The Black Vault: AATIP Memo Published After FOIA Battle
After a prolonged Freedom of Information Act battle, The Black Vault successfully obtained a draft memorandum authored by former intelligence officer Luis Elizondo. The document describes AATIP's mission regarding advanced aerospace technologies and validates Elizondo's involvement in the program.
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Background
The Black Vault published a previously unreleased draft memo that had been withheld by the Department of Defense for years. The document, written by former counterintelligence agent Luis Elizondo, outlines the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program's focus on next-generation technologies including propulsion and cloaking systems.
The release came after multiple FOIA requests and an appeal process that exposed inconsistencies in the Pentagon's record-keeping practices. Initially, the DoD asserted that no applicable documentation existed regarding communications between Elizondo and senior official Neill Tipton.
The memo's content directly contradicts the Pentagon's previous denials about Elizondo's role within AATIP since 2019. It describes the program's mission of gathering information on unidentified aerial systems from various defense components.
Source: Via TheBlackVault.com (FOIA)
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