The Pentagon’s secret UFO research programme carried out investigations into a range of ‘exotic’ futuristic technologies, a letter between a US Senator and the Deputy Secretary of Defence has revealed.

Documents relating to a highly sensitive investigation government project called the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) confirm that the US has studied a range of futuristic technologies which would allow it to exercise global military dominance for decades to come.

This programme is dedicated to exploring ‘ unexplained aerial phenomena’ and is believed to have written a 490-page report which collects together UFO sightings from around the world.

The world first heard about AATIP last year, when footage of an encounter between an F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet and an oval-shaped UFO travelling at astonishing speed was released.


A photograph of a fast-moving UFO spotted over the Atlantic by two US Navy pilots

Now a letter sent from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to William Lynn III, Deputy Secretary of Defense, has revealed tantalising new details of the US government’s exploration of ‘disruptive aerospace technologies’.



Although the correspondence does not mention aliens or UFOs, it appears to confirm the US Senate ordered an assessment of ‘far term foreign aerospace threats’. It is not known whether these threats were alien in origin – or came from some rival military power.

It said these include ‘extremely sophisticated concepts within the world of quantum mechanics, nuclear science, electromagnetic theory, gravitics [anti-gravity], and thermodynamics’.

These technologies ‘have the potential to be used with catastrophic effects by adversaries’ Senator Reid warned in his letter, which was obtained by Las Vegas Now.

The letter also said ‘much progress has been made with the identification of several highly sensitive, unconventional aerospace-related findings’.

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‘Ultimately, the results of AATIP will not only benefit the US Government but I believe will directly benefit the Department of Defense in ways not imagined,’ he wrote.

‘The technological insight and capability gained will provide the US with a distinct advantage over any foreign threats and allow the US to maintain its preeminence as a world leader.’

Nick Pope, a former UFO investigator for the British Ministry of Defence, said the ‘bombshell’ document ‘reveals much more about the AATIP project than was previously known’.

‘These staggering revelations show just how seriously the US government took the issue. Irrespective of what they believed about the true nature of the UFO phenomenon, this letter gives a telling insight into the reasons why the Pentagon was interested, and what they thought the threats and opportunities might be,’ he told The Metro

However, what the document does not give us is the answer to the question of whether humanity is alone in the universe.

In fact, there is no mention of aliens in the letter and it only really discusses the military implications of futurist technology.

Pope previously told Metro AATIP looked at UFO sightings as part of a wider intelligence assessment of the threat from next-generation aircraft, missiles and drones,

‘The UK government took a similar view, and some of us involved in looking at this subject in the MoD referred to the ‘novel military applications’ that we felt might be derived from a fuller understanding of the phenomenon,’ Pope added.

The truth about the US Government’s UFO programme is probably not as out there as some alien hunters would hope

‘Weaponisation was one of the things in our minds, and we shared US concerns that certain foreign nations (particularly Russia and China) were looking at this too, and might beat us to the punch.



‘In the MoD, we dropped the term ‘UFO’ and replaced it with ‘UAP’ (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena), both to reframe the debate and to obscure our true goals.

‘Harry Reid’s letter goes one better. The project was described in terms designed to give anyone not cleared for access the impression that this was some sort of study into next-generation aircraft, missiles and drones.

‘Whatever the truth of the matter, it’s time to drop our prejudices about the subject and to stop referring to “flying saucers” and “little green men”.

‘It’s time to realise that whatever we’re dealing with, there are serious defence and national security issues involved and that the US, the UK, Russia, China – and maybe others – are engaged in potentially game-changing work on this subject.’

Luis Elizondo, former head of the AATIP (Picture: UFO Congress/YouTube)

Last year, the AATIP program manager, Luis Elizondo, said he believed there is ‘very compelling evidence we may not be alone’.

He also recently suggested mysterious ‘metamaterials’ which may have come from crashed alien spacecraft are being stored by the American government in specially modified warehouses in Las Vegas.

The AATIP programme was closed down in 2012, although the New York Times reporters that exposed its work believe it is still operational in some capacity.

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