AAWSAP
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🏛️ Program or study
Contents 5
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| Type | Program or study |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program |
| On the Timeline | 49 events, 1972–2022 |
The Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP) was a Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) program, funded from 2008, that studied unidentified aerial phenomena and the advanced technologies they might represent. It was the formally funded program behind what The New York Times revealed in December 2017 under the name AATIP, and it received most of the roughly $22 million that Senator Harry Reid arranged for the effort.[1][2]
Creation
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The program was started by DIA scientist James Lacatski, an expert in rocket and space technology, after he visited Skinwalker Ranch in Utah, the property owned by Las Vegas businessman Robert Bigelow and studied by his National Institute for Discovery Science. Reid, then Senate Majority Leader, secured the funding with the support of Senators Ted Stevens and Daniel Inouye. The DIA awarded the contract to Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS), set up for the purpose.[1][2][3]
Work
BAASS hired dozens of staff and consultants, many with backgrounds at NIDS. It collected and analysed UAP reports from around the world, partly through a data-sharing arrangement with the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), investigated events at Skinwalker Ranch, and studied cases of people reportedly injured near UAP. It also managed the writing of 38 Defense Intelligence Reference Documents on advanced physics and future aerospace technology, whose titles the DIA released in January 2019 after a request by Steven Aftergood.[2][4] BAASS produced a 494-page "Ten Month Report" that has not been made public.[2]
In June 2009 Reid wrote to Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn asking that the program be designated a restricted special access program, citing "much progress". The request was not approved. According to the program's leaders, this meant they could not gain access to what they believed were older "legacy" programs.[2][3]
End and legacy
DIA funding ended in 2010, and the Pentagon said all funding stopped in 2012. Related work continued informally under the AATIP name, associated with Luis Elizondo.[2] In 2021 Lacatski, BAASS deputy administrator Colm Kelleher and journalist George Knapp published Skinwalkers at the Pentagon, an insider account of the program.[3] In March 2024, AARO's historical report examined AAWSAP and concluded that, although it collected many reports, it did not find evidence of extraterrestrial technology.[5]
On the UAP Timeline
- Ingo Swann's magnetometer test (1972) (June 1972) — Ingo Swann's remote-viewing test with SRI leads to a CIA contract months later.
- Puthoff's report of a new secret study (1972) (7 October 1972) — Hal Puthoff tells Vallée a former NSA colleague said a new secret UAP study was underway.
- Secret project asks about remote viewing (1973) (27 October 1973) — Puthoff tells Vallée a secret UAP project with an official charter asked about remote viewing.
- Livermore scientists' paranormal experiences (1974) — Kit Green says he worked with scientists who reported orbs and entities in their homes.
- Midwest engineers group claim (1974) (10 December 1974) — Kit Green tells Vallée 15 engineers in the Midwest secretly research UAP for the CIA.
- Hutchison Effect (1983) — An Army intelligence group studies the 'Hutchison Effect', claimed to produce antigravity.
- Puthoff leaves SRI (1985) (Summer 1985) — Hal Puthoff leaves SRI to explore alternative energy sources.
- Puthoff on tracking the phenomenon (1989) (11 July 1989) — Puthoff tells Vallée nobody seems to be tracking the phenomenon properly.
- Roper Organization abduction survey (1991) (22 May 1991) — Vallée says Liechtenstein's prince funded a study of alien abduction claims through Robert Bigelow.
- Ray Boeche's meeting with two DoD scientists (25 November 1991) — Two scientists tied to the DIA and NSA claim secret programs try to control non-human intelligence.
- D'Amato and untraceable black budgets (1994) — Dick D'Amato reportedly says $40–80 billion a year went to programs that couldn't be traced.
- Puthoff pitches vacuum energy (1994) (1994) — Hal Puthoff says he pitched vacuum energy technology to oil companies.
- Bigelow recruits consciousness experts (1996) (7 January 1996) — Bigelow tells Vallée he is hiring experts on consciousness.
- Las Vegas data-gathering meeting (1996) (28 January 1996) — Military, scientific and corporate figures meet in Las Vegas about gathering UAP data.
- Bigelow's expectation of a UFO announcement (1998) (11 January 1998) — Bigelow tells Vallée he feels a dramatic UAP development is coming soon.
- Proposal for a new Project Blue Book (2000) (24 January 2000) — Bigelow tells Vallée of an idea to push Congress for a new Project Blue Book.
- Former TRW employee reverse-engineering claim (8 May 2000) — Vallée, Davis and Puthoff discuss a claim of a secret reverse-engineering project at a contractor.
