AAWSAP: the DIA’s UFO study

About AAWSAP

The full story, section by section

The story of AAWSAP in 4 parts. Tap any part to read it in full.

1. CreationThe DIA official James Lacatski had read Hunt for the Skinwalker (2005) by Colm Kelleher and George Knapp.Read this part → Robert Bigelow, whose company BAASS held the AAWSAP contract, in 2011. · Photo: Bill Ingalls, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
2. WorkBAASS hired dozens of staff and consultants.Read this part → Robert Bigelow showing NASA's deputy administrator around the Bigelow Aerospace facilities in February 2011. · Photo: Bill Ingalls, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
3. EndAccording to Gough, an OSD and DIA review in late 2009 found the reports "of limited value to DIA".Read this part → U.S. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, September 2002. · Photo: United States Senate, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
4. LegacyAn insider account of the programme, Skinwalkers at the Pentagon, is the source for many timeline entries on BAASS.Read this part → Illustration drawn for this site — not a photograph.

Read the full AAWSAP article →

Key people

The people at the centre of the story — witnesses, investigators, officials and sceptics:

• Robert BigelowRobert Thomas Bigelow is an American businessman from Las Vegas who made a fortune in real estate and the Budget Suites of America hotel chain. He founded Bigelow Aerospace to develop expandable spac…
• James LacatskiJames T. Lacatski is a former U.S.
• Susan GoughSusan Gough is a U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson who became the Pentagon's main voice on unidentified aerial phenomena starting in 2019.
• Harry ReidHarry Reid was an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. senator from Nevada and Senate majority leader.
• Colm KelleherColm A. Kelleher is a biochemist who transitioned from a career in molecular biology to investigate scientific anomalies, fringe science, and paranormal topics. He served as the deputy administrator …
• George KnappGeorge T. Knapp is an American journalist, news anchor, and radio host who works for KLAS-TV in Las Vegas and hosts Coast to Coast AM. He is best known for his extensive investigative reporting on UF…
• Eric W. DavisEric W. Davis is an American astrophysicist who has worked on speculative propulsion physics, studies on teleportation, and as a consultant to Pentagon UFO programs. He is well-known in UFO circles f…
• Christopher "Kit" GreenChristopher "Kit" Green is an American physician who worked in the CIA's scientific intelligence directorate during the 1970s and 1980s, later working for General Motors and Wayne State University. O…
• Jacques ValléeJacques Vallée is a French computer scientist, internet pioneer, venture capitalist, author, astronomer, and ufologist born in 1939. He began his career as an astronomer, co-developing NASA's first d…
• Michael ShellenbergerMichael Shellenberger is an American writer and political activist known for his ecomodernist views, books on various public issues, and unsuccessful runs for governor of California. In 2024, he publ…
• Harold PuthoffHarold Edward Puthoff is an American electrical engineer and parapsychologist born in Chicago in 1936. From 1972 to 1985, he directed CIA-sponsored research into remote viewing at the Stanford Resear…
• Luis ElizondoLuis Elizondo is a former American Army counterintelligence officer and Defense Department official who became a prominent figure in the modern UFO debate after resigning in October 2017. He stated t…
• Hans-Adam IIHans-Adam II is the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein and one of the world's wealthiest heads of state. Born in Zürich in 1945, he succeeded to the throne in 1989 after his father handed him governmen…
• John GreenewaldJohn Greenewald Jr. is an American researcher who founded The Black Vault, an online archive of millions of U.S.

Related cases & events

Events and sightings linked to AAWSAP:

🗓️ Event · 9 min readProjected AAWSAP fundingThe article discusses the Pentagon's Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP), a UFO-related study established in 2008 and terminated in 2012. Although a projected funding of $240 million was discussed, the program ultimately received an…🗓️ Event · 8 min readMUFON–BAASS contractBetween 2008 and 2010, the civilian UFO group MUFON worked under contract for Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies to provide technical papers, database access, and rapid-response UFO investigations. The contracting company was secretly funded by the Pent…🗓️ Event · 7 min readAAWSAP DIRD releaseOn 25 March 2022, the Defense Intelligence Agency released 37 Defense Intelligence Reference Documents from the Pentagon's Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. The 1,473 pages of reports, w…🗓️ Event · 7 min readAAWSAP denied access to legacy programsManagers and contractors of the Defense Intelligence Agency's Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program complained that they were never provided promised access to older legacy UFO programmes. In 2009, Senator Harry Reid attempted to have parts of…🗓️ Event · 6 min readBAASS "back door" approachIn December 2008, a member of the Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies team reportedly sought unofficial access to UFO hardware held by an aerospace contractor because official channels had failed. This event is documented in the published journals of res…🗓️ Event · 7 min readAAWSAP special access program requestIn June 2009, Senator Harry Reid requested that the Pentagon's Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program be designated a special access program for tighter security and access to classified UFO data. A Defense Intelligence Agency review ultimately…🗓️ Event · 7 min readKona BlueKona Blue was a proposed Department of Homeland Security special access program put forward in 2011 by former participants of a Pentagon UFO study to investigate unidentified phenomena and recovered materials. The program was established as a prospective prog…🗓️ Event · 14 min readHomeland Security and BAASS (2011)KONA BLUE was a proposed Department of Homeland Security special access program established in July 2011 by individuals associated with the Pentagon's ended UFO study. The program aimed to investigate advanced aerospace vehicles, anomalous phenomena, and uniq…🗓️ Event · 6 min readIngo Swann's magnetometer test (1972)In June 1972 at Stanford University, physicist Harold Puthoff tested whether psychic Ingo Swann could mentally affect a shielded magnetometer. Proponents claimed Swann's concentration altered the machine's readings, while critics argued the fluctuations were …

