Black Files Declassified (2020–…): Season 1, Episode 3 - To Catch an Alien - full transcript
A top-secret government program might have proof that aliens have visited earth, and a former CIA operative uses newly declassified documents and special access to investigate if the US military already has its hands on advanced, ...
Baker:
A top secret program...
Everyone saw
the exact same thing,
So no one was hallucinating.
...Investigating credible
sources of the incredible...
We may have a potential national
security threat on our hands.
Baker: ...Are these sightings
proof of aliens...
There's no propulsion system
that we've got
That will do that.
Baker:
...Or proof of an incredible
New top secret
government technology?
♪
Man: [ speaks indistinctly ]
we have a splash.
Stand by for pda.
Baker: Every year,
more than $90 billion
Is allocated to clandestine
government programs
Collectively called
the black budget.
Each individual operation
is a black file.
I'm mike baker.
As a covert
cia operations officer
For over a decade and a half,
I supervised missions
around the globe.
My security clearances
gave me access
To many classified projects.
Now I'm following the money
trail to the secrets
Hidden inside the black files.
Captions paid for by
discovery communications
In 2017, news broke of
a secretive government program
Investigating unknown aircraft
flying into u.S. Airspace.
The advanced aerospace
threat identification program,
Or aatip,
is a $22 million black file.
Even within the government,
most don't know what they do.
Are they capturing
hostile spycraft?
Testing out latest technology?
Or something else?
November 2004...
It's a clear sunny day
off the coast
Of san diego, california.
[ engine roaring ]
Commander david fravor
pilots his f-18
Off the uss nimitz
at near mach one speed.
The navy striker
has logged thousands of hours
Flying hundreds
of combat missions.
Suddenly his training exercise
is canceled
And he's ordered
to investigate an air threat.
He's confronted dozens,
but nothing like this.
This incredible video
is one of three released
By the department of defense.
[ men speaking indistinctly ]
"the new york times"
broke the story
Describing a u.S. Government
funded program
Investigating ufos called aatip
Run by intelligence deep
within the pentagon.
What did they make
of this incident?
And what are they doing
about it?
I'm going to find out
by speaking with someone
Who saw this ufo
with his own eyes.
♪
I've managed to secure a meeting
with commander dave fravor,
Now the commander
was one of two aircraft
That had an incredible
experience and an amazing citing
That they still to this day
can't explain.
Commander dave fravor,
mike baker.
- Nice meeting you, mike.
- Thank you very much.
You've seen a lot of things
up in the air,
What was your first thought?
What is it?
Never seen anything like it,
I mean, I've seen harriers,
I've seen helicopters.
If you don't know harriers
the jump jet that can go up,
Nothing like that.
This is...
Drones, drone technology?
No, no, it looks like for us,
Because I've looked at enough
airplanes from a distance,
It's about the size
of an f-18 lengthwise,
So somewhere around 40, 45 feet.
I mean,
it's literally a tic tac,
It has no wings.
And by the time I get to about
the 12:00 position
On the clock, it kind of turns
and now it starts to mirror us,
So it's like it's aware
that we're there.
And about the time
I start pulling nose on
'cause I want
to get close to it,
It goes poof and it's gone.
What kind of speed
would that be?
Fast, you know, again, we say
supersonic, well past that.
Did you have eyes on target
when it took off?
When it...
- I had eyes on it from the time
We saw it,
never took my eyes off of it.
It's four people saying that.
Four of us saw this, oh, yeah.
Plus the radar operator.
Everyone saw
the exact same thing,
So no one was hallucinating.
Honestly in my heart,
I believe it's something,
It was a technology beyond
what we've developed on earth,
I honestly believe that,
you know,
There's nothing in the world
that can do what this did.
But nobody came to you and said,
"do not discuss this."
That's correct.
We were never debriefed to go,
Don't talk about this
or anything, we just didn't.
Not until about six,
seven months ago,
The pilot of the other airplane
had contacted me and said,
"well, I've been to the pentagon
like a half dozen times."
Dave, I've got to tell you,
This has been fascinating
and thank you for your time.
You're welcome.
Thank you
for your service again,
And I hope you get
an answer at some point.
You're quite welcome.
Oh, so do I.
♪
I have to say that when it comes
to things like this,
I'm kind of hard to convince.
I have no doubt that fravor
and his team saw something,
But of course
the question is, what?
I've flown a ton and there
are all sorts of things
Buzzing around up there.
So I'm heading down to san diego
to the scene of the sighting.
I'm meeting up
with erich molder,
With 12 years as a navy pilot,
He's got the background
to help me better understand
What commander fravor
experienced.
♪
Erich.
- Hey.
Hey. How is it going?
I've been investigating aatip,
And one of the most
incredible sightings
Was just off the coast here
of san diego.
- Yes.
- David fravor, commander fravor
Spotting something
as he was flying off the nimitz
To this day
we don't know what it is.
Now this baby is gonna
be flying lower
And slower
than commander fravor.
Right.
But tell me about what it looks
like out there,
How much traffic
are we talking about?
Are we likely to see anything
else up there besides ourselves?
We'll see a couple of airplanes,
And it'll be similar down low
as it would be at altitude.
There'll be airliners out there,
there'll be military aircraft.
We may see some helicopters
down low
And some other
civilian aircraft.
Okay, well, the opportunity
to get out there
And at least get
in the general area,
Right, where commander fravor
had this sighting, let's do it.
♪
We're good to go
and I'm excited,
And I'm hoping erich will
give me some insight
Into what commander
fravor experienced.
♪
Up, up, up and away.
♪
Fantastic.
You've seen the film,
And you had
that experience out here
Flying for the navy,
what do you think?
Here are some super
sophisticated military drone
That was purposefully
intercepting those aircraft
Or it was something
out of this world
That was investigating
the aircraft.
Something wanted to be seen.
What about your time flying,
A dozen years flying
for the navy.
Did you ever have a moment
where you saw something
You just couldn't identify it?
I have never seen anything
or even heard of anything
In our military inventory
Or even airplanes that
would perform like that,
That aircraft,
that kind of acceleration,
No wing, I don't know
of any flying design
That could move,
turn, and act so quickly.
I'd have to take his word
on it, I mean,
A squadron commander
of a fighter squadron
Is a very well respected
individual, very credible.
Baker:
Erich gives commander fravor
The benefit of the doubt,
others challenges account.
But remember there were
at least four other people
Who saw the exact same thing,
all of them firm believers
That what they saw
defies explanation.
I've located one of them,
kevin day,
A navy air intercept controller
Who monitored the situation
as it unfolded.
Hi, kevin, tell me about
that day, right, I mean,
Where were you?
And what did you see?
I was on the uss princeton,
Part of the uss nimitz
strike group in 2004.
I started to see these
very strange objects on radar.
We all watched this object
drop out of the sky
From 28,000 feet down to
the surface of the ocean,
And I found out later
the next day was 0.78 seconds.
Baker: That translates to
approximately
Five miles per second
or 18,000 miles per hour.
Mach one the speed of sound
is 761 miles per hour.
That means the vehicle would've
had to be traveling at mach 23.
In the moment,
as it was happening,
What did you make of it?
What went through your mind?
You know,
in all my years of experience,
We had never seen
anything like that before.
To this day, I don't have
a good id for them,
I don't know what they were.
I know what they weren't,
but I don't know what they were.
So you file a report, right,
There are radar images
and videos.
