Is the Tic Tac Really Lockheed Martin Technology?

Summary

Richard Dolan and Bryce Zabel revisit Ross Coulthart's startling on-air claim from a year earlier that he 'knows categorically' the Tic Tac UAP is Lockheed Martin technology, a claim he later softened and has never backed with evidence. The hosts weigh Lockheed's long, plausible history with classified aerospace and alleged crash-retrieval programs against the specific, unsupported assertion that the 2004 Nimitz encounter involved human-made craft. Along the way they debate the greatest ufologist of all time, react to the Disclosure Forum in Washington and Spielberg's film Disclosure Day, and warn about how intelligence sources can steer researchers.

Key takeaways

• 1Ross Coulthart said on his final Need to Know episode (around July 2, 2025) that he knows 'categorically' the Tic Tac is Lockheed Martin technology. He later said on his Reality Check podcast that NHI Tic Tacs also exist and that not all Tic Tacs are Lockheed's.
• 2Zabel says Coulthart admitted he was waiting for an unnamed person's go-ahead before making the statement, and that he has declined to explain it further.
• 3Dolan cites a claim that around 2008-2009 Robert Bigelow tried, through the AAWSAP/OSAP program, to acquire Lockheed's legacy UFO material, and that CIA officer Glenn Gaffney blocked the transfer twice.
• 4Kelly Johnson and Ben Rich of Lockheed Skunk Works are described as deeply interested in UFOs. Harry Reid reportedly said he was told Lockheed had received materials, and Eric Davis has spoken of 'legacy aerospace corporations' in crash-retrieval programs.
• 5The hosts argue against the human-made explanation by pointing to Kevin Day's testimony of two weeks of objects around the Nimitz carrier group, Ryan Graves's 2014 East Coast encounters, and Operation Mainbrace (1952), when unknown objects appeared over NATO's first North Sea naval exercise.
• 6At the 7.5-hour Disclosure Forum in the Russell Senate Office Building, Christopher Mellon said key data is locked behind classification within the Air Force, CIA and Department of Energy. Leonard Stringfield's seven Status Reports on crash retrievals are praised as essential reading.

Glossary terms

Source

Transcript excerpt

Picture yourself making your morning coffee. You know those few minutes while the water and the beans do their thing? Instead of scrolling, what if you video called a friend? However you like to connect, AT&T guarantees their network. If there's an outage, we'll credit your bill. When the connection matters, it has to be AT&T. Credit for wireless downtime lasting 60 minutes or more caused by a single incident impacting eight or more towers. Restrictions and exclusions apply. See att.com slash guarantee for full details. Breathe in and reset with Lincoln Rejuvenate. An available multi-sensory feature in the 2027 Lincoln Navigator SUV. Experience the luxurious massage, visuals, and sense to help you relax in the driver's seat. It's your time for a reset. Visit Lincoln.com to learn more. Lincoln Rejuvenate does not operate unless the vehicle is in park. When the vehicle is off or if any door is open, do not use the feature in a closed garage or in other enclosed areas. See owner's manual for important operating instructions. Lincoln and Navigator are trademarks of Fort Worth's affiliates. All rights reserved. One is, you know, the phrase for goats is, you know, G-O-A-T, goat, greatest of all time. Who's the greatest of all time UFO researcher? Do we have a goat? Aside from you and me? Aside from us? Yeah, exactly. We have to. Actually, I wouldn't include myself, but I would include you. I might vote for you if it was an open deal, but we have to go with a classic. I was just yesterday by James Iandoli, who I've liked for many years. He has a little podcast. He said, I am the last great ufologist. I think I'm thinking of like, there's not a lot of people who you think of as ufologists.…

Excerpt from Need to Know (Coulthart/Zabel), Jul 5, 2026. Rights remain with the original creators. Hear the full episode at the source.