In 2007, America decided to invest in research into alien spacecraft: the program would be called the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification (AATIP). An omerta ruled over the mysterious UFO program until 2017, when the information was first leaked. And again, a tip of the veil is lifted by the former director of the AATIP.
In 2007, the American defense ministry established a so-called UFO program to investigate inexplicable air phenomena. Luis Elizondo was an intelligence officer and head of the program from 2007 to 2011. Then he stepped out of dissatisfaction with the way the Pentagon dealt with their findings. The former director of the program talks about those mysterious findings eight years after he left, in a documentary that can be seen in America from today.
In 2017, Elizondo broke the silence and confessed that since 2007 the American defense ministry has pumped 22 million dollars into the AATIP every year. The funds for the Pentagon’s UFO program came initially at the request of former Democratic Senate President Harry Reid, who was known for his interest in space phenomena.
The US Army also released images of a UFO that was spotted in 2014 by a few fighter aircraft pilots. According to one of the pilots, the mysterious rig accelerated “like nothing I have never seen.
Ultimately, the investigation did not lead to major breakthroughs – no conclusive evidence was found for the existence of alien spacecraft – Elizondo and his team did make some remarkable observations. For example, UFOs or unidentified flying objects were registered that reached speeds five times faster than the noise. The G-forces that go with such a fall acceleration would be fatal for both people and aircraft.
Five times faster than the sound
For comparison: the F16 Fighting Falcon, an American fighter jet, reaches its limit at around 9 to 12 g. The human body reaches its limit at a maximum of 12 g. However, the unidentified spacecraft achieved G-forces from 400 to 500. “They had no engines or wings and seemed to be able to defy gravity,” Elizondo adds.
Some mysterious spacecraft became less mysterious after thorough investigation. In some cases, it turned out to be drones or rocket tests. Many other observations, however, still have question marks.
According to Elizondo, that is not necessarily a reason to believe in aliens. According to him, there is a second possibility, and perhaps even more alarming than the existence of aliens. After all, it could also be about foreign threats, “strategic game-changers” according to Elizondo.
The American people may know that North Korea has nuclear missiles pointing towards Los Angeles, but they may not know that something is flying in the sky that we do not know what it is?Luis Elizondo, former intelligence officer, and director of AATIP
That is why the former intelligence officer insists on ending the secrecy regarding UFOs. “That secrecy reinforces the association with ridiculous stories. In reality, it can be a potential threat,” says Elizondo.
“The American people may know that North Korea has nuclear missiles that point towards Los Angeles, but they may not know that something is flying in the sky that we don’t know what it is,” says Elizondo. “That seems counterproductive to me.”