I came here to link exactly that article. It’s always important to do a little digging and verify claims before latching onto them, but people are embracing Kirkpatrick’s claims without a second thought. It’s easier for people to focus on one claim that supports their preexisting beliefs than to consider they may be wrong.
Whether or not any UAP come from some non-human origin, the government itself (including Kirkpatrick) has admitted there are unknown objects that don’t match any known technology. If they could apply a label of even potentially being a drone, plane, or balloon, they would do so as they have done before. At minimum, it’s a failure on the DOD to monitor our airspace. Just last year, the US engaged with and fired missiles at still publicly unknown objects over our airspace. However, Kirkpatrick is basically dismissing his former role as a waste of resources just because they can identify most (not all) reports.
He’s still in a potentially relevant role. It seems that he immediately moved on to a role at Oak Ridge National Laboratory as Chief Technology Officer for Defense and Intelligence Programs. They do handle government contract work, so no telling if they have any projects that would benefit from his statements. I’m not one to delve into alleged government UAP programs, though I’ve seen Oak Ridge mentioned a lot. They have a lot of unique programs that are bound to stir curiosity.