Program · 2009 – 2012
Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program
Also known as AATIP
AATIP, the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, is the name under which the Pentagon's UFO work became public when The New York Times revealed it in December 2017. In that account, and in Luis Elizondo's, it was a Pentagon effort funded at Senator Harry Reid's request that studied military encounters; the Times told the 2004 Nimitz "Tic Tac" case alongside it.
The official record describes it differently. AARO's 2024 historical report says there was one Defense Intelligence Agency program, established in 2009 as AAWSAP and also known as AATIP, the two names used interchangeably even on official documents, and that "AATIP was never an official DoD program." After AAWSAP ended in 2012, the name was used by an informal community of interest inside the Department with no dedicated staff or budget. The report does not mention the Nimitz or Elizondo, and in 2019 a Pentagon spokesperson said AATIP did pursue UAP research but that Elizondo had no responsibilities for it. Both versions are filed here.
Sources: AARO Historical Record Report, Vol. 1 (2024) · The New York Times (2017)
Facts and claims
- documented AARO's historical report says DIA established AAWSAP in 2009, “which was also known AATIP”, and that the two names “have been used interchangeably for the name of this program, including on official documentation.” Source: doc-aaro-historical-record-report-v1.pdf
- documented “Unlike AAWSAP, AATIP was never an official DoD program.” After AAWSAP was cancelled in 2012, some people used the AATIP name for “an informal, unofficial UAP community of interest” within DoD, researching military sightings as part of their other duties, with “no dedicated personnel or budget.” Source: doc-aaro-historical-record-report-v1.pdf
- documented The New York Times revealed the program on 16 December 2017 under the name AATIP, funded at Senator Harry Reid's request, with Navy cockpit video; a companion article told the 2004 Nimitz encounter. AARO's report does not mention the Nimitz or Elizondo. Source: The New York Times reveals the Pentagon UFO program
- documented A Pentagon spokesperson told The Intercept in 2019 that AATIP “did pursue research and investigation into unidentified aerial phenomena”, but that Elizondo “had no responsibilities with regard to the AATIP program”. Source: theintercept.com (archived)
- claimed Luis Elizondo says he later led it. — Luis Elizondo Source: nytimes.com (archived)
Connected files
Books
- Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs (subject of)
Claims
Documents
- DIA FOIA response FOIA-00159-2018: release of 37 AAWSAP DIRDs (March 25, 2022) (subject of)
- Japanese Cabinet written answer on the government's view of unidentified flying objects (House of Representatives, 27 February 2018) (prompted) — The question cites Newsweek's December 2017 report on the Pentagon's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program
Events
- The New York Times reveals the Pentagon UFO program (subject of)
People
- Jay Stratton (staff) — He worked on AATIP alongside Elizondo; AARO says AATIP was never an official program
- Leslie Kean (reported by)
- Luis Elizondo (leadership claimed by) — His account; a Pentagon spokesperson said in 2019 he had no responsibilities for AATIP, and AARO says it was never an official program
Programs
- Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (followed by) — Insiders say the same people carried the work on: Jay Stratton, who helped start AAWSAP and the AATIP working group, became the Task Force's first director (George Knapp; Stratton). AARO's history presents the Task Force as a new, Navy-led organization approved in August 2020.
- Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (another name for) — AARO: “The names AAWSAP and AATIP have been used interchangeably for the name of this program”
Videos
- Alex Dietrich with Mick West: the Nimitz event summary, time differences and other accounts (June 2021) (discussed in)
- Lacatski, Kelleher and Knapp on “Skinwalkers at the Pentagon” (Mystery Wire, October 2021) (discussed in)
- Congressional hearings on military reports of Unexplained Aerial Phenomena (UAP) - May 17th, 2022 (discussed in)
- Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) Public Hearing - In Full - April 19, 2023 (discussed in)
- House holds hearing on UFOs, government transparency | full video (discussed in)
- Inside the DIA's Secretive UFO Investigation: Lacatski and Kelleher on WEAPONIZED #38 (October 2023) (discussed in)
- The Sol Forum #1: Hal Puthoff, Jacques Vallée and Larry Lemke (discussed in)
- Jay Stratton's first on-camera interview, recorded 2022 (WEAPONIZED, released October 2026) (discussed in)
- Hal Puthoff Presentation 06/08/2018 (discussed in)
- What Trump’s Files Are About To Expose About UAPs & Nonhuman Observers — Luis Elizondo Warns Us (discussed in)
- Joe Rogan Experience #2065 - David Grusch (discussed in)
- Joe Rogan Experience #2314: Hal Puthoff (discussed in)
- David Fravor: UFOs, Aliens, Fighter Jets, and Aerospace Engineering | Lex Fridman Podcast #122 (discussed in)
Mentioned in this file
- Department of War (Department of Defense) (Organization)
- Harry Reid (Person)
- Defense Intelligence Agency (Organization)
- PURSUE — Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (Program)
- AARO Historical Record Report, Volume 1 (Document)
- All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (Program)
Mentioned in videos
- Inside the DIA's Secretive UFO Investigation: Lacatski and Kelleher on WEAPONIZED #38 (October 2023)
- Understanding UAP: Science, National Security & Innovation (House Oversight and Government Reform)
- UAP & National Security: Mellon, Gallaudet, von Rennenkampff & McConnell at Disclosure Forum 2026
- Jay Stratton's first on-camera interview, recorded 2022 (WEAPONIZED, released October 2026)
- What Trump’s Files Are About To Expose About UAPs & Nonhuman Observers — Luis Elizondo Warns Us
Mentioned in documents and records
- Sekret Machines: Gods (Gods, Man & War, Volume 1)
- Skinwalkers at the Pentagon: An Insiders' Account of the Secret Government UFO Program
- UFOs: A Scientist Explains What We Know (And Don't Know)
- The United States Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community Are Withholding Information About Anomalous Phenomena From Congress
- Holloman AFB landing film (claimed)
- USS Nimitz “Tic Tac” encounter
- Department of Homeland Security
- To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science
- Immaculate Constellation
- KONA BLUE