Programs, organizations & documents

The official programs, groups and papers involved:

🏢 Organization · 10 min readBAASSBigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS) was a company formed in 2008 by businessman Robert Bigelow to carry out the Pentagon-funded Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP). Over roughly two years, the company collected UFO repo…🏢 Organization · 9 min readDefense Intelligence AgencyThe Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is the United States Department of Defense's main military intelligence agency, established in 1961 and headquartered in Washington, D.C. It produces a significant portion of the intelligence in the President's Daily Brie…🏢 Organization · 7 min readBigelow AerospaceBigelow Aerospace was an American space technology company founded in Nevada in the late 1990s by Robert Bigelow to develop expandable space station modules. The company successfully launched prototype modules and the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM)…🏛️ Program or study · 10 min readAATIPThe Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) was an unpublicized U.S. Defense Department effort initiated in 2007 or 2008 within the Defense Intelligence Agency to study unidentified aerial phenomena.🏢 Organization · 7 min readNIDSThe National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS) was a privately financed research organization based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that operated from 1995 to 2004 to study UFOs and other anomalous phenomena. Founded by Robert Bigelow, the organization is best kno…🏢 Organization · 7 min readMUFONThe Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) is an American non-profit organization founded in Quincy, Illinois, in 1969 to investigate reported UFO sightings. It operates as a civilian volunteer network that publishes a monthly journal, holds annual symposiums, and mainta…🏢 Organization · 12 min readAir Force Office of Special InvestigationsThe Air Force Office of Special Investigations is a United States federal law-enforcement agency and criminal investigation and counterintelligence service founded in 1948. Headquartered in Quantico, Virginia, it operates outside the normal military chain of …📄 Document · 7 min readAARO Historical Record ReportThe AARO Historical Record Report is a Pentagon review of U.S. government involvement with unidentified anomalous phenomena since 1945, required by Congress and released in March 2024.🏢 Organization · 13 min readU.S. Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the air service branch of the U.S. armed forces that became an independent service in September 1947.

Books, films & documentaries

Where to read and watch more:

🎬 Book or film · 8 min readSkinwalkers at the PentagonSkinwalkers at the Pentagon is a 2021 book by James Lacatski, Colm Kelleher, and George Knapp that details the secret Defense Intelligence Agency program known as the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP). Spanning events from 2007 to…

Related topics & places

Ideas, terms and places that come up in the story:

📍 Place · 11 min readSkinwalker RanchSkinwalker Ranch is a 512-acre property in Utah that is reputed to be a site of paranormal and UFO activity. After a ranching family reported seeing strange lights, craft, and mutilated cattle there in 1996, the property was purchased by Robert Bigelow and la…📖 Term · 17 min readUnidentified flying objectAn unidentified flying object, or UFO, is an unexplained phenomenon or object seen in the sky, with the modern craze originating in the United States in June 1947. While popular culture often equates UFOs with alien spacecraft, most investigations reveal them…📖 Term · 13 min readUnidentified anomalous phenomenaUnidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) is the U.S. government's current term for unidentified objects or events in the air, space, or underwater.🧭 Topic overview · 30 min readSecrecy & cover-up (topic)This overview page covers official secrecy, classification, and cover-up claims regarding unidentified anomalous phenomena from 1947 to 2023. It outlines historical classified studies, released government records, and modern claims of hidden reverse-engineeri…🧭 Topic overview · 26 min readGovernment programs (topic)This encyclopedia overview outlines government and private programs established to study UFOs and UAPs from 1947 to 2023. U.S.🧭 Topic overview · 22 min readBeings & bodies (topic)This topic overview covers reports and claims about non-human beings, bodies, and biological material spanning from 1947 to 2023. It outlines various second-hand and anonymous accounts involving crash-retrieval stories and alien abductions, mostly centered in…🧭 Topic overview · 12 min readNuclear & missile sites (topic)This text is about reported UFO and unidentified anomalous phenomena sightings and incidents at nuclear weapons sites, missile bases, and laboratories between 1947 and 2022. While researchers like Robert Hastings argue that these events show a link between UF…🧭 Topic overview · 12 min readCongress & law (topic)This topic overview covers congressional hearings, laws, and inquiries regarding unidentified anomalous phenomena from 1950 to 2022. During the Cold War, Congress primarily received closed briefings from the Air Force, but since 2017 it has driven official po…🧭 Topic overview · 11 min readPropulsion & physics (topic)This overview covers claims and research regarding advanced propulsion, gravity, energy, and exotic materials spanning from 1955 to 2023. It details various historical attempts by inventors, government agencies, and aerospace companies to investigate concepts…

