Pentagon AATIP Disclosure — Secret US Government UFO Program Revealed

In December 2017, The New York Times published an explosive investigation revealing the existence of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), a secret US Defense Department program to investigate unidentified aerial phenomena. The program ran from 2007 to 2012 under the direction of Luis Elizondo with $22 million in funding. The disclosure included release of three declassified videos—FLIR1, Gimbal, and GoFast—showing Navy pilots tracking objects with flight characteristics unlike any known aircraft. The objects demonstrated sudden acceleration, hypersonic speeds, and the ability to operate in and out of water. Luis Elizondo resigned from the program in protest, claiming senior leadership was not taking the threat seriously. He went on to become one of the most prominent voices calling for official transparency on UAP matters. The disclosure fundamentally changed the public and governmental conversation about UFOs. Congress subsequently passed legislation requiring a UAP reporting system, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a report in 2021 acknowledging 144 unexplained incidents, and the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office was established to investigate ongoing encounters.