A FORMER X-Files boss says he quit a secret US government programme over an alien encounter “cover-up”.

Luis Elizondo swears that the existence of aliens, travelling at speeds of up to 8,000mph, has been proven "beyond reasonable doubt”.

8 Former head of the Pentagon’s real life X-Files programme, Luis Elizondo Credit: YouTube

8 The distinguished former intelligence officer ran the Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Programme in the US, which looked into UFOs Credit: Getty - Contributor

8 New TV series explores UFO sightings

Elizondo has spoken up as part of a crack team of UFO researchers exposing the incredible secrets of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), the American government’s secret UFO operation.

He features in a new six-part TV show, "Unidentified: Inside America’s UFO Investigation".

It sheds new light on unidentified flying phenomena in the US and around the world, according to television network History, which is airing the show in the UK from August 26.

The show has uncovered “shocking revelations from sources close to the Pentagon, the FBI and the US government”, History claimed.

Elizondo, a distinguished former intelligence officer, was the head of the secretive AATIP, run by a team of 12 in the Pentagon.



MORE WORK ON UFOS

But he quit the job in 2017, telling military bosses that the government was not taking sightings of unidentified craft by American warplanes seriously enough.

His letter, which was leaked, asked why more time wasn't being spent on the issue, to work out "capability and intent of these phenomena for the benefit of the armed forces and the nation".

Elizondo claims that several countries, including Britain, have been visited by beings in extremely advanced and unidentified aircraft, given that UFOs observed had "extreme manoeuvrability and hypersonic velocity".

In an interview with The Sunday Times last year, he said that there were UFO sightings where "performance parameters were so off the charts" they could not have been dismissed as a drone, missile or aircraft.

8 History said 'Unidentified: Inside America's UFO Investigation' exposes 'incredible secrets'

8 The show also features revelations from former Blink-182 frontman Tom DeLonge

One such example was an encounter between US commander David Fravor and an alien aircraft "shaped like a 40ft Tic Tac sweet".

The retired Navy pilot said: "It was rounded on both ends and had a cylindrical body."

Although he tried chasing it, the UFO sped off faster than any other aircraft and disappeared. Elizondo recently revealed a cockpit video of Fravor's 2004 encounter.

The alien aircraft was shaped like a 40ft Tic Tac sweet. Retired US commander David Fravor

After quitting the clandestine government UFO investigation unit, the X-Files expert joined like-minded people in the "To The Stars Academy", led by Blink-182 co-founder Tom DeLonge.

A public benefit corporation set up in 2017, the academy is a “collaboration between academia, industry and pop culture to advance society’s understanding of scientific phenomena and its technological implications.”

History's 'Unidentified' show features UFO-believer DeLonge and researchers such as Elizondo, who reveals details of the US government’s awareness, and cover-up of, extra-terrestrial lifeforms on earth.

The network said that the episodes include “footage recorded from the cockpit of supposed encounters and testimony from pilots whose planes flew by these 'craft' as well as classified reports from foreign governments”.

8 Former US commander David Fravor was flying an F18 fighter when he spotted a white unidentified craft Credit: ABC

'CREATURE OF THE SHADOWS'

Elizondo said: “I am a creature of the shadows; I spent my entire life in the shadows and it was a matter of survival for me.

“Being able to have the conversation now with the American people so they can finally know what’s going on… is a great privilege and honour for me.”

He admitted, however, that as ex-military intelligence, “I have a non-disclosure agreement with the US government. I still can’t talk about classified things.”

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DeLonge told History he hoped the show would help switch the conversation about UFOs “from being a fringe subject for the tin-foil hat brigade to a legitimate subject for discussion.

“My hope for the future is that people are no longer discussing if this is real or not.”

History UK tweeted: “This series is going to change people’s perception and it’s going to change it quickly.”

8 The show starts on History, August 26, in the UK Credit: Twitter/@HistoryUK