What happened next?
So the next day
I go up to combat,
Well, lo and behold,
all the recordings
Were gone off the disc.
Apparently, some people
had come on board the ship
And actually taken
all of our computer radar data
And all of
our communications data.
Baker: U.S. Intelligence
monitors all communications
On board military vessels.
That means that not only
the captain of the ship
Knew about the events unfolding,
but higher-ups
In the intelligence community
did as well.
Okay, so what do you
make of all of this, kevin?
I mean, at this point,
how do you make sense of it?
We were being watched out there,
By who and by what
I have no idea.
♪
Baker: Both kevin day
and commander fravor
Are resolute in what they saw.
The fact that neither
were debriefed
And that the evidence
was seized,
Makes me think that someone
wanted to keep this black file
Under wraps.
Ultimately, they didn't succeed.
I'm about to speak with one
of the investigative reporters
Who broke the story.
Baker: My investigation
into the black file aatip
Is centered around
this incredible video,
One of three
documented accounts of ufos
That the department of defense
had in their possession
And kept classified
until recently.
How did such a sensitive and top
secret video become public?
It took the work of enterprising
journalists like bryan bender.
Hi, brian,
how did the story break?
I had been covering the pentagon
as a reporter
For "the boston globe"
And for "politico"
for a number of years
And through some sources
got wind of a modern day program
At the pentagon
that was researching ufos.
And of course
when I first heard this,
My eyes rolled a little bit
and I was like,
"you can't be serious,"
But these were sources
that were quite credible.
And then also that some people
who had been involved
In the effort
were kind of ready to go public.
And that's where lou elizondo,
Who had a major role in this,
What was called the aatip
program at the pentagon,
Was growing frustrated
that the office's work
Was not getting enough attention
At the high levels
of the pentagon.
Baker: Lou elizondo
turns out to be the man
That commander fravor told me
Met with his fellow pilot
at the pentagon,
A quick search reveals
that he was a career
Defense department employee,
Specifically a military
intelligence officer
Who became the head of aatip
when it was formed in 2007.
♪
How did the videos
come to be released?
The three videos are all part of
lou elizondo's
Very plotting effort
over the years
As he's in the pentagon
In trying to figure out,
"how could I take
some of this publicly,
"how could some
of this information to be shared
In a way that it's not
violating classification laws?"
And so, lou elizondo
who collects these videos
As part of his research
in the pentagon
Goes through
a very methodical process
To get them declassified,
which isn't easy to do.
♪
Baker: Declassification occurs
via a complex process defined
By the president and congress.
The originating agency
assigns a declassification date,
Usually 10 years.
After 25 years,
declassification is automatic.
Now there are exceptions.
♪
It's unknown how elizondo
got the videos declassified,
But there's no question
he did so
Significantly faster
than is usual.
You've seen the videos.
What do you think?
I'll have to admit
the first time
I saw one of the videos,
I'm not an expert
in looking at this stuff
And it struck me as well that
could very easily be doctored.
I think since then,
having talked to real experts
Who looked at the video,
I'm confident
that they are the real thing.
And ultimately,
it was the testimony
Of the pilots themselves
Who have basically staked
their reputations on the line
By coming forward and saying,
I saw these things,
These things were operating
in a way that I can't explain,
You can't explain.
It's like
no technology that we know
That we have
or anybody else has.
So what has the government
confirmed about aatip
And the ufo sightings?
Well, you know, publicly,
officially the pentagon
Hasn't said a whole lot
about this effort.
They've certainly acknowledged
That the aatip program existed,
That it was, you know,
funded from 2009 to 2012.
It's acknowledged
that it's taking steps
To gather more information
about these sightings,
But that's pretty much
about all the pentagon,
At least, officially, will say.
♪
Baker:
The government has confirmed
That this footage of a ufo
is a department of defense video
Captured by advanced forward
looking infrared technology.
[ men speaking indistinctly ]
But that doesn't confirm
what we're seeing.
I've located ross aimer,
A distinguished pilot
and expert aviation consultant.
He's going to look
at the videos with me
And hopefully help make sense
of what we see.
♪
♪
All right, captain,
let's take it from the top.
First of all,
what are you seeing here
As far as the indicators?
What is the display telling us?
It's the hud, the heads
up display of an f-18
Where the pilot is looking
through his windshield,
Front windshield,
And sees the repeat
of some of his instruments,
Altitude, airspeed, back angle,
And then that object,
whatever that is,
Is obviously taking through
the gun camera.
Baker: The gun camera on an f-18
and other aircraft
Is fed directly into
the heads up display,
So the pilot immediately gets
A high-resolution
realtime image.
Ross is certain
that the image is authentic.
This has been checked
over and over.
This is definitely
from a gun sight of an f-18,
United states navy.
So what do you make of it?
Whatever that thing is, to me,
It defies our laws of physics,
Thermodynamics, aerodynamics,
Gravity, everything else
that we know about.
Okay, tell me about that.
Why do you say that?
In order to have an object fly
as we know as humans
It has to have flight surfaces.
That's your air dynamic laws.
It would have to have
some sort of a propulsion.
I don't see any heat signature
coming out of...
Telling me there's an engine
on that thing.
It's definitely, in my opinion,
It's not our technology.
Can't be.
By our technology,
are you talking about
Maybe it's foreign technology?
No, I'm talking about
man's technology.
Okay, so you're saying
it's some type
Of outside of earth,
alien technology perhaps.
Whatever it is.
I can't say for sure,
but it's not ours.
Baker: Ross and others
clearly believe
This is technology
we're not capable of.
I think it's technology
we're not aware of.
It all comes down to, what was
the advanced aerospace
Threat identification
program investigating?
Now the only way
I'm gonna find that out
Is to speak
with its shadowy head
Lou elizondo.
Baker: For years,
a black file called aatip...
The advanced aerospace
threat identification program
Investigated unidentified
flying objects like this one.
What they uncovered
or what they were looking for
Can only be answered
by their former head,
Lou elizondo.
♪
- Lou.
- Mike baker.
Mr. Baker.
You ran the advanced aerospace
Threat identification program
at the pentagon.
- I did.
- What was your mission?
It was explained to me
that we may have
A potential national
security threat on our hands
That we can't really quite
put our finger on what it is.
Say during the course
of 2008 to 2012
When supposedly the aatip
program was defunded,
Roughly how many sightings
do you think?
Again, I have to be very careful
with specific numbers...
- Understood.
- ...But multitudes.
How many open files you got now?
I would say
a significant number.
The consensus now amongst
some people much smarter
Than me believe
that we're looking at really
The manifestation
of a single technology.
Is this something
that can be explained by
The russians have developed
a new form of propulsion,
For example, or lift?
Absolutely. I hate to say this,
but we hope to find that.
That's the answer
we want to find.
Mm-hmm.
Lou, like me,
prefers the russian option
To the extraterrestrial one.
There are good reasons for that.
If this is the result
of russian technology,
Then we're dealing
with a known quantity
And can use espionage
to gain some intel.
If we can get our hands
on something concrete
That would go a long way
towards determining
Exactly what it is
we're dealing with.
Is there a warehouse
that aatip manages
That contains substances
or materials
Or items that
have not been explainable?
Anytime you're gonna do
an investigation,
You need to collect data,
so in this particular case,
One of the intents of aatip
was to build some sort of,
If you will, repository to allow
this information to be sifted.
What about physical objects?
