James Goodall
| James Goodall |
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James Goodall is an American aerospace journalist, author, and United States Air Force veteran who has spent decades documenting classified military aircraft programs, with a particular focus on Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works division. He is known for his personal relationships with senior engineers and executives at Lockheed, Northrop Grumman, and Boeing, and for being the first civilian ever to photograph the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter. He has also spoken publicly about insider accounts suggesting the US government possesses knowledge of non-human technology and aerial phenomena far beyond what has been officially acknowledged. Steven Greer has described Goodall as "a well known aerospace historian" and a personal friend, citing Goodall's direct conversations with Ben Rich about Skunk Works capabilities.
Career
Goodall served in the United States Air Force, including during the Gulf War of 1991. His interest in classified aviation was catalysed in March 1964 when he saw his first A-12 Blackbird at Edwards Air Force Base, and around the same time observed three U-2s flying overhead — an experience he described as the beginning of his passion for "all things Lockheed, all things Skunkworks."
He has authored 28 books on classified and advanced military aircraft, with a 29th in progress at the time of the interview. His books are available at major bookstores across North America. He has developed direct personal access to Skunk Works leadership: in 2021 he conducted a book signing for his volume 75 Years of the Lockheed Skunkworks at the Skunk Works facility, followed by a private tour hosted by Skunk Works president Jeff Babione, which included the X-59 QueSST technology demonstrator and the U-2 overhaul facility. Among his personal contacts was Ben Rich, the second director of Skunk Works. Steven Greer described Goodall as "a famous aerospace historian and writer" and recounted that Goodall spoke with Rich approximately one week before Rich's death from cancer in January 1995. He has also met and interviewed engineers, pilots, and program managers from Northrop Grumman, Boeing, and other major defence contractors.
Black projects coverage
Goodall's primary focus has been on aircraft developed under extreme secrecy at Skunk Works and related programmes. He has written extensively on the SR-71 Blackbird, discussing its operational envelope, the compressor inlet temperature limits that constrained its maximum speed, and the trade-off between performance and engine survivability.
On the F-117 Nighthawk, he relayed that Ben Rich privately considered it one of the best-flying aircraft he had worked on, despite its faceted geometry making it aerodynamically unstable in every flight regime except when parked. He explained that the faceted design exploits a mathematical prediction from a declassified Soviet paper, allowing radar returns to be deflected away rather than reflected back to the transmitter.
He has discussed the longevity of the U-2, noting that Kelly Johnson's original design specification called for a five-year service life, yet the aircraft remained operational six decades later — partly because its high-altitude performance and payload capacity exceed those of the RQ-4 Global Hawk.
Statements on UAP
Ben Rich and recovered technology
Goodall has stated that Ben Rich told him personally — as well as saying publicly at a banquet for UCLA aerospace engineering graduates — that the United States has "the ability to take ET home." Greer relayed a version of the same account, stating that Rich told Goodall in their final conversations that "anything you can imagine, that you've seen on Star Trek, we've already done at the Lockheed Skunk Works. And it's not at Area 51. It's out in the desert underground."
When Goodall put the same question to Skunk Works president Jeff Babione during their 2021 limousine ride between Skunk Works sites, Babione responded that he believed non-human craft were possible but had no personal knowledge of Lockheed involvement — while adding that such a programme could have existed in a compartment he had no access to. Goodall stated his own view: "I would be dumbfounded if Lockheed wasn't involved."
SR-71 encounter and Air Force reporting culture
Goodall relayed an account from SR-71 pilot Dave Fruehauf, who described a 1972–73 night encounter over Okinawa while flying out of Kadena Air Base. At approximately 77,000–78,000 feet and Mach 2.7, Fruehauf spotted a metallic object five to six miles away at six to seven thousand feet above his altitude, moving at the same speed and heading. When he closed to within a mile, the object accelerated away on a 30-degree angle of attack and was estimated to have reached altitudes of 180,000–200,000 feet at a speed Fruehauf put somewhere between Mach 12 and Mach 16.
Goodall also described an account from General Gatlin, who as a major in the mid-1950s scrambled in an F-94 Starfire from an alert facility on the north shore of Lake Superior to intercept a high-speed unknown. Each time Gatlin's weapons radar locked onto the object, it immediately failed; after three attempts, the object accelerated and disappeared vertically.
On the reporting environment of the era, Goodall quoted General Gatlin's advice to any pilot who saw a UAP: "Go to the O Club, take a couple of stiff drinks and go home and talk to yourself, because the only thing that's going to happen is that you'll be ridiculed."
Government knowledge and non-disclosure
Goodall has expressed a firm belief that people at the highest levels of the US government possess complete knowledge of what UAP are, who built them, and where they originate: "I'm a firm believer that there are people and organizations within the federal government... that are fully aware of what's flying out there, and they know where they're at, and they know where they're coming, and they're probably in regular communication with our government in one form or another."
He stated his belief that recovered craft and non-human beings are held at locations including Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and possibly other facilities — though not at Area 51 proper, which an SR-71 pilot he interviewed later served as facility manager for five years and confirmed contained no underground structures.
Jesse Michels, discussing the Bob Lazar case on The Joe Rogan Experience, noted that Goodall and John Lear "had been camping out at Area 51 for the better part of a decade" and that "the security guards there knew him," placing Goodall within the circle of civilian observers who had long-term proximity to classified test sites.
Goodall has maintained a long personal acquaintance with Bob Lazar, describing knowing Lazar "going on 33 years" and "before he went to work out in the desert." He relayed that two people vaguely recalled seeing Lazar aboard JANET flights to classified facilities. He also cited an NSA contractor contact who, when asked whether extraterrestrials were real, replied via email: "I can't comment on platform electronically. But they're here."
Goodall has also speculated on non-disclosure, suggesting that governments may not fully control the release of UAP information: "I really don't think the people that are commenting on them... they probably don't know, but I have a feeling that people at the top of the food chain know precisely what those things are and where they're from." He has attended multiple UFO conferences, including the 2020 UFO Con in San Francisco, and has appeared on numerous radio and podcast programmes.