🗓️ AAWSAP on the UAP timeline

1. 2 October 2008Bigelow tells Vallée the DIA's AAWSAP project has started but promised access hasn't arrived. Read the article →
2. 29 October 2008Kit Green tells Vallée AAWSAP funding could reach $240 million. Read the article →
3. 24 November 2008Vallée meets possible AAWSAP partners in Zurich. Read the article →
4. 24 December 2008A BAASS team member says he tried to get 'back door' access to an aerospace contractor. Read the article →
5. 23 January 2009A BAASS team member is said to be retrieving old Project Grudge data from Area 51. Read the article →
6. 29 November 2009BAASS gets clearances, but the Air Force won't talk without a special access program. Read the article →
7. 2010A BAASS investigator for the DIA program looks into UAP cases. Read the article →
8. February 2011A BAASS director reports to the DIA program about UAP studies. Read the article →
9. June-July 2011Homeland Security officials explore setting up BAASS as a UAP program in the government. Read the article →
10. 24 June 2018Eric Davis says BAASS and EarthTech collaborated with a major aerospace company. Read the article →
11. 25 March 2022The DIA releases 37 research papers from the AAWSAP program. Read the article →

Search the timeline →

🏛️ Official records

• AAWSAP DIRD, Quantum Tomography of Negative Energy States in the Vacuum, January 2011Department of War · 2011-01-11This document is a Defense Intelligence Reference Document (DIRD), a technical reference format used by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to capture baseline knowledge on a specific topic for later analytic use. DIR…
• AAWSAP DIRD, Negative Mass Propulsion, January 2011Department of War · 2011-01-03This document is a Defense Intelligence Reference Document (DIRD), a technical reference format used by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to capture baseline knowledge on a specific topic for later analytic use. DIR…
• AAWSAP DIRD, Cognitive Limits on Simultaneous Control of Multiple Unmanned Spacecraft, December 2010Department of War · 2010-12-15This document is a Defense Intelligence Reference Document (DIRD), a technical reference format used by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to capture baseline knowledge on a specific topic for later analytic use. DIR…
• AAWSAP DIRD, Quantum Computing and Utilizing Organic Molecules in Automation Technology, December 2010Department of War · 2010-12-10This document is a Defense Intelligence Reference Document (DIRD), a technical reference format used by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to capture baseline knowledge on a specific topic for later analytic use. DIR…
• BAASS Self-Assessment of UAP Analysis Capabilities, November 2010Department of War · 2010-11-23This document is an administrative, programmatic, or contractor-produced record related to the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP), a Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)-administered program act…
• AAWSAP DIRD, MHD Air Breathing Propulsion and Power for Aerospace Applications, November 2010Department of War · 2010-11-21This document is a Defense Intelligence Reference Document (DIRD), a technical reference format used by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to capture baseline knowledge on a specific topic for later analytic use. DIR…
• AAWSAP DIRD, Detection and High-Resolution Tracking of Vehicles at Hypersonic Velocities, November 2010Department of War · 2010-11-20This document is a Defense Intelligence Reference Document (DIRD), a technical reference format used by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to capture baseline knowledge on a specific topic for later analytic use. DIR…
• AAWSAP DIRD, Ultracapacitors as Energy and Power Storage Devices, November 2010Department of War · 2010-11-01This document is a Defense Intelligence Reference Document (DIRD), a technical reference format used by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to capture baseline knowledge on a specific topic for later analytic use. DIR…
• AAWSAP DIRD, Aneutronic Fusion Propulsion II, November 2010Department of War · 2010-11-01This document is a Defense Intelligence Reference Document (DIRD), a technical reference format used by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to capture baseline knowledge on a specific topic for later analytic use. DIR…
• AAWSAP DIRD, Aneutronic Fusion Propulsion I, November 2010Department of War · 2010-11-01This document is a Defense Intelligence Reference Document (DIRD), a technical reference format used by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to capture baseline knowledge on a specific topic for later analytic use. DIR…
• AAWSAP DIRD, Cockpits in the Era of Breakthrough Flight, November 2010Department of War · 2010-11-01This document is a Defense Intelligence Reference Document (DIRD), a technical reference format used by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to capture baseline knowledge on a specific topic for later analytic use. DIR…
• AAWSAP DIRD, Laser Lightcraft Nanosatellites, November 2010Department of War · 2010-11-01This document is a Defense Intelligence Reference Document (DIRD), a technical reference format used by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to capture baseline knowledge on a specific topic for later analytic use. DIR…