What about materials?
What we're talking about,
mike, are materials
That have a very unique
isotopic signature and ratio
Not commonly found here
on earth.
It's been a fascinating, lou,
a lot of questions answered,
A lot more questions
to be answered,
But I want to thank you
for your time, man.
Yes, sir.
Nice to meet you, mike.
- Thank you for your service.
- Yes, sir. Thanks.
♪
Baker: Okay,
this needs some thinking.
Lou said that aatip
has found and stored
Materials, isotopes,
The composition of which
is generally not found on earth.
So what does that mean?
Alien technology,
New foreign development
of some sort or something else?
Good questions for a scientist.
- Hey, ben.
- Mike.
- How you doing, man?
- I'm doing great.
How are you doing?
- Good to see you.
You know, I had a conversation
with lou elizondo.
Okay.
And he told me something that
I find really intriguing, right?
He said that aatip has actually
come across physical material
With isotope ratios,
not commonly found on earth.
Okay, now,
are they talking about
Extra terrestrial material
Or are they talking about
just stuff that's here on earth
But not seen very often?
Context is key.
So unusual isotopes,
that's actually what...
There's a science for that,
it's called meteoritics.
That's how scientists
can determine
Whether or not a meteorite
came from the moon
Or came from mars
or came from that asteroid.
So I mean,
take for example this,
This is alien metal defacto.
- Really?
- Yeah.
Alien metal.
Yep, that is a nickel iron alloy
that we cannot make.
Okay, but not made by an alien?
- Correct.
- Okay.
Not made by
extraterrestrial intelligence.
Nature makes a lot
of very interesting stuff.
What does this mean?
It means that we know
that there are alien metals,
Literally, alloys we can't make
That aren't from this world,
that land here,
But it doesn't mean they came
from like an alien spacecraft.
Okay, so where does all of this
take us?
You have to be very careful
about proposing
The extraterrestrial hypothesis
Because there's a very clear
scientific path for that.
When you're looking to determine
Whether or not a metal
came from this world
Or another world or that
asteroid or the moon or mars.
It's actually
the combination of isotopes.
You know, so different versions
of elements
That will form
a sort of fingerprint
That will tell you
where it came from.
The point is the universe
can make very interesting
Alloys from the start
that humans even can't,
But that doesn't necessarily
imply some
Sort of
extraterrestrial civilization.
Mm-hmm.
Ben seems confident that there's
an earthbound explanation
To the materials
that aatip collected.
That may or may not be true,
But there's just been a break
in my investigation.
A freedom of information act
Request that reveals new
information about aatip's work.
Baker: There's a new development
in my investigation.
A freedom of information act
request has revealed
That aatip was investigating
dozens of subjects.
I'm meeting
with the investigator
Who filed that request.
Nick pope worked
on highly sensitive
And classified projects for
the british ministry of defense
For 21 years,
including leading a division
Where he investigated
sightings similar to aatip.
♪
Nick.
- Hi, there.
- Good to meet you.
- Nice to meet you, too.
Nick, your experience in the uk
Must have been
extremely valuable
In helping you
to try to understand aatip.
One of the interesting things
is despite a lot of people
Having an opinion
about the story,
Very, very little
official paperwork,
You know, genuinely verified
as being the real thing,
Is in the public domain.
But I was able to help
get some of that out.
Did do you have a copy of that
by any chance?
Yes, I do and I was actually
The first person
to publish this.
This is the relevant
document here
And the really fascinating line
to me in this cover letter
Is where they say
the purpose of aatip
Was to investigate
foreign advanced aerospace
Weapon threats from the present
out to the next 40 years.
Well, that's what they said
in the cover letter,
But then when you look
at the attachment
Where they actually say
what they did
Under the aatip contract,
a very different story emerges.
Good lord.
You get 38 studies which were
done and this is staggering.
I mean, literally,
they were looking at things
Like invisibility cloaking,
Anti-gravity,
warp drive, wormholes.
Baker: Some of these concepts,
like anti-gravity,
Are being actively explored.
The development of flying cars
may stem from quantum levitation
Where scientists
use quantum physics
To levitate a superconductor
over a magnetic source.
The power of magnetic
repulsion counteracts
The force of gravity.
But some of aatip's
other studies,
Like one on warp drives,
are clearly about space travel.
Are these ufo videos,
whatever their source,
Linked to our drive
into outer space?
Any sense of who was
responsible for pursuing them?
Who was commissioned
to investigate?
Well, this is the really
interesting point.
The contract...
And there was a contract
for this...
Was put out
to the private sector
And it's actually
bigelow aerospace
That won that
particular contract.
- Bob bigelow's outfit.
- Yes, absolutely.
Baker: Bob bigelow is
a las vegas-based billionaire
Who founded bigelow aerospace
To advance legitimate space
enterprises and fringe science
Including the study of ufos.
What do you believe,
based on what you've seen,
Was the purpose of aatip?
My take is that there were
three questions
That get to the very heart
of what aatip was doing.
One, is any of this real?
Two, if it's real, what are
the technologies involved?
And three,
can we get those technologies,
Acquire them for ourselves
And before somebody else like
the russians or the chinese do?
I've looked into the different
research topics funded by aatip
And there's one topic
that ties in
With the videos
lou elizondo released.
These objects moved faster
Than any known aircraft
technology that we have,
But if it's not a rocket ship,
what could it be?
Well, I know who to ask.
I'm back in los angeles
to meet up with ben mcgee
And ask him to explain
how the ufo could move
Like it did in the video.
He believes it's due to some
form of alternative propulsion.
The government's looking at...
Via nasa... are looking
at several different concepts
For what we call
alternative propulsions.
Things like harnessing
the power of light
In a vacuum
to squeeze energy out
And push something or things
like warp drive like you
Might expect from, you know,
"star trek"
or sci-fi or something.
Right, right.
But why chase alternative
Forms of propulsion, though,
what's the point?
Most rockets, when you think
of a traditional rocket,
Are 90% fuel or more.
And then there's the teeny,
tiny payload at the top,
Which is what you want
to take the space.
Well, why? It's because
earth's gravity is strong
And you need
so much fuel to burn
And eject to propel
something up.
So that's the problem of
our current propulsion systems.
And it's something,
it's epitomized by this.
And what is this?
This is a very small scale
rocket engine
And you'll see that it uses
a fuel as a propellant
That it ejects out the back
And equal and opposite reaction
would then,
If this weren't anchored down,
Push, you know,
whatever's on top forward.
Well, you know me,
I'm always fascinated
By anything
that explodes or lights up.
Yes!
Right, so could we
light this up?
- Oh, of course.
- And I'm assuming safety first.
Safety first, always.
All right, well, as soon as you
flip the red switch,
Then there's a contactor here
Which will heat
and light to propellant
And it will go.
- Ready?
- Give me the countdown.
All right, houston,
we are go for launch.
In three, two, one. Throw it.
♪
- Nice!
- All right.
So that's an example
of what we currently do.
What if you can move away
from something like this
And move more toward
what's in my hand.
A flashlight?
Right, well, imagine that this
were a device that would emit,
Say, or trap,
infrared light or radio light
Or microwave light in such a way
That it could provide
the thrust to push something.
Now this is called a radiometer.
Baker: A radiometer is a device
that measures the power
Of electromagnetic radiation
or light.
Its internal rotor exists
in a vacuum
And spins when exposed to light,
demonstrating photon pressure.
