Former American intelligence officer claims existence of large underwater UFO base

On September 30, 2026, former US Air Force intelligence officer David Grusch appeared on episode 2560 of The Joe Rogan Experience. The main topic of discussion was a sensational claim about the existence of a large underwater structure linked to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP). However, a detailed analysis of the interview transcript and official documents shows that the informant's actual words differ significantly from the screaming headlines in global media.

What was actually said on air

Grusch described a certain underwater object or base, comparing its size to several city blocks. According to him, based on accounts from naval sources, "something comes and goes" from there periodically.

However, a key point was the informant's own important caveat. When asked about the nature of the object, Grusch stated directly: "The origin is indeterminate." He also admitted that he does not have the full picture ("I'm not privy to that"), only assuming that certain Pentagon structures might know more than he does.

Grusch did not name geographic coordinates, nor did he provide sonar recordings, photographs, or any other physical evidence of the structure's extraterrestrial origin.

The "broken telephone" problem and lack of primary data

Just like during his sworn testimony before the US Congress in July 2023, Grusch's current statements are essentially hearsay. He relies on information received from third parties, not on personal experience or primary intelligence data he has studied himself.

To scientifically or militarily verify such a hypothesis, specific materials are required: raw sonar recordings, data from multiple independent sensors, exact observation times, or declassified survey reports. None of this has been presented in the public domain to date.

Official Pentagon position and AARO reports

The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) of the US Department of Defense regularly publishes reports on its activities. In the historical report for 2024 and the annual report for the 2025 fiscal year (published in July 2026), the agency found no verifiable evidence of extraterrestrial technologies or bases.

Out of 319 UAP reports reviewed by AARO, 114 were attributed to ordinary objects, and 191 cases remained archived due to a lack of data. The only mention of the maritime domain concerned approximately 100 aerial UAPs and two likely unmanned surface systems off the coast of Virginia, which has nothing to do with the underwater base described by Grusch.

Baltic Sea anomaly and other "clues"

Discussions often bring up the so-called "Baltic Sea Anomaly," discovered by the Swedish team Ocean X in 2011. At that time, sonar recorded a disc-shaped formation at a depth of 82 meters. However, independent geologists concluded that it was a natural formation related to glacial processes.

Importantly, in his interview with Joe Rogan, David Grusch did not claim that the base he described and the Baltic Sea Anomaly are the same place. Linking these two stories is solely the initiative of the internet community and tabloids.

White spots of the ocean

Theory proponents often point out that the ocean is poorly studied. According to NOAA data for 2026, only about 28.7% of the World Ocean floor has been mapped using modern high-precision methods (multibeam echosounders).

While this means that significant areas of the seabed are indeed not studied in high detail, this fact does not logically lead to the conclusion that a base of an unknown civilization is located there. The existence of poorly studied areas creates the possibility of discovering new geological formations or sunken objects, but the claim of an extraterrestrial structure requires direct evidence, not just a reference to the unexplored nature of the territory.

At present, the claim of a "giant extraterrestrial base underwater" is a premature and speculative conclusion. David Grusch did indeed raise an important topic about observing objects in the maritime domain, relying on his intelligence sources. However, without the provision of primary data, this story remains at the level of unverified testimony, requiring strict scientific and military verification, which has not yet occurred.