🛸 UFO sightings about AAWSAP

Sightings that mention AAWSAP

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More in the encyclopedia

Other articles that link to or mention AAWSAP:

• Secret project asks about remote viewing (1973)In October 1973, physicist Harold Puthoff told researcher Jacques Vallée that a secret government project was using remote viewing to search for UFO bases. Puthoff stated the unit was officially char…
• Las Vegas data-gathering meeting (1996)On January 28, 1996, the Science Advisory Board of the National Institute for Discovery Science held its second meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada. The attendees discussed the institute's goals, which focu…
• AAWSAP begins (2008)In 2008, the Defense Intelligence Agency launched a government-funded UFO and paranormal research initiative called the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP). Secured with $2…
• Zurich AAWSAP meetingOn 24 November 2008, computer scientist and ufologist Jacques Vallée met with potential European co-sponsors in Zurich, Switzerland, at the request of Robert Bigelow. The meeting was related to the P…
• Puthoff's report of a new secret study (1972)This article is about Harold Puthoff's 1972 report, recorded in Jacques Vallée's journals, regarding a supposed secret government UFO study following the closure of Project Blue Book. According to th…
• Puthoff on tracking the phenomenon (1989)This article discusses decades of discussions among researchers like Jacques Vallée and Hal Puthoff regarding whether the United States government secretly ran a UFO research program. Drawing from co…
• To The Stars AcademyTo The Stars Academy is a San Diego-based company founded in 2017 by Tom DeLonge, Harold Puthoff, and Jim Semivan that produces entertainment and promotes fringe science and UFO research. The organiz…
• Ultraterrestrial hypothesis paper"Ultraterrestrial Models" is a 2022 paper by physicist Harold Puthoff that surveys possible Earth-based explanations for UFOs and unidentified anomalous phenomena. The paper argues that the available…
• Midwest engineers group claim (1974)On December 10, 1974, CIA scientist Kit Green told researcher Jacques Vallée over lunch that a group of fifteen midwestern engineers was secretly conducting UFO research for the CIA under the guise o…
• Bigelow's expectation of a UFO announcement (1998)On January 11, 1998, businessman Robert Bigelow telephoned researcher Jacques Vallée to express his firm certainty that a dramatic UFO display or government announcement would happen soon. During the…
• Former TRW employee reverse-engineering claimAn encyclopedia article discusses claims that a former employee of the defense contractor TRW was involved in a secret reverse-engineering project called Zodiac. According to journal entries and rese…
• SRI InternationalSRI International is an American nonprofit scientific research institute based in Menlo Park, California, that conducts contract research for government agencies, businesses, and foundations. Founded…
• Crashes & retrievals (topic)This topic overview covers claims from 1947 to 2023 that governments have recovered and studied crashed non-human craft or debris. Beginning with the 1947 Roswell incident in New Mexico, ufology clai…
• AAROThe All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) is a United States Department of Defense organization created on July 20, 2022, to investigate unidentified anomalous phenomena. Its scope covers objec…
• Vallée meets D'Amato on secret programs (1992)On May 22, 1992, UFO researcher Jacques Vallée met with C. Richard D'Amato, a Senate Appropriations Committee counsel. According to Vallée's published journals, D'Amato stated that mysterious triangu…
• Freedom of Information ActThe Freedom of Information Act is a United States law signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 4, 1966, requiring federal executive agencies to release records upon request unless they fall unde…
• Zero-point field theory of inertia paper (1998)The 1998 paper titled "Advances in the proposed electromagnetic zero-point field theory of inertia," written by Bernhard Haisch, Alfonso Rueda, and Harold E. Puthoff, was presented in Cleveland, Ohio…
• Military encounters (topic)This overview covers 72 military encounters with unidentified objects reported by pilots, radar operators, and service members between 1947 and 2022. Key incidents include World War II "foo fighters,…

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