Ryan Graves is a retired U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander and F/A-18 Super Hornet pilot who flew with Strike Fighter Squadron 11 (VFA-11) based at NAS Oceana, Virginia. He is one of the most prominent military UAP witnesses of the contemporary era, having reported near-daily UAP encounters by his squadron off the U.S. East Coast beginning around 2014, following the installation of upgraded radar systems on their aircraft.

Graves and pilots from his squadron reported that after upgraded APG-79 AESA radar systems were installed on their F/A-18s, they began detecting objects routinely operating in restricted airspace. The objects appeared to hold station against strong winds, were detected at altitudes from near sea level to 30,000 feet, and exhibited no visible means of propulsion. One incident involved a UAP nearly colliding with an F/A-18 over the Atlantic Ocean.

Graves reported these incidents through official military channels but received little follow-up. He went public with his accounts in the 2019 New York Times article "Navy Pilots Were Seeing U.F.O.s on an Almost Daily Basis in 2014 and 2015," which significantly expanded the scope of the UAP conversation beyond the Nimitz 2004 case.

In July 2023, Graves testified before the House Oversight Committee alongside David Grusch and David Fravor. He described the phenomenon as representing an urgent safety and national security issue, noting that pilots routinely encounter UAP but face cultural stigma that discourages official reporting. He founded Americans for Safe Aerospace (ASA), a nonprofit dedicated to supporting military and commercial pilots in reporting UAP safely.