The Pentagon UFO Program’s Secret Partner

This article, published on March 17, 2020, by Roger Glassel and Curt Collins, investigates the previously undisclosed relationship between the Pentagon's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) and the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON). The authors trace the origins of this connection to billionaire aerospace developer Robert Bigelow, who had a long-standing interest in anomalous phenomena, evidenced by his earlier creation of the National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS) in 1995. In 2007, Bigelow formed Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS) to secure research contracts for the Advanced Aerospace Weapon Systems Applications Program (AAWSAP), a project under the control of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and reportedly initiated at the request of Senator Harry Reid.

To fulfill the requirements of the AAWSAP contract, Bigelow sought to leverage MUFON's resources. In 2008, BAASS entered into a contract with MUFON, requiring the organization to form the MUFON Advanced Technology Establishment (MATE) to produce twelve technical papers on topics such as lift, propulsion, and human interface. These papers were intended to be generic in nature, avoiding explicit UFO terminology to maintain a veneer of conventional aerospace research. Simultaneously, BAASS funded MUFON's Strike Team Area Research (STAR) program, which was designed to provide rapid response field investigations for UFO sightings.

Throughout the partnership, the DIA remained the 'sponsor' behind the scenes, while MUFON leadership struggled with issues of transparency, non-disclosure agreements, and the potential impact on their non-profit status. The relationship became increasingly strained due to territorial disputes over management, financial reporting, and the lack of funding for MUFON's operational expenses. By January 2010, the BAASS-MUFON contract was terminated, leaving MUFON in a precarious financial position. The Pentagon eventually ceased funding the BAASS program after determining the reports were of limited value. The article concludes that the AATIP project, often portrayed as an elite government squad, was largely a vehicle for Bigelow's company to collect and package data, with MUFON serving as a primary, albeit often unknowingly utilized, source of information.