Legacy program
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🏛️ Program or study
Contents 5
| Type | Program or study |
|---|---|
| Also known as | legacy programs, legacy program |
| On the Timeline | 2 events, 2018–2022 |
A legacy program, in the language of the 2020s UAP debate, refers to an alleged long-running secret U.S. program to recover crashed craft of non-human origin and to study or reverse-engineer them. The term was popularised by former intelligence officer David Grusch, who said such programs had been hidden from Congress for decades.[1][2]
Grusch's claims
Grusch told The Debrief in 2023 that UAP "legacy programs" had been concealed by nesting them inside conventional secret access programs without proper reporting to oversight authorities. In testimony to the House Oversight Committee on 26 July 2023 he described a "multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering program" to which he said he had been denied access, basing his assessment on interviews with more than 40 witnesses.[1][2]
Official response
The Pentagon denied the existence of such programs. In its March 2024 historical report, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) said it had found no verifiable evidence that the U.S. government or private companies had ever had access to extraterrestrial technology, and that the alleged hidden programs described by interviewees either did not exist, were real national security programs unrelated to extraterrestrial technology, or were a programme that had been disestablished.[3][4]
Later developments
In 2025 The Wall Street Journal reported that some Air Force officers had for decades been told in secret briefings that their programs involved reverse-engineering an alien craft, using a fake image.[5]
On the UAP Timeline

- Eric Davis on an existing crash-retrieval program (24 June 2018) — Eric Davis says a crash retrieval program still exists.
- George Knapp's four legacy programs (19 December 2022) — George Knapp says he knows of at least four 'legacy' UAP programs.
References
- "Military whistleblower claims US has UFO retrieval program", NewsNation (2023) · newsnationnow.com · archived copy
- "Ex-intelligence officer testifies government retrieved non-human aircraft wreckage and remains", Spectrum News (26 Jul 2023) · spectrumlocalnews.com · archived copy
- "Pentagon denies secret UFO retrieval program after whistleblower bombshell", Fox News (2023) · foxnews.com · archived copy
- Brad Dress, "Pentagon report throws cold water on UFOs, alien visits", The Hill (8 Mar 2024) · thehill.com · archived copy
- "The Pentagon Has Been Pushing Americans to Believe in UFOs for Decades, New Report Finds", Gizmodo (11 Jun 2025) · gizmodo.com · 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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