And so it's illustrating
my point,
Which is what if you could build
a propulsion system
That didn't have propellant?
It didn't need fuel
that it had to eject.
What if you could push
something with nothing
More than something
like the power of light?
So what are the types of systems
we're talking about?
There's a huge range of what
we call blue sky ideas
All the way down to something
that's more practical.
So you've got
the alcubierre warp drive
Which, you know,
They're different
variations on a theme,
But you're basically
harnessing the power
Of something like a black hole
Using things like what
they call exotic matter,
Which could exist,
but we don't know if they exist
Yet to literally bend space,
Create a new
gravitational field.
Imagine the gravitational field
from the earth,
But you create it sideways
So that you fall
in the direction you want to go.
I mean, that's the essence
of warp drive.
I mean, that sounds like
a fantastic concept
That somebody's tinkering with,
But is it actually being
researched in a meaningful way?
Well, it's... yes, it's
moving that way in that
There's real math
and real physics.
Now can we actually
what I call, "bend metal"?
Can we build something?
Not quite yet.
But that's why the emdrive
is another concept
Which actually uses radio light
or microwave light
And it traps it in something
kind of like a rocket nozzle
And there's a small-scale
version that's been built
And nasa eagleworks
has tested it.
Baker: The electromagnetic
propulsion or emdrive
Works by converting
electricity into microwaves
And then channeling them
via a high-powered vacuum tube
Called a magnetron
through a conical chamber.
The microwaves exert force
against the walls of the chamber
To produce thrust
to propel the craft forward.
So they've actually built...
They've gone beyond
just scratching something up
On a whiteboard and they've
actually built something
To try to demonstrate
the capability?
Yes,
so that's the exciting thing
Is they're actually testing
real hardware right now.
This emdrive sounds just like
The kind of
futuristic technology
That aatip is investigating.
But how viable is it?
To drill down further
into this secret black file,
I've tracked down
someone who should know...
The inventor of the emdrive.
Baker: While investigating
the aatip black file
And their documentation of ufos,
scientists, eyewitnesses,
And aviation experts have told
me that the propulsion system,
Seen here,
appears to defy physics.
Could some type
of advanced technology,
Possibly an alternative
propulsion system,
Be responsible?
Nasa and others are researching
alternative propulsion systems
Including one
called the emdrive.
I've connected
with its inventor,
Aerospace engineer,
roger shawyer.
To speak with us,
he had to get permission
From the ministry of defense
As much of his work
is classified.
Hello, mr. Shawyer.
Now, appreciating that
I'm not a rocket scientist,
Can you explain the basic
principle of your emdrive?
The force that emdrive produces
Is a result of the stored energy
in the cavity.
So you're continually putting
microwave energy in there.
You can very quickly get to
a point where the output energy,
Which is being transferred
into kinetic energy
Is increasing faster
than the input energy.
How will the emdrive help
to advance space travel?
Now, emdrive is
a propellant-less
Propulsion technology
Which offers huge advantages
over commercial rockets.
This is probably
best illustrated
By a recent design study,
Which shows that getting
three men to the moon
And back again can be achieved
with a launch mass of 10 tons.
As a comparison,
Apollo 11
weighed 3,000 tons at launch.
Baker: Nasa scientists have
successfully tested the engine
In a vacuum
that replicates space.
Proponents claim it could
take humans to mars
In 70 days versus
the seven months
Currently required.
Professor, where are you exactly
With the development
of the technology?
Within five years,
it is predicted
That a small superconducting
emdrive powered uav,
That's an unmanned
aerial vehicle or drone,
Will actually be demonstrated.
If emdrive can do this,
then everything changes.
Low-cost access to space
is enabled
And solar power satellites
become economically viable.
♪
Baker: Given we're in
the infancy of technologies
Like the emdrive, it makes sense
That if this ufo demonstrates
an advanced propulsion system,
The government via aatip
Would want to learn
everything possible about it.
Are there other applications
for the use of the emdrive?
Terrestrial applications
include air taxis,
Long-haul air transport,
and large marine vessels.
So, what started out
as a classified
Military operation
could actually help
Revolutionize transportation?
Exactly, it's all part of
the need for emdrive now
To come out of the shadows
Because the world's problems
are getting a little too serious
To keep it in the hands
of the military.
Well, thank you very much, sir.
If a foreign power
has developed a technology
Similar to the emdrive,
That would be a matter
of national security
And it could explain
aatip's interest.
Nick pope told me that
multi-billionaire, bob bigelow,
Could be involved in alternative
propulsion development
Among other things
for the u.S. Government.
And I'm sure he would make for
a very interesting conversation.
♪
I'm outside the headquarters
of bigelow aerospace,
Just six miles north
of las vegas.
Here, bob bigelow's
multi-million dollar
Government contracts
Have had him researching
and developing
Black budget space
And technology projects
for decades.
Now, they've declined
to speak with me on camera,
But that's not going
to stop my investigation.
♪
I'm very fortunate to be
meeting up with multiple
Award-winning investigative
journalist, george knapp.
George has spent decades
investigating black files
Including aatip,
and has gotten close to bigelow.
Bob bigelow is one of former
nevada senator harry reid's
Constituents and a big supporter
and contributor.
Aatip was funded
and created by reid,
Who's long been intrigued
by space phenomena.
♪
Mike, how you doing?
Good to see you.
Do you know if bigelow aerospace
Had any contracts
related to aatip?
They did.
The contract was for $22 million
Over a three-year period.
Bigelow put up a million
or so dollars
Before he got the contract.
He spent another couple
of million to keep the program
After the money
got bottled up in congress,
And he was deeply committed
to conduct a study into ufos
And related phenomena.
With aatip supposedly
wrapping up
With the end
of the aatip program,
You think that's actually
where it stopped
Or is there work that's ongoing
that we just don't know about
Because it's still buried
in a black file?
I'm certain that there's
work ongoing.
The program that we know
now as aatip,
That network of people
who are evaluating ufo reports
As they come in,
is still working.
Lou elizondo had told me,
and has announced to the world
Since,
that there are other videos,
A couple of dozen
of other videos,
That are very compelling.
We know that there has been
some lobbying effort
Behind the scenes
on capitol hill.
I know that there are programs
ongoing that we may never see.
Some of them could be
materials and technology
That we can't quite figure out.
Do you ever think we'll see
the whole file on aatip?
No, I don't.
You know,
there's probably 1,500 people
Who've filed foyer requests
for aatip files.
I'm one of them and dia,
defense department,
Nobody's in a hurry
to release that information.
George, thank you very much.
Fascinating.
♪
We still don't know
if aatip is hiding
Our own top secret technology,
Hunting down
that of another country,
Or seriously considering
an alien presence.
But we do know there are people
within the government
Who believed the work of aatip
needs to be made public.
I'm going to speak with one
who's demanding
That the government come clean.
Baker: Aatip's documentation
and exploration
Of as yet unexplained ufos
has raised many questions.
Do they capture sightings
of an earthbound technology
Or something alien?
What we do know
is that some of the ufos
Exhibit propulsion systems
beyond our capability.
Something that,
if we could harness,
Would fundamentally
alter life on earth.
♪
There are many who believe
that work of aatip
Should be declassified
and made public.
Among them,
the founder of aatip,
Senator harry reid,
And his fellow senator,
mike gravel.
Senator, I appreciate you taking
the time to speak with me today.