- Advanced Deep Space Transport group (2001) — A deep-space propulsion study group examines exotic propulsion.
- Puthoff on black-budget physics (2002) (2002) — Puthoff tells author Nick Cook there is solid evidence of secret aerospace programs.
- Kit Green's injury database (2005) — Kit Green begins a database of people injured in close encounters.
- Czysz–Froning advanced technology paper (1 February 2006) — A paper for the Air Force Research Laboratory explores quantum vacuum propulsion.
- DIA interest in Skinwalker Ranch (21 October 2007) — Bigelow says the DIA expressed interest in strange events at Skinwalker Ranch.
- Fort Worth HFGW jamming claim (2008) — An anonymous website claims UAP communications jamming was tested near Fort Worth.
- DARPA Advanced Aerospace System Concepts (June 2008) — A DARPA budget line describing advanced aerospace concepts becomes public.
- JASON report on high-frequency gravitational waves (October 2008) — The JASON science advisers evaluate high-frequency gravitational waves for national security.
- AAWSAP begins (2008) (2 October 2008) — Bigelow tells Vallée the DIA's AAWSAP project has started but promised access hasn't arrived.
- MUFON–BAASS contract (17 October 2008) — MUFON forms a technical team that signs a contract with Bigelow's company.
- Projected AAWSAP funding (29 October 2008) — Kit Green tells Vallée AAWSAP funding could reach $240 million.
- Zurich AAWSAP meeting (24 November 2008) — Vallée meets possible AAWSAP partners in Zurich.
- BAASS "back door" approach (24 December 2008) — A BAASS team member says he tried to get 'back door' access to an aerospace contractor.
- Project Grudge data and the artifact file (23 January 2009) — A BAASS team member is said to be retrieving old Project Grudge data from Area 51.
- AAWSAP denied access to legacy programs (26 April 2009) — Colm Kelleher says the DIA sponsor still hasn't delivered access to legacy UAP programs.
- Georgia witness visited by agents (2009) (8 May 2009) — A Georgia UAP witness says government agents visited him twice.
- AAWSAP special access program request (29 November 2009) — BAASS gets clearances, but the Air Force won't talk without a special access program.
- BAASS investigations (2010) — A BAASS investigator for the DIA program looks into UAP cases.
- Kona Blue (February 2011) — A BAASS director reports to the DIA program about UAP studies.
- Homeland Security and BAASS (2011) (June-July 2011) — Homeland Security officials explore setting up BAASS as a UAP program in the government.
- Salvatore Pais patents (2 November 2017) — Navy scientist Salvatore Pais files a patent for a triangular craft with claimed antigravity effects.
- EarthTech–BAASS industry collaboration claim (24 June 2018) — Eric Davis says BAASS and EarthTech collaborated with a major aerospace company.
- Eric Davis on an existing crash-retrieval program (24 June 2018) — Eric Davis says a crash retrieval program still exists.
- Eric Davis on the Del Rio crash (28 October 2018) — Eric Davis says the 1950s Del Rio, Texas crash was a real retrieval.
- InterNASA lawsuit (26 February 2019) — A TV producer sues former officials over a company called InterNASA.
- Eric Davis on underfunded reverse-engineering (30 April 2019) — Eric Davis says crashes happened and reverse engineering is split into small, underfunded efforts.
- Atomic Energy Commission UFO materials claim (29 April 2020) — A journalist's source says the Atomic Energy Commission had UAP materials as early as 1947.
- Harry Reid on Lockheed's UFO fragments (1 May 2021) — Former Sen. Harry Reid says he was told Lockheed held UAP fragments and was refused access.
- Puthoff on withheld materials science (11 February 2022) — Puthoff says private companies withhold materials science information.
- AAWSAP DIRD release (25 March 2022) — The DIA releases 37 research papers from the AAWSAP program.
- Ultraterrestrial hypothesis paper (31 July 2022) — Puthoff releases a paper on the 'ultraterrestrial' hypothesis.
- Brandon Fugal's conviction (27 October 2022) — Skinwalker Ranch owner Brandon Fugal says senior figures convinced him reverse engineering is real.
References
- "Glowing Auras and 'Black Money': The Pentagon's Mysterious U.F.O. Program", The New York Times (16 Dec 2017) · nytimes.com · archived copy
- Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- "Inside the Pentagon's Secret UFO Program", Popular Mechanics (14 Feb 2020) · popularmechanics.com · archived copy
- DIA FOIA letter listing AAWSAP/AATIP research titles (16 Jan 2019) — Federation of American Scientists · fas.org · archived copy
- AARO, Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with UAP, Vol. 1 (2024) · media.defense.gov · archived copy
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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