This article originally appeared on VICE US.

The US Army has explained more about why it partnered with former Blink-182 singer Tom DeLonge’s UFO research organization to study exotic materials. The Army described it as a “low risk” partnership that is of “significant interest” to the military.

Last month, DeLonge’s To the Stars Academy joined forces with the Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command, a research and development body. According to the contract, the government is interested in studying some pretty exotic science such as active camouflage, inertial mass reduction, and quantum communication. Even stranger, it turns out that the US government approached To the Stars for this deal.

In particular, the government is interested in the group’s ADAM Project, which Doug Halleaux, a spokesperson for the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Ground Vehicle Systems Center described as “a global dragnet for the collection and evaluation of novel materials.” Last year, TTSA put out a call for individuals and organizations to submit materials from alleged exotic sources as part of the project.

“If materials represented in the TTSA ADAM project are scientifically evaluated and presented with supporting data as having military utility by the TTSA, it makes sense to look deeper here,” Halleaux said, adding that it’s also interested in a cooperative project between TTSA and a company called TruClear Global.

In August of 2019, To the Stars signed a “cooperative marketing agreement” with TruClear Global to “cooperate on joint development projects as well as to provide advanced technology solutions to United States Government clientele.” TruClear essentially creates custom video screens that can be put on the side of buildings for marketing and events purposes.

To the Stars has generally made news for its UFO research, but this partnership with the U.S. Army may mean that it fancies itself as a military contractor.

“None of us at TTSA consider ourselves ‘Ufologists’ or part of the ‘Ufology culture,’ in fact, most of us come from a U.S. Government background (both Defense and Intelligence) and consider it our patriotic duty to work alongside our friends in Government should they see an advantage to improving our national security and protecting our people,” Luis Elizondo, a former Pentagon staffer and TTSA’s Director of Global Security and Special Programs, said in an interview.

While members of TTSA have spoken at UFO conferences and the recent Anomalous Aerospace Phenomena Conference, and DeLonge has co-authored two non-fiction books on extraterrestrial visitation and the UFO phenomenon, there seems to be a sort of ideological polarization within the organization which swings between being contenders for military contracts and a UFO research organization.

Now armed with a five year deal, TTSA and the government will work together on research and development for future military technology. Halleaux explained that the government believes the “key technologies or capabilities that [the Army] is investigating with TTSA are certainly on the leading edge of the realm of the possible” and comes at a low cost for the government.

To the Stars seems to be banking on the idea that the ‘exotic’ materials in their possession and outside-the-box science will lead to the development of some actual technology.

“If all goes as planned, the next year will lead to additional opportunities to cooperate with the government and conduct a more detailed analysis and product development,” Elizondo said.

The government has had a decades long sordid history with the UFO narrative, and UFO mogul Tom DeLonge’s latest deal with the US Army is definitely raising a few eyebrows. This agreement, as well as the recent announcements by the Navy that they will make it easier for personnel to report UFO sightings and the Navy’s confirmation that objects seen in recently released videos are unknown aerial phenomena, have become a hot topic of debate among UFO researchers. Some believe that something nefarious is afoot as branches of the military begin a contemporary campaign to become more friendly with the UFO topic.

Others remain optimistic. Author and popular UFO historian Richard Dolan told Motherboard that it is irresponsible to “throw cold water” on this before any results come in.

“True skepticism doesn’t equate into reflexive debunking, but an honest inquiry into the data,” Dolan stated. “What is obvious is that this announcement would have been considered astonishing as little as two years ago. The fact that the U.S. military is interested in this should cause us to become more attentive to what exactly is going on. Therefore, I'd say ‘close attention’ rather than caution is the order of the day.”

Halleaux could not comment on the specifics regarding the types of research and technology the Army is after in this deal, but he did express that camouflaging and keeping ground vehicles and personnel safe are always “a priority.”