DARPA Advanced Aerospace System Concepts
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 7
| Date | June 2008 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Secrecy & cover-up (topic), Government programs (topic) |
| People | John Greenewald, Luis Elizondo, James Lacatski |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 166 |
| Year | 2008 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 2008 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 12 |
Advanced Aerospace System Concepts is a line item in the budget of DARPA, the Pentagon's advanced research agency, under program element 0603286E, "Advanced Aerospace Systems". In February 2020 researcher John Greenewald of The Black Vault asked whether it could be a home for UFO research.[1]
The budget line
Greenewald found the program element in DARPA's 2008 fact file, published in June 2008, the same year the Defense Intelligence Agency sought bids for its Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP). The element funded projects worth roughly $100–180 million a year, such as hypersonic and boost-glide weapons. One line, also called project AIR-01, described studies to evaluate emerging aerospace technologies and system concepts for military use, and to analyse emerging aerospace threats and ways to counter them.[1]
The comparison
Greenewald noted that the wording, and its later development through successive budgets toward novel launch systems, propulsion and materials, resembled the language of AAWSAP, which Luis Elizondo and others have described as a UFO program. DARPA's fiscal 2021 budget estimates, released in February 2020, continued to fund the line with millions of dollars a year.[1][2]
Assessment
The budget documents describe conventional advanced aerospace research and do not mention UFOs or UAP. Greenewald himself said it was unclear whether there was any connection, and his FOIA requests about the line were still pending when he published.[1]
People and topics
- DARPA — The Pentagon's advanced research agency.
- John Greenewald — Founder of The Black Vault FOIA archive.
- The Black Vault — John Greenewald's online archive of government documents.
- AAWSAP — The Defense Intelligence Agency's UAP research program of 2008–2010, carried out by Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies.
- Unidentified anomalous phenomena — The U.S. government's current term for unidentified objects in the air, in space and underwater.
- AATIP — The Pentagon UAP effort associated with Luis Elizondo, revealed in December 2017.
- Luis Elizondo — Former Army counterintelligence officer who says he ran AATIP.
- James Lacatski — DIA official who started AAWSAP and co-wrote Skinwalkers at the Pentagon.
On the Timeline
- Needles crash reports (2008) (14 May 2008) — Residents near Needles, California report a crash followed by helicopters and convoys.
- Bill Richardson and the Roswell records (28 June 2008) — Bill Richardson says Los Alamos and the Pentagon refused his questions about Roswell.
See every 2008 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- John Greenewald, "Could this be DARPA's project for UFO/UAP research?", The Black Vault (Feb 2020) · theblackvault.com · archived copy
- Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- DARPA PE 0603286E budget justification, FY2009 (PDF) — GlobalSecurity · globalsecurity.org · archived copy
- DARPA PE 0603286E budget justification, FY2008 (PDF) — GlobalSecurity · globalsecurity.org · archived copy
- Documents on the vetting of 'Skinwalkers at the Pentagon' — The Black Vault · theblackvault.com · archived copy
- Skinwalkers at the Pentagon: book review — Bad UFOs (Robert Sheaffer) · badufos.blogspot.com · archived copy
- AARO historical report finds no evidence of alien technology (2024) — Space.com · space.com · archived copy
- AARO Report on the Historical Record, Volume I — The Black Vault · theblackvault.com · archived copy
- documents2.theblackvault.com · documents2.theblackvault.com · archived copy
- mysterywire.com · mysterywire.com · archived copy
- twitter.com · twitter.com · archived copy
- coasttocoastam.com · coasttocoastam.com · archived copy
Further reading
- AATIP / AAWSAP — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Robert Bigelow — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · 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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