Two related but distinct programs ran inside the US government simultaneously from 2007 — one producing threat assessments, one investigating specific UAP encounters. Together they represent the most significant classified US government UAP investigation since MJ-12, and the programs whose existence, when confirmed in 2017, permanently changed the public conversation about UAP.
AAWSAP (Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program) — 2007–2012: The DIA contract that grew directly from James Lacatski’s visit to Skinwalker Ranch and Senator Harry Reid’s subsequent $22 million appropriation. The contract was awarded to Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS) — Robert Bigelow’s company. BAASS, led by Colm Kelleher, operated a resident research team at Skinwalker Ranch while simultaneously investigating UAP encounters across the US. AAWSAP produced 38 research reports on topics including: UAP propulsion physics, UAP effects on human physiology, anti-gravity research, metamaterials, warp drive theory, traversable wormholes, and human consciousness interface with UAPs. These reports — known as the DIA “threat assessment reports” — were delivered to the DIA between 2008 and 2010. Several have been partially released under FOIA. The program also underpinned the KONA BLUE proposal to DHS, which would have formalized UAP crash retrieval capabilities inside the civilian government. AAWSAP terminated in 2012.
AATIP (Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program) — 2007–2017: The successor thread run by Luis Elizondo inside the Pentagon’s Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence (OUSD-I). Where AAWSAP studied the full phenomenon, AATIP focused specifically on UAP incidents involving US military assets. Elizondo had access to classified sensor data, radar logs, and video footage across all military branches. He was convinced the phenomenon was real, represented advanced technology, and that senior leadership was not taking it seriously. He pushed for briefings to the Secretary of Defense. He was refused. In October 2017, he resigned from the Pentagon and joined TTSA, specifically to force public disclosure. His resignation letter to SecDef Mattis stated that “the program has suffered from lack of funding and support, resulting in an inability to assess UAP for airworthiness.” AATIP’s existence was confirmed by the Pentagon in 2017 following the NYT story.
What the programs actually found: Elizondo has stated publicly that the program’s internal conclusion was that UAPs showed flight characteristics consistent with “instantaneous acceleration, hypersonic velocities without signatures, low observability, trans-medium travel, and positive lift seemingly defiant of gravity.” He stated the program collected evidence consistent with non-human origin but that classification prevented disclosure. The 38 AAWSAP research reports — including papers on UAP propulsion, the physics of anti-gravity, and biological effects on human witnesses — constitute the most comprehensive classified government UAP research product ever produced.
TAGS: AAWSAP · AATIP · $22M DIA CONTRACT · BIGELOW BAASS · ELIZONDO RESIGNED · 38 DIA THREAT REPORTS