New York Times Reveals AATIP
The NY Times publishes groundbreaking article revealing the Pentagon secret UFO program AATIP (Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program), funded with $22M.
Videos
Background
On December 16, 2017, the New York Times revealed the existence of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), a secret Pentagon program investigating UAPs. The article, accompanied by three declassified military videos (FLIR1, Gimbal, GoFast), marked a paradigm shift as the US Department of Defense officially confirmed it takes UFO phenomena seriously.
The Revelation
The New York Times article disclosed AATIP, a secret Pentagon program focused on UAPs.
It included three declassified military videos: FLIR1, Gimbal, and GoFast.
These videos showed objects moving in ways that should not be possible according to known physics.
Key Figures
Luis Elizondo, who had led AATIP, recently resigned in protest over lack of attention from senior leadership.
He went public and joined Tom DeLonge's To The Stars Academy.
Political Impact
The revelation triggered Congressional briefings.
It led to the establishment of the UAPTF and eventually AARO.
The stigma surrounding the UFO topic for decades began to crack.
Elizondo's Account
In Imminent, Elizondo describes the behind-the-scenes coordination that led to the historic NYT story. After his resignation in October 2017, he met with Leslie Kean alongside Hal Puthoff, Jim Semivan, and Chris Mellon at a location near Washington. Mellon had separately delivered the declassified UAP videos to Kean in a parking lot meeting. The story by Kean, Blumenthal, and Cooper ran simultaneously with pieces in Politico and the Washington Post, creating an unprecedented media convergence. Senator Reid publicly confirmed AATIP's funding the same day.
Significance
The New York Times AATIP revelation fundamentally reshaped public discourse about UAP from fringe conspiracy to legitimate national security concern. The simultaneous release of three declassified military videos showing unexplained aerial objects provided visual evidence that could not be easily dismissed. Combined with Luis Elizondo's testimony about a secret Pentagon investigation program, this reporting created the foundation for Congressional action and institutional acknowledgment.