Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP)

“For years, the program investigated reports of unidentified flying objects, according to Defense Department officials, interviews with program participants and records obtained by The New York Times.”

“The shadowy program — parts of it remain classified — began in 2007, and initially it was largely funded at the request of Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat who was the Senate majority leader at the time and who has long had an interest in space phenomena.”

“And the focus of the study was much broader than the military-only encounters investigated by AATIP.”

“After AAWSAP ended, AATIP was created from its ashes.”

“AATIP was launched from OUSDI, the office of the undersecretary for defense intelligence and was managed by a career counterintelligence officer named Lue Elizondo.”

“It was run by a military intelligence official, Luis Elizondo, on the fifth floor of the Pentagon’s C Ring, deep within the building’s maze.”

“initially it was largely funded at the request of Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat who was the Senate majority leader at the time”

“Most of the money went to an aerospace research company run by a billionaire entrepreneur and longtime friend of Mr. Reid’s, Robert Bigelow, who is currently working with NASA to produce expandable craft for humans to use in space.”

“In the $600 billion annual Defense Department budgets, the $22 million spent on the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program was almost impossible to find.”

“By 2009, Mr. Reid decided that the program had made such extraordinary discoveries that he argued for heightened security to protect it.”

“A 2009 Pentagon briefing summary of the program prepared by its director at the time asserted that “what was considered science fiction is now science fact,” and that the United States was incapable of defending itself against some of the technologies discovered.”

“The memo outlined Senator Reid’s request and reasoning to get the AATIP a “Special Access Program” or SAP status, and was written to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, William Lynn III.”

““Much progress has been made with the identification of several highly sensitive, unconventional aerospace-related findings,” Mr. Reid said in a letter to William Lynn III, a deputy defense secretary at the time, requesting that it be designated a “restricted special access program” limited to a few listed officials.”

“Mr. Reid’s request for the special designation was denied.”

“he confirmed that was why he’d requested Special Access Program status for AATIP. Reid said, ‘Yeah, that’s why I wanted them to take a look at it. But they wouldn’t give me the clearance.’”

“Former senior US Defense Department intelligence officer Luis Elizondo, who led the Pentagon's secret UFO investigation team, the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program.”

“Sherwood, the Pentagon spokesperson who had told me unequivocally that Elizondo “had no responsibilities with regard to the AATIP program while he worked in OUSDI.””

““Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White confirmed to Politico that the program existed and was run by Elizondo,” Bryan Bender wrote in December 2017.”

“But Pentagon spokesperson Christopher Sherwood told me that he “cannot confirm” White’s statement.”

“Mr. Elizondo had no assigned responsibilities for AATIP while he was in OUSD(I) [the Office of Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence].”

“DIA [Defense Intelligence Agency] administered AATIP, and Elizondo was never assigned to DIA.”

“Elizondo did interact with the DIA office managing the program while the program was still ongoing, but he did not lead it.”

“he does not appear to have supplied any materials that validate his connection to the government UFO program he insists he led. No memorandums, no emails discussing deliverables or findings, and no paperwork addressed to or from him that connects him to AATIP.”

“The letter does not mention AATIP or Elizondo’s role as its director.”

“I have no problem asserting that as an AAWSAP [Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program]/AATIP Contractor & Senior Advisor I continued to attend meetings, provide briefings, gain access to videos, provide Proposed Program Plans, meet with staff, etc., all under the aegis of Elizondo’s leadership and responsibility for maintaining continuity of the Program effort and goals until he resigned.”

“Not only does the date precede Mr. Elizondo’s claim by at least five months of heading the AATIP (thus not disproving the Pentagon’s original statement)”

“The mission of AATIP was quite simple. It was to collect and analyze information involving anomalous aerial vehicles, what I guess in the vernacular you call them UFOs.”

“has no obvious signs of propulsion, no wings, no control surfaces”

“that can evade radar”

“that can fly through air and water and possibly space”

“Imagine a technology that can do 600 to 700 G-forces...”

“that can fly at 13,000 miles an hour”

“Another of the retrieved Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program slides found on Christopher Mellon's website was headed *DoD Threat Scenario*. It flatly asserted, 'The science exists for an enemy of the United States to manipulate both physical and cognitive environments in order to penetrate US facilities, influence decision makers and compromise national security.'”

“The program collected video and audio recordings of reported U.F.O. incidents, including footage from a Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet showing an aircraft surrounded by some kind of glowing aura traveling at high speed and rotating as it moves.”

“including one released in August of a whitish oval object, about the size of a commercial plane, chased by two Navy F/A-18F fighter jets from the aircraft carrier Nimitz off the coast of San Diego in 2004.”

“Stratton also acknowledged he changed the offi cial acronym describing the phenomenon from UFO to UAP while he was at Skinwalker working with the Advance Aerospace Threat Identification Program team.”

“Elizondo tells us AATIP was a loose-knit mix of scientists, electro-optical engineers, avionics, and intelligence experts, often working part-time.”

“Is it some sort of new type of cruise missile technology that China has developed?”

“Is it some sort of high-altitude balloon that's conducting reconnaissance?”

“Two colleagues in particular were under medical care for both cutaneous and visceral injuries that were sustained from interactions with UAP while working with AAWSAP/AATIP”

“Another colleague and good friend, who wasn’t part of AAWSAP/AATIP but worked around us often, experienced these symptoms.”

“"I helped build the program. Why wouldn't I be?"”

“Jay ran point on pulling off miracle after miracle and succeeded in getting Senator Reid to give us new funding—$10 million!”

“we learned that another DoD program had absconded the funds... This happened because the language on the funding bill was ambiguous enough for someone in a powerful position to justify kicking the money to another line item.”

“It wasn’t until much later that I met Eric Davis, an astrophysicist with high-level national security clearances who also worked with Hal as a contractor for the program.”

“My new base of operations was office 3C503A—third floor, C-ring, fifth corridor, alpha suite—in the Pentagon.”

“Officials insisted that the effort had ended after five years, in 2012.”

“But Mr. Elizondo said the only thing that had ended was the effort’s government funding, which dried up in 2012.”

“From then on, Mr. Elizondo said in an interview, he worked with officials from the Navy and the C.I.A.”

“The AATIP was terminated in 2012.”

“In response to questions from The Times, Pentagon officials this month acknowledged the existence of the program, which began as part of the Defense Intelligence Agency.”

“The first two were posted in mid-December 2017, timed for impact when Politico, The Washington Post and The New York Times broke the story of the Defence Department's AATIP investigations into UAPs.”

“His exposure of the existence of AATIP was a major factor in the eventual creation of the UAP Task Force and later, of AARO.”

“This past August, the Pentagon resurrected AATIP. It's now called the UAP Task Force.”

“Unlike AAWSAP, AATIP was never an official DoD program. However, after AAWSAP was cancelled, the AATIP moniker was used by some individuals associated with an informal, unofficial UAP community of interest within DoD that researc”

“In coordination with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, DIA established AAWSAP in 2009, which was also known AATIP.”

“AAWSAP/AATIP was terminated in 2012 upon the completion of its deliverables due to DIA and DoD concerns about the project.”

“AARO has yet to uncover any other substantive UAP case work conducted by AAWSAP/AATIP. Instead, AAWSAP/AATIP reviewed a large number of Project BLUE BOOK and private cases and conducted interviews of UAP observers and conducted unrelated work on alleged paranormal activities at the private sector organization's property in Utah.”