Skywatcher

Skywatcher is a privately funded UAP research organization launched in November 2024 by Jake Barber and Alex Klokus. It operates at the intersection of whistleblower disclosure, field observation, and — controversially — consciousness-based UAP interaction methodology. The organization's funding structure and its co-founder's financial background are relevant to source evaluation of Barber's broader claims.

Founding and Structure

Alex Klokus, Skywatcher's primary investor and co-founder, is the co-founder and managing partner of the SALT Fund, a venture capital operation associated with the SALT conference — a finance and technology event with a cryptocurrency and alternative investment orientation [S1]. Skywatcher's website was owned by Klokus at launch [S2]. James Fowler serves as technology team lead [S3].

The organization's advisory and participant network overlaps substantially with the broader UAP advocacy cluster: Garry Nolan, Karl Nell (ret.), Matthew Pines, and Luis Elizondo have appeared in Skywatcher content or are connected to its principals. Nolan and Nell are both board members of the UAP Disclosure Fund (UAPDF), which also connects to Chris Mellon and Elizondo [S1]. This is a dense, pre-existing network — Barber's emergence as a whistleblower through the Coulthart/NewsNation pipeline and his subsequent founding of Skywatcher with Klokus suggests the organizational relationship may predate or have conditioned the public disclosure.

Methodology

Skywatcher's stated mission is scientific validation of UAP. It has produced two documentary episodes and conducted field operations. Its methodology is dual-track: (1) technological detection using conventional sensor arrays ("electromechanical signaling / machine calling"), and (2) psionic interaction ("neuromeditative interaction / psionic calling"), which posits that human consciousness or intention can summon or influence UAP activity [S3].

The psionic methodology aligns with CE5 protocols associated with Steven Greer, and has drawn criticism as unfalsifiable and methodologically incoherent with scientific validation claims [S4].

August 2024 Summoning Event

In August 2024, Barber's team claims to have successfully summoned the "egg" craft — a 20-foot white, egg-shaped aerial vehicle — during daylight hours in the California desert. The team recorded the craft traveling at 10,000 miles per hour and presented the sensor data to the Pentagon's AARO (All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office). Barber characterized the interaction as a "UAP psychic dogfight" during a psionic summoning operation — a claim that is internally self-sealing and not subject to external verification.

Skywatcher has claimed a psionics study was submitted for peer review [S5]. As of early 2026, no published results have appeared and the organization has gone largely silent, prompting speculation about NDA enforcement, loss of momentum, or government intervention [S6].

Source Evaluation Notes

The financial backing structure (SALT Fund / Klokus) creates a plausible monetization pathway for UAP content independent of whether the underlying claims are true. This does not falsify Barber's retrieval claims, but it does mean the organization has structural incentives for audience engagement that could influence the framing and pacing of disclosures. The pre-existing network connections between Skywatcher participants and the UAPDF/Elizondo cluster suggest coordination rather than independent emergence — relevant when assessing the claimed independence of corroborating voices.

Sources

[S1] Skywatcher analysis thread | Metabunk URL: https://www.metabunk.org/threads/skywatcher-part-i-the-journey-begins.13971/ Accessed: 2026-05-24 Claim: Klokus as SALT Fund founder; Nolan/Nell UAPDF board connections; pre-existing network

[S2] Anomaly Archives — Barber, Jacob URL: https://anomalyarchives.org/collections/file/barber-jacob/ Accessed: 2026-05-24 Claim: Skywatcher website owned by Alex Klokus

[S3] Skywatcher Media page URL: https://skywatcher.ai/media Accessed: 2026-05-24 Claim: Skywatcher Part I and II descriptions; Fowler as tech lead; methodology terminology

[S4] "SETI@Home's Legacy and the Failures of Skywatcher and Sol" | Medium URL: https://medium.com/@osirisuap/seti-homes-legacy-and-the-failures-of-skywatcher-and-sol-citizen-science-vs-pseudo-science-2f1beefcf42b Accessed: 2026-05-24 Claim: Methodological criticism; CE5 alignment; scientific rigor concerns

[S5] "Ross Coulthart Confirms Skywatcher's UAP Psionics Study" | Vetted Show URL: https://www.vetted.show/episodes/ross-coulthart-drops-ufo-surprise-1 Accessed: 2026-05-24 Claim: Peer review submission claim; Coulthart anticipating results

[S6] "The Skywatcher Silence" | Medium URL: https://medium.com/@krindiri/the-skywatcher-silence-what-happened-to-jake-barbers-uap-research-team-that-promised-to-show-us-dac2ed9e205c Accessed: 2026-05-24 Claim: 2025 organizational silence; skepticism about delivery on promises