Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program

The Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) was a clandestine Pentagon program that investigated Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP). The program, which ran from 2007 to 2012, was the successor to the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AAWSAP).¹

Origins and Leadership

AATIP was established at the behest of a bipartisan group of senators, including Harry Reid, Ted Stevens, and Daniel Inouye, who secured $22 million in funding for the program. The program was run out of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and was led by James Lacatski, a rocket scientist. The primary contractor for the program was Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS), owned by Robert Bigelow, and its chief scientist was Hal Puthoff.¹

Luis Elizondo was recruited into the program in early 2009 to handle counterintelligence and security. He would later take over leadership of the program after Dr. Lacatski was forced to step down due to internal pressure.¹

Key Investigations and Findings

AATIP investigated a wide range of UAP-related phenomena, establishing a framework of five key performance characteristics known as the 'Five Observables': hypersonic velocity, instantaneous acceleration, low observability, transmedium travel, and antigravity. A sixth observable, biological effects, was also studied. The program conducted a thorough investigation of the 2004 Tic Tac Incident involving the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, which became a cornerstone of its research. It also investigated a series of UAP encounters with the USS Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group in 2014-2015, which included a near-mid-air collision with a UAP described as a 'sphere encasing a cube.' The program studied the 1977 Colares Incidents in Brazil, where multiple witnesses reported being attacked by UAP, resulting in physical injuries and even deaths. A portion of the program's efforts was dedicated to investigating the strange and often terrifying phenomena reported at Skinwalker Ranch in Utah, including the 'hitchhiker effect.' AATIP also investigated the medical consequences of UAP encounters on humans, including radiation-like burns, neurological damage, and the presence of alleged alien implants. Finally, the program commissioned 38 Defense Intelligence Research Documents (DIRDs) from Hal Puthoff on advanced aerospace concepts, including warp drives, traversable wormholes, and invisibility cloaking.¹

Internal Opposition and Demise

AATIP faced significant internal opposition from within the Pentagon. Luis Elizondo describes a group he calls the "Collins Elite," a circle of religious fundamentalists who believed the UAP phenomenon was demonic and actively worked to kill the program. The program also faced resistance from the "Legacy Program," a deeply hidden effort within the military-industrial complex that allegedly controlled recovered UAP materials.¹

This internal pressure, combined with a manufactured controversy over the program's investigation of civilian UAP reports, led to the loss of its official support and funding. Luis Elizondo absorbed the remnants of AATIP into his own portfolio of national programs to ensure its survival, but the program was effectively defunct by 2012.¹

Public Disclosure

The existence of AATIP was revealed to the public in a groundbreaking New York Times article in December 2017, following the resignation of Luis Elizondo. The article, which included the release of three declassified UAP videos, marked a turning point in the public discourse on UAP and set the stage for the current era of disclosure.¹