I'm happy to do that and I think
That this is an intelligent
and sophisticated inquiry
On a very important subject.
Senator harry reid started
the aatip program
Back in 2007 within dia.
And the whole point
was to study ufos.
Why did he do this
and how did he get
The support
of the us government?
Well, first off,
the last question,
How he got it,
he was majority leader.
And so, that has a lot of clout
within the government.
And so, he just commanded that.
With respect to his reasoning,
Certainly he's progressive
with respect
To his attitude towards ufos
And I commend him
in that regard.
Why is aatip's work important?
You know, I come to the issue,
not that I'm expert on it,
But I just have
a fundamental view
That it's the height
of human arrogance
To turn around and assume
That we are the only sentient
human beings in the cosmos.
That's the height of arrogance.
And I don't think
that's the case.
Now, where they are
in the cosmos, I don't know.
But I do know that I think
governments should monitor this
And monitor it
with the participation
Of all the nations
in united nations.
Do you believe that
some of the ufo sightings
Might be attributed
to foreign technology,
And that it's important to us
national security interests
That we understand
that technology?
Well, I think it's beyond
national security.
You know, if there's somebody
that can get to us
And monitor us
from another planet,
I got to tell you, they have
superior technology to us.
And I don't think
this phenomenon is tied
To another country.
I think it's tied
to outer space.
And that's the conclusion
that most people
Who have examined this issue,
That's their conclusion,
that it's outer space
And not at phenomena
from another country.
Senator reid and others have
spoken forcefully about the need
For ufo investigations
to be fully transparent.
Do you support that?
- Totally.
Totally and I think the absence
of that is ridiculous policy.
What happens is that
if it's not transparent,
People get suspicious
and get concerned,
And that's what feeds paranoia.
And we don't need
any more of that.
What is very tragic
is that the government
Has always tended to,
"well, we've got
to keep this secret."
There's just too much secrecy
in the world,
And one of the things they can,
in my point of view,
Keep no secrecy all,
Just make everything available
to the public worldwide
As to whatever observations
and conclusions
That our scientific community
has on this subject.
Senator, what is
the future of government
Funded ufo investigations?
Will it continue?
Well, I would hope so,
but here again,
We don't need
these black budgets
Like the cia budget to do this.
What we want is an arm
of the government
That is doing this publicly
And scientifically
with the private community
And the public community.
Should ufo investigations be
a top priority
For the u.S. Government?
It should be a top priority
to investigate this
Because it really is
we don't know what it is
And that's the problem
right there.
And we need to acquire
as much knowledge as possible.
And as we go
into space ourselves
And with our telescopes,
This may enhance
That investigation
And I think it will enure
to the benefit of our society.
Well, thank you very much,
senator.
Thank you very much.
We don't yet know the full
extent of what aatip
Has uncovered or the technology
that they're chasing after,
But we do know that
their investigation of ufos
Is likely continuing.
We also know that we are not
the only country interested
In advanced propulsion systems
like those many believe
Are on display
in the aatip videos.
It's important that scientists
and others working to understand
And engineer this technology
continue to do so,
Even if some of it has to remain
redacted in the black files.
A top secret program...
Everyone saw
the exact same thing,
So no one was hallucinating.
...Investigating credible
sources of the incredible...
We may have a potential national
security threat on our hands.
Baker: ...Are these sightings
proof of aliens...
There's no propulsion system
that we've got
That will do that.
Baker:
...Or proof of an incredible
New top secret
government technology?
♪
Man: [ speaks indistinctly ]
we have a splash.
Stand by for pda.
Baker: Every year,
more than $90 billion
Is allocated to clandestine
government programs
Collectively called
the black budget.
Each individual operation
is a black file.
I'm mike baker.
As a covert
cia operations officer
For over a decade and a half,
I supervised missions
around the globe.
My security clearances
gave me access
To many classified projects.
Now I'm following the money
trail to the secrets
Hidden inside the black files.
Captions paid for by
discovery communications
In 2017, news broke of
a secretive government program
Investigating unknown aircraft
flying into u.S. Airspace.
The advanced aerospace
threat identification program,
Or aatip,
is a $22 million black file.
Even within the government,
most don't know what they do.
Are they capturing
hostile spycraft?
Testing out latest technology?
Or something else?
November 2004...
It's a clear sunny day
off the coast
Of san diego, california.
[ engine roaring ]
Commander david fravor
pilots his f-18
Off the uss nimitz
at near mach one speed.
The navy striker
has logged thousands of hours
Flying hundreds
of combat missions.
Suddenly his training exercise
is canceled
And he's ordered
to investigate an air threat.
He's confronted dozens,
but nothing like this.
This incredible video
is one of three released
By the department of defense.
[ men speaking indistinctly ]
"the new york times"
broke the story
Describing a u.S. Government
funded program
Investigating ufos called aatip
Run by intelligence deep
within the pentagon.
What did they make
of this incident?
And what are they doing
about it?
I'm going to find out
by speaking with someone
Who saw this ufo
with his own eyes.
♪
I've managed to secure a meeting
with commander dave fravor,
Now the commander
was one of two aircraft
That had an incredible
experience and an amazing citing
That they still to this day
can't explain.
Commander dave fravor,
mike baker.
- Nice meeting you, mike.
- Thank you very much.
You've seen a lot of things
up in the air,
What was your first thought?
What is it?
Never seen anything like it,
I mean, I've seen harriers,
I've seen helicopters.
If you don't know harriers
the jump jet that can go up,
Nothing like that.
This is...
Drones, drone technology?
No, no, it looks like for us,
Because I've looked at enough
airplanes from a distance,
It's about the size
of an f-18 lengthwise,
So somewhere around 40, 45 feet.
I mean,
it's literally a tic tac,
It has no wings.
And by the time I get to about
the 12:00 position
On the clock, it kind of turns
and now it starts to mirror us,
So it's like it's aware
that we're there.
And about the time
I start pulling nose on
'cause I want
to get close to it,
It goes poof and it's gone.
What kind of speed
would that be?
Fast, you know, again, we say
supersonic, well past that.
Did you have eyes on target
when it took off?
When it...
- I had eyes on it from the time
We saw it,
never took my eyes off of it.
It's four people saying that.
Four of us saw this, oh, yeah.
Plus the radar operator.
Everyone saw
the exact same thing,
So no one was hallucinating.
Honestly in my heart,
I believe it's something,
It was a technology beyond
what we've developed on earth,
I honestly believe that,
you know,
There's nothing in the world
that can do what this did.
But nobody came to you and said,
"do not discuss this."
That's correct.
We were never debriefed to go,
Don't talk about this
or anything, we just didn't.
Not until about six,
seven months ago,
The pilot of the other airplane
had contacted me and said,
"well, I've been to the pentagon
like a half dozen times."
Dave, I've got to tell you,
This has been fascinating
and thank you for your time.
You're welcome.
Thank you
for your service again,
And I hope you get
an answer at some point.
You're quite welcome.
Oh, so do I.
♪
I have to say that when it comes
to things like this,
I'm kind of hard to convince.
I have no doubt that fravor
and his team saw something,
But of course
the question is, what?
I've flown a ton and there
are all sorts of things
Buzzing around up there.
So I'm heading down to san diego
to the scene of the sighting.
I'm meeting up
with erich molder,
With 12 years as a navy pilot,
He's got the background
to help me better understand
What commander fravor
experienced.
