democrat whose district includes Long Beach, noted that pilots have shared incidents involving odd objects in flight for decades. 

“UAPs, whatever they may be, may pose a serious threat to our military or civilian aircraft and that must be understood,” Garcia said. 

He added that the hearing signaled a new chapter for efforts to encourage more reporting, not less, of UAP sightings. 

“The more we understand, the safer we will be,” Garcia added.

Last year, the Department of Defense created the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office, or AARO, for handling UAP reports. 

“We have an important and yet challenging mission to lead an interagency effort to document, collect, analyze and, when possible, resolve reports of any unidentified anomalous phenomena,” Sean Kirkpatrick, AARO director, said in December.