The Programs Hidden in Plain Sight
For years, the U.S. government denied funding UFO research. But behind classified contracts and black-budget language, two major programs operated in the shadows: AAWSAP and AATIP. Both were tied to the Pentagon, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and private aerospace contractors. Their reach extended from secret military data to one of the most mysterious properties on Earth — Skinwalker Ranch.
What the public was told was only a fraction of the truth.
AAWSAP: The Real UFO Program
The Advanced Aerospace Weapons System Application Program (AAWSAP) was launched in 2008 under the DIA. Its official budget came from a defense appropriation pushed by Senator Harry Reid. While the public believed it focused on “aerospace threats,” insiders confirm its primary mission involved the investigation of UAPs, UFO encounters and anomalous technology.
Key Facts About AAWSAP:
- Funded with approximately $22 million in government money
- Managed under DIA contracts
- Included medical studies of close-contact encounters
- Produced over 100 technical reports on exotic propulsion and advanced craft
- Directly connected to field investigations at Skinwalker Ranch
AATIP: The Public Cover Story
The Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) was presented to the media as a small Pentagon research effort, focused on pilot sightings of unidentified craft. In reality, AATIP was the rebranded and downsized public-facing version of AAWSAP.
Why AATIP Was Created:
- To minimize public attention on AAWSAP’s deeper investigations
- To separate UFO research from paranormal field cases and biological effects
- To allow the Pentagon to publicly deny involvement in UAP crash retrieval or reverse-engineering programs
Only a handful of sanitized AATIP reports were ever mentioned publicly and even those were watered down.
Skinwalker Ranch: The Unofficial Research Site
One of the most controversial aspects of AAWSAP was its funding connection to Skinwalker Ranch, a Utah property linked to UAP sightings, unknown aerial craft, radiation zones and biological anomalies. Billionaire aerospace contractor Robert Bigelow, through Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS), secured the AAWSAP contract and used part of the funding to conduct research on the ranch.
Why Skinwalker Ranch Mattered:
- Documented sightings of craft with non-human flight capabilities
- Encounters involving radiation and medical anomalies
- Reports of entities, portals and advanced aerial phenomena
- Military and intelligence personnel directly involved in data collection
Officially, the government never acknowledged this connection but contracts, personnel assignments and whistleblower statements confirm it.
The DIA, Bigelow and the Money Trail
The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) handled the contracts for AAWSAP. Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies executed the research under a classified arrangement. This structure provided plausible deniability while allowing the government to receive data on encounters, materials and witness reports without public scrutiny.
Key Links in the Funding Chain:
- DIA awarded funding for “aerospace threat studies”
- Bigelow Aerospace received and managed the contract
- Subcontractors and private teams investigated UAP cases globally
- Medical staff analyzed encounter witnesses for physiological effects
Most of the AAWSAP files remain classified or redacted.
Black Budget UAP Programs That Still Operate
Even after AAWSAP and AATIP were supposedly shut down, Pentagon insiders and intelligence whistleblowers confirm that UAP investigations continued under multiple undisclosed programs.
Some of these include:
- Crash retrieval and material analysis efforts under private aerospace contractors
- Reverse-engineering studies under Special Access Programs (SAPs)
- Unacknowledged compartments within the intelligence community
Witnesses such as Luis Elizondo and David Grusch suggest that the most sensitive work, including possession of non-human technology was never under AATIP or AAWSAP but under deeper, older classified programs.
The Truth Was Fragmented by Design
AATIP was the distraction. AAWSAP was the real program. And even that was only one layer of a much larger structure. From Skinwalker Ranch to private aerospace vaults, the government has never stopped tracking, funding or studying unknown craft.
The public was told these programs ended. The documents, personnel and ongoing secrecy say otherwise.