♪
Erich.
- Hey.
Hey. How is it going?
I've been investigating aatip,
And one of the most
incredible sightings
Was just off the coast here
of san diego.
- Yes.
- David fravor, commander fravor
Spotting something
as he was flying off the nimitz
To this day
we don't know what it is.
Now this baby is gonna
be flying lower
And slower
than commander fravor.
Right.
But tell me about what it looks
like out there,
How much traffic
are we talking about?
Are we likely to see anything
else up there besides ourselves?
We'll see a couple of airplanes,
And it'll be similar down low
as it would be at altitude.
There'll be airliners out there,
there'll be military aircraft.
We may see some helicopters
down low
And some other
civilian aircraft.
Okay, well, the opportunity
to get out there
And at least get
in the general area,
Right, where commander fravor
had this sighting, let's do it.
♪
We're good to go
and I'm excited,
And I'm hoping erich will
give me some insight
Into what commander
fravor experienced.
♪
Up, up, up and away.
♪
Fantastic.
You've seen the film,
And you had
that experience out here
Flying for the navy,
what do you think?
Here are some super
sophisticated military drone
That was purposefully
intercepting those aircraft
Or it was something
out of this world
That was investigating
the aircraft.
Something wanted to be seen.
What about your time flying,
A dozen years flying
for the navy.
Did you ever have a moment
where you saw something
You just couldn't identify it?
I have never seen anything
or even heard of anything
In our military inventory
Or even airplanes that
would perform like that,
That aircraft,
that kind of acceleration,
No wing, I don't know
of any flying design
That could move,
turn, and act so quickly.
I'd have to take his word
on it, I mean,
A squadron commander
of a fighter squadron
Is a very well respected
individual, very credible.
Baker:
Erich gives commander fravor
The benefit of the doubt,
others challenges account.
But remember there were
at least four other people
Who saw the exact same thing,
all of them firm believers
That what they saw
defies explanation.
I've located one of them,
kevin day,
A navy air intercept controller
Who monitored the situation
as it unfolded.
Hi, kevin, tell me about
that day, right, I mean,
Where were you?
And what did you see?
I was on the uss princeton,
Part of the uss nimitz
strike group in 2004.
I started to see these
very strange objects on radar.
We all watched this object
drop out of the sky
From 28,000 feet down to
the surface of the ocean,
And I found out later
the next day was 0.78 seconds.
Baker: That translates to
approximately
Five miles per second
or 18,000 miles per hour.
Mach one the speed of sound
is 761 miles per hour.
That means the vehicle would've
had to be traveling at mach 23.
In the moment,
as it was happening,
What did you make of it?
What went through your mind?
You know,
in all my years of experience,
We had never seen
anything like that before.
To this day, I don't have
a good id for them,
I don't know what they were.
I know what they weren't,
but I don't know what they were.
So you file a report, right,
There are radar images
and videos.
What happened next?
So the next day
I go up to combat,
Well, lo and behold,
all the recordings
Were gone off the disc.
Apparently, some people
had come on board the ship
And actually taken
all of our computer radar data
And all of
our communications data.
Baker: U.S. Intelligence
monitors all communications
On board military vessels.
That means that not only
the captain of the ship
Knew about the events unfolding,
but higher-ups
In the intelligence community
did as well.
Okay, so what do you
make of all of this, kevin?
I mean, at this point,
how do you make sense of it?
We were being watched out there,
By who and by what
I have no idea.
♪
Baker: Both kevin day
and commander fravor
Are resolute in what they saw.
The fact that neither
were debriefed
And that the evidence
was seized,
Makes me think that someone
wanted to keep this black file
Under wraps.
Ultimately, they didn't succeed.
I'm about to speak with one
of the investigative reporters
Who broke the story.
Baker: My investigation
into the black file aatip
Is centered around
this incredible video,
One of three
documented accounts of ufos
That the department of defense
had in their possession
And kept classified
until recently.
How did such a sensitive and top
secret video become public?
It took the work of enterprising
journalists like bryan bender.
Hi, brian,
how did the story break?
I had been covering the pentagon
as a reporter
For "the boston globe"
And for "politico"
for a number of years
And through some sources
got wind of a modern day program
At the pentagon
that was researching ufos.
And of course
when I first heard this,
My eyes rolled a little bit
and I was like,
"you can't be serious,"
But these were sources
that were quite credible.
And then also that some people
who had been involved
In the effort
were kind of ready to go public.
And that's where lou elizondo,
Who had a major role in this,
What was called the aatip
program at the pentagon,
Was growing frustrated
that the office's work
Was not getting enough attention
At the high levels
of the pentagon.
Baker: Lou elizondo
turns out to be the man
That commander fravor told me
Met with his fellow pilot
at the pentagon,
A quick search reveals
that he was a career
Defense department employee,
Specifically a military
intelligence officer
Who became the head of aatip
when it was formed in 2007.
♪
How did the videos
come to be released?
The three videos are all part of
lou elizondo's
Very plotting effort
over the years
As he's in the pentagon
In trying to figure out,
"how could I take
some of this publicly,
"how could some
of this information to be shared
In a way that it's not
violating classification laws?"
And so, lou elizondo
who collects these videos
As part of his research
in the pentagon
Goes through
a very methodical process
To get them declassified,
which isn't easy to do.
♪
Baker: Declassification occurs
via a complex process defined
By the president and congress.
The originating agency
assigns a declassification date,
Usually 10 years.
After 25 years,
declassification is automatic.
Now there are exceptions.
♪
It's unknown how elizondo
got the videos declassified,
But there's no question
he did so
Significantly faster
than is usual.
You've seen the videos.
What do you think?
I'll have to admit
the first time
I saw one of the videos,
I'm not an expert
in looking at this stuff
And it struck me as well that
could very easily be doctored.
I think since then,
having talked to real experts
Who looked at the video,
I'm confident
that they are the real thing.
And ultimately,
it was the testimony
Of the pilots themselves
Who have basically staked
their reputations on the line
By coming forward and saying,
I saw these things,
These things were operating
in a way that I can't explain,
You can't explain.
It's like
no technology that we know
That we have
or anybody else has.
So what has the government
confirmed about aatip
And the ufo sightings?
Well, you know, publicly,
officially the pentagon
Hasn't said a whole lot
about this effort.
They've certainly acknowledged
That the aatip program existed,
That it was, you know,
funded from 2009 to 2012.
It's acknowledged
that it's taking steps
To gather more information
about these sightings,
But that's pretty much
about all the pentagon,
At least, officially, will say.
♪
Baker:
The government has confirmed
That this footage of a ufo
is a department of defense video
Captured by advanced forward
looking infrared technology.
[ men speaking indistinctly ]
But that doesn't confirm
what we're seeing.
I've located ross aimer,
A distinguished pilot
and expert aviation consultant.
He's going to look
at the videos with me
And hopefully help make sense
of what we see.
♪
♪
All right, captain,
let's take it from the top.
First of all,
what are you seeing here
As far as the indicators?
What is the display telling us?
It's the hud, the heads
up display of an f-18
Where the pilot is looking
through his windshield,
Front windshield,
And sees the repeat
of some of his instruments,
Altitude, airspeed, back angle,
And then that object,
whatever that is,
Is obviously taking through
the gun camera.
Baker: The gun camera on an f-18
and other aircraft
Is fed directly into
the heads up display,
So the pilot immediately gets
A high-resolution
realtime image.
