Former Air Force Insider: Intelligence Personnel Were Shown Images of an Ancient ‘Tic Tac’ UFO
Above: Dylan Borland
Written by Christopher Sharp - 6 October 2025
Dylan Borland, a former U.S. Air Force member and intelligence-community whistleblower, says he was exposed to briefings and photographic evidence of a “Tic Tac”-shaped craft allegedly recovered during an archaeological dig.
Similar allegations have been made before: Bob Lazar claimed at least one craft he encountered was from an archaeological dig; Lue Elizondo used a King Tutankhamun analogy to hint at a buried advanced vehicle.
A source outlined for Liberation Times a typical scenario: a discovery overseas moves from local to national authorities, then to CIA stations; the Directorate of Operations and the Directorate of Science and Technology coordinate a technical recovery.
Archaeological fieldwork has historically attracted intelligence services; a 2003 Guardian report chronicled archaeologists’ discomfort with their profession being used for espionage.
The Pentagon’s UAP office continues to state it has “no verifiable evidence of extraterrestrial life,” declining to amend this wording to “non-human intelligence” despite earlier statements suggesting “extraterrestrial” covers non-human origins.
Sources suggest some UAP discoveries could be human-made or linked to an advanced ancient civilization.
‘Tic Tac’-style UAP reports stretch back decades; e.g., in 1979 Italian Air Force pilot Giancarlo Cecconi tracked a black, tank-like object that vanished from sight and radar. AARO’s 2024 annual report notes 4% of UAP sightings are cylindrical.
An advanced, exotic vehicle of unknown origin was unearthed during an archaeological dig, according to Dylan Borland, a former U.S. Air Force member and intelligence-community whistleblower.
Borland, who testified publicly last month on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) before the Congressional Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, expanded on his claims in an interview with investigative journalists Jeremy Corbell and George Knapp on their WEAPONIZED podcast.
Referencing UAP described as ‘propane tank' or ‘Tic Tac’ shaped - similar to objects publicly reported by U.S. Navy personnel off the West Coast in 2004 and again in 2023 - Borland stated:
“They [members of a UAP legacy program] had photographic evidence of archaeological digs of some of these, and they had photographic evidence of ones that were complete.
“They did not disclose where they came from, which goes back to AARO [All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office] and the word games that are played with AARO on this subject.”
Borland told Corbell and Knapp he first learned of this in 2015, when members of a UAP legacy program - whose accounts he was exposed to - were briefed and shown photographic evidence of a ‘Tic Tac’ - shaped craft thought to have been recovered during an archaeological dig.
According to Borland, program personnel were told the objects found at such sites were “very old.”
Claims of UAP recovered via archaeological digs have surfaced before - most notably from Bob Lazar, who said on The Joe Rogan Experience in 2019 that he recalled “at least one of them [UAP] was part of an archaeological dig - so, it’s old.”
Lazar came forward in 1989, alleging he worked at a secret site known as S-4 near Area 51, reverse-engineering non-human vehicles.
Another UAP whistleblower, Lue Elizondo, former Director of the Pentagon’s Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), has provided a clue about a potential archaeological discovery of advanced vehicles, stating:
“A 747 [passenger jet] isn't uncommon to see at an international airport, but imagine being the first guy to break into King Tut's tomb, and of all the things you find in there, you find an intact 747 sitting in the tomb. Doesn't make sense, does it? Because a 747 wasn’t around when King Tut was around.”
One source who spoke to Liberation Times outlined how such an archaeological discovery overseas could draw in the U.S. government, resulting in a U.S.-led retrieval followed by a reverse-engineering effort. The source commented:
‘Illustrative scenario. An object or material discovered overseas - by local residents or an academic expedition - is reported up the chain from local to national authorities. A recruited source within those national authorities alerts the local station of the CIA, which then informs headquarters. The CIA’s Directorate of Operations, in consultation with the Directorate of Science and Technology, organises a technical recovery.
‘Within the Directorate of Science and Technology, the Office of Global Access and related technical offices would lead access, exploitation, and transport. Within the Directorate of Operations, the relevant geographic division (for example, the Latin America Division) and the Special Activities Center / Special Operations Group would handle clandestine and protective aspects.
‘Acquisition and movement of material would be coordinated with the host nation’s authorities. If the site sits in a contested area (for example, amid cartel or insurgent activity), the Special Activities Center / Special Operations Group could be reinforced by vetted private contractors or, where appropriate, by U.S. Department of War elements such as the Joint Special Operations Command.
‘Meanwhile, the CIA’s Technology Management Office would coordinate planning and execution. Additional CIA functions could include counterintelligence to shield the operation from foreign services; clandestine signals-intelligence teams to monitor the communications environment; measurement-and-signature-intelligence specialists to detect radiological or other emissions; and dedicated imagery teams to provide visual situational awareness.’
It should be noted that, from the understanding of Liberation Times, the Office of Global Access and its core functions are not commonly dedicated to such UAP missions.
Journalist Shane Harris has previously reported that the CIA’s Technology Management Office sometimes augments the National Security Agency’s cyber operations with human intelligence. In @War, he wrote that the Technology Management Office has supported the National Security Agency’s elite Tailored Access Operations by helping secure the human access needed to break into targeted networks for espionage.
Historically, archaeology has had an uneasy overlap with intelligence work: field access, local networks, and specialist knowledge have made archaeologists attractive conduits for governments.
This history implies that, if a sensitive artefact were uncovered, authorities would likely learn of it quickly through well-placed sources embedded around digs and academic teams.
In 2003, The Guardian chronicled this relationship and the profession’s discomfort with it, underscoring how intelligence services have periodically drawn on archaeological fieldwork; even official histories acknowledge archaeologists’ forays into espionage.
Archaeologists have also worked with the United States Air Force - Borland’s former branch of service - while the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has employed Unmanned Aerial Systems and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology to survey archaeological sites.
Such discoveries, as alluded to by Borland, could be categorised as being of unknown origin.
AARO - the U.S. Government’s UAP Office, which whistleblowers have provided testimony - has previously repeatedly stated it has found ‘no verifiable evidence of extraterrestrial life.’
To ensure an accurate representation of its position, in June 2025, Liberation Times asked Pentagon spokesperson Susan Gough for permission to amend that phrasing to ‘non-human intelligence’ or ‘unknown intelligence.’
Gough declined: ‘No, you may not amend my statement.’ Gough’s response was underlined to ensure it was understood. Of note, AARO’s position in June 2025 appears to contradict its position in June 2023, when Gough told Liberation Times that ‘extraterrestrial’ in its statement does cover non-human intelligence or non-human origin.
Sources have also suggested to Liberation Times that some UAP discoveries may have human origins - potentially linked to an advanced ancient civilization.
‘Tic Tac’-style UAP encounters go back decades.
In 1979, Italian Air Force pilot marshal Giancarlo Cecconi, flying a Fiat G.91R near Treviso, was vectored onto a hovering black, tank-like object with a small dome - no exhaust, no conventional flight traits.
Above: The Tic-Tac seen in 1979, near Treviso in Italy
As he circled, it kept turning to face him; radar and ground observers also tracked it. Then, simultaneously for pilot, radar, and ground witnesses, it vanished.
According to AARO’s 2024 Consolidated Annual Report, between 1 May 2023 and 1 June 2024, 4% of reported UAP sightings were cylindrical.