Ross is certain
that the image is authentic.
This has been checked
over and over.
This is definitely
from a gun sight of an f-18,
United states navy.
So what do you make of it?
Whatever that thing is, to me,
It defies our laws of physics,
Thermodynamics, aerodynamics,
Gravity, everything else
that we know about.
Okay, tell me about that.
Why do you say that?
In order to have an object fly
as we know as humans
It has to have flight surfaces.
That's your air dynamic laws.
It would have to have
some sort of a propulsion.
I don't see any heat signature
coming out of...
Telling me there's an engine
on that thing.
It's definitely, in my opinion,
It's not our technology.
Can't be.
By our technology,
are you talking about
Maybe it's foreign technology?
No, I'm talking about
man's technology.
Okay, so you're saying
it's some type
Of outside of earth,
alien technology perhaps.
Whatever it is.
I can't say for sure,
but it's not ours.
Baker: Ross and others
clearly believe
This is technology
we're not capable of.
I think it's technology
we're not aware of.
It all comes down to, what was
the advanced aerospace
Threat identification
program investigating?
Now the only way
I'm gonna find that out
Is to speak
with its shadowy head
Lou elizondo.
Baker: For years,
a black file called aatip...
The advanced aerospace
threat identification program
Investigated unidentified
flying objects like this one.
What they uncovered
or what they were looking for
Can only be answered
by their former head,
Lou elizondo.
♪
- Lou.
- Mike baker.
Mr. Baker.
You ran the advanced aerospace
Threat identification program
at the pentagon.
- I did.
- What was your mission?
It was explained to me
that we may have
A potential national
security threat on our hands
That we can't really quite
put our finger on what it is.
Say during the course
of 2008 to 2012
When supposedly the aatip
program was defunded,
Roughly how many sightings
do you think?
Again, I have to be very careful
with specific numbers...
- Understood.
- ...But multitudes.
How many open files you got now?
I would say
a significant number.
The consensus now amongst
some people much smarter
Than me believe
that we're looking at really
The manifestation
of a single technology.
Is this something
that can be explained by
The russians have developed
a new form of propulsion,
For example, or lift?
Absolutely. I hate to say this,
but we hope to find that.
That's the answer
we want to find.
Mm-hmm.
Lou, like me,
prefers the russian option
To the extraterrestrial one.
There are good reasons for that.
If this is the result
of russian technology,
Then we're dealing
with a known quantity
And can use espionage
to gain some intel.
If we can get our hands
on something concrete
That would go a long way
towards determining
Exactly what it is
we're dealing with.
Is there a warehouse
that aatip manages
That contains substances
or materials
Or items that
have not been explainable?
Anytime you're gonna do
an investigation,
You need to collect data,
so in this particular case,
One of the intents of aatip
was to build some sort of,
If you will, repository to allow
this information to be sifted.
What about physical objects?
What about materials?
What we're talking about,
mike, are materials
That have a very unique
isotopic signature and ratio
Not commonly found here
on earth.
It's been a fascinating, lou,
a lot of questions answered,
A lot more questions
to be answered,
But I want to thank you
for your time, man.
Yes, sir.
Nice to meet you, mike.
- Thank you for your service.
- Yes, sir. Thanks.
♪
Baker: Okay,
this needs some thinking.
Lou said that aatip
has found and stored
Materials, isotopes,
The composition of which
is generally not found on earth.
So what does that mean?
Alien technology,
New foreign development
of some sort or something else?
Good questions for a scientist.
- Hey, ben.
- Mike.
- How you doing, man?
- I'm doing great.
How are you doing?
- Good to see you.
You know, I had a conversation
with lou elizondo.
Okay.
And he told me something that
I find really intriguing, right?
He said that aatip has actually
come across physical material
With isotope ratios,
not commonly found on earth.
Okay, now,
are they talking about
Extra terrestrial material
Or are they talking about
just stuff that's here on earth
But not seen very often?
Context is key.
So unusual isotopes,
that's actually what...
There's a science for that,
it's called meteoritics.
That's how scientists
can determine
Whether or not a meteorite
came from the moon
Or came from mars
or came from that asteroid.
So I mean,
take for example this,
This is alien metal defacto.
- Really?
- Yeah.
Alien metal.
Yep, that is a nickel iron alloy
that we cannot make.
Okay, but not made by an alien?
- Correct.
- Okay.
Not made by
extraterrestrial intelligence.
Nature makes a lot
of very interesting stuff.
What does this mean?
It means that we know
that there are alien metals,
Literally, alloys we can't make
That aren't from this world,
that land here,
But it doesn't mean they came
from like an alien spacecraft.
Okay, so where does all of this
take us?
You have to be very careful
about proposing
The extraterrestrial hypothesis
Because there's a very clear
scientific path for that.
When you're looking to determine
Whether or not a metal
came from this world
Or another world or that
asteroid or the moon or mars.
It's actually
the combination of isotopes.
You know, so different versions
of elements
That will form
a sort of fingerprint
That will tell you
where it came from.
The point is the universe
can make very interesting
Alloys from the start
that humans even can't,
But that doesn't necessarily
imply some
Sort of
extraterrestrial civilization.
Mm-hmm.
Ben seems confident that there's
an earthbound explanation
To the materials
that aatip collected.
That may or may not be true,
But there's just been a break
in my investigation.
A freedom of information act
Request that reveals new
information about aatip's work.
Baker: There's a new development
in my investigation.
A freedom of information act
request has revealed
That aatip was investigating
dozens of subjects.
I'm meeting
with the investigator
Who filed that request.
Nick pope worked
on highly sensitive
And classified projects for
the british ministry of defense
For 21 years,
including leading a division
Where he investigated
sightings similar to aatip.
♪
Nick.
- Hi, there.
- Good to meet you.
- Nice to meet you, too.
Nick, your experience in the uk
Must have been
extremely valuable
In helping you
to try to understand aatip.
One of the interesting things
is despite a lot of people
Having an opinion
about the story,
Very, very little
official paperwork,
You know, genuinely verified
as being the real thing,
Is in the public domain.
But I was able to help
get some of that out.
Did do you have a copy of that
by any chance?
Yes, I do and I was actually
The first person
to publish this.
This is the relevant
document here
And the really fascinating line
to me in this cover letter
Is where they say
the purpose of aatip
Was to investigate
foreign advanced aerospace
Weapon threats from the present
out to the next 40 years.
Well, that's what they said
in the cover letter,
But then when you look
at the attachment
Where they actually say
what they did
Under the aatip contract,
a very different story emerges.
Good lord.
You get 38 studies which were
done and this is staggering.
I mean, literally,
they were looking at things
Like invisibility cloaking,
Anti-gravity,
warp drive, wormholes.
Baker: Some of these concepts,
like anti-gravity,
Are being actively explored.
The development of flying cars
may stem from quantum levitation
Where scientists
use quantum physics
To levitate a superconductor
over a magnetic source.
The power of magnetic
repulsion counteracts
The force of gravity.
But some of aatip's
other studies,
Like one on warp drives,
are clearly about space travel.
Are these ufo videos,
whatever their source,
Linked to our drive
into outer space?
Any sense of who was
responsible for pursuing them?
Who was commissioned
to investigate?
Well, this is the really
interesting point.
The contract...
And there was a contract
for this...
Was put out
to the private sector
And it's actually
bigelow aerospace
That won that
particular contract.
- Bob bigelow's outfit.
- Yes, absolutely.
Baker: Bob bigelow is
a las vegas-based billionaire
Who founded bigelow aerospace
To advance legitimate space
enterprises and fringe science
Including the study of ufos.
What do you believe,
based on what you've seen,
Was the purpose of aatip?
My take is that there were
three questions
That get to the very heart
of what aatip was doing.
One, is any of this real?
Two, if it's real, what are
the technologies involved?
And three,
can we get those technologies,
Acquire them for ourselves
And before somebody else like
the russians or the chinese do?
I've looked into the different
research topics funded by aatip
And there's one topic
that ties in
With the videos
lou elizondo released.
These objects moved faster
Than any known aircraft
technology that we have,
But if it's not a rocket ship,
what could it be?
Well, I know who to ask.
I'm back in los angeles
to meet up with ben mcgee
And ask him to explain
how the ufo could move
Like it did in the video.
He believes it's due to some
form of alternative propulsion.
The government's looking at...
Via nasa... are looking
at several different concepts
For what we call
alternative propulsions.
Things like harnessing
the power of light
In a vacuum
to squeeze energy out
And push something or things
like warp drive like you
Might expect from, you know,
"star trek"
or sci-fi or something.
Right, right.
But why chase alternative
Forms of propulsion, though,
what's the point?
Most rockets, when you think
of a traditional rocket,
Are 90% fuel or more.
And then there's the teeny,
tiny payload at the top,
Which is what you want
to take the space.
Well, why? It's because
earth's gravity is strong
And you need
so much fuel to burn
And eject to propel
something up.
So that's the problem of
our current propulsion systems.
And it's something,
it's epitomized by this.
And what is this?
This is a very small scale
rocket engine
And you'll see that it uses
a fuel as a propellant
That it ejects out the back
And equal and opposite reaction
would then,
If this weren't anchored down,
Push, you know,
whatever's on top forward.
Well, you know me,
I'm always fascinated
By anything
that explodes or lights up.
Yes!
Right, so could we
light this up?
- Oh, of course.
- And I'm assuming safety first.
Safety first, always.
All right, well, as soon as you
flip the red switch,
Then there's a contactor here
Which will heat
and light to propellant
And it will go.
- Ready?
- Give me the countdown.
All right, houston,
we are go for launch.
In three, two, one. Throw it.
♪
- Nice!
- All right.
So that's an example
of what we currently do.
What if you can move away
from something like this
And move more toward
what's in my hand.
A flashlight?
Right, well, imagine that this
were a device that would emit,
Say, or trap,
infrared light or radio light
Or microwave light in such a way
That it could provide
the thrust to push something.
Now this is called a radiometer.
Baker: A radiometer is a device
that measures the power
Of electromagnetic radiation
or light.
Its internal rotor exists
in a vacuum
And spins when exposed to light,
demonstrating photon pressure.
And so it's illustrating
my point,
Which is what if you could build
a propulsion system
That didn't have propellant?
It didn't need fuel
that it had to eject.
What if you could push
something with nothing
More than something
like the power of light?
So what are the types of systems
we're talking about?
There's a huge range of what
we call blue sky ideas
All the way down to something
that's more practical.
So you've got
the alcubierre warp drive
Which, you know,
They're different
variations on a theme,
But you're basically
harnessing the power
Of something like a black hole
Using things like what
they call exotic matter,
Which could exist,
but we don't know if they exist
Yet to literally bend space,
Create a new
gravitational field.
Imagine the gravitational field
from the earth,
But you create it sideways
So that you fall
in the direction you want to go.
I mean, that's the essence
of warp drive.
I mean, that sounds like
a fantastic concept
That somebody's tinkering with,
But is it actually being
researched in a meaningful way?
Well, it's... yes, it's
moving that way in that
There's real math
and real physics.
Now can we actually
what I call, "bend metal"?
Can we build something?
Not quite yet.
But that's why the emdrive
is another concept
Which actually uses radio light
or microwave light
And it traps it in something
kind of like a rocket nozzle
And there's a small-scale
version that's been built
And nasa eagleworks
has tested it.
Baker: The electromagnetic
propulsion or emdrive
Works by converting
electricity into microwaves
And then channeling them
via a high-powered vacuum tube
Called a magnetron
through a conical chamber.
The microwaves exert force
against the walls of the chamber
To produce thrust
to propel the craft forward.
So they've actually built...
They've gone beyond
just scratching something up
On a whiteboard and they've
actually built something
To try to demonstrate
the capability?
Yes,
so that's the exciting thing
Is they're actually testing
real hardware right now.
This emdrive sounds just like
The kind of
futuristic technology
That aatip is investigating.
But how viable is it?
To drill down further
into this secret black file,
I've tracked down
someone who should know...
The inventor of the emdrive.
Baker: While investigating
the aatip black file
And their documentation of ufos,
scientists, eyewitnesses,
And aviation experts have told
me that the propulsion system,
Seen here,
appears to defy physics.
Could some type
of advanced technology,
Possibly an alternative
propulsion system,
Be responsible?
Nasa and others are researching
alternative propulsion systems
Including one
called the emdrive.
I've connected
with its inventor,
Aerospace engineer,
roger shawyer.
To speak with us,
he had to get permission
From the ministry of defense
As much of his work
is classified.
Hello, mr. Shawyer.
Now, appreciating that
I'm not a rocket scientist,
Can you explain the basic
principle of your emdrive?
The force that emdrive produces
Is a result of the stored energy
in the cavity.
So you're continually putting
microwave energy in there.
You can very quickly get to
a point where the output energy,
Which is being transferred
into kinetic energy
Is increasing faster
than the input energy.
How will the emdrive help
to advance space travel?
Now, emdrive is
a propellant-less
Propulsion technology
Which offers huge advantages
over commercial rockets.
This is probably
best illustrated
By a recent design study,
Which shows that getting
three men to the moon
And back again can be achieved
with a launch mass of 10 tons.
As a comparison,
Apollo 11
weighed 3,000 tons at launch.
Baker: Nasa scientists have
successfully tested the engine
In a vacuum
that replicates space.
Proponents claim it could
take humans to mars
In 70 days versus
the seven months
Currently required.
Professor, where are you exactly
With the development
of the technology?
Within five years,
it is predicted
That a small superconducting
emdrive powered uav,
That's an unmanned
aerial vehicle or drone,
Will actually be demonstrated.
If emdrive can do this,
then everything changes.
Low-cost access to space
is enabled
And solar power satellites
become economically viable.
♪
Baker: Given we're in
the infancy of technologies
Like the emdrive, it makes sense
That if this ufo demonstrates
an advanced propulsion system,
The government via aatip
Would want to learn
everything possible about it.
Are there other applications
for the use of the emdrive?
Terrestrial applications
include air taxis,
Long-haul air transport,
and large marine vessels.
So, what started out
as a classified
Military operation
could actually help
Revolutionize transportation?
Exactly, it's all part of
the need for emdrive now
To come out of the shadows
Because the world's problems
are getting a little too serious
To keep it in the hands
of the military.
Well, thank you very much, sir.
If a foreign power
has developed a technology
Similar to the emdrive,
That would be a matter
of national security
And it could explain
aatip's interest.
Nick pope told me that
multi-billionaire, bob bigelow,
Could be involved in alternative
propulsion development
Among other things
for the u.S. Government.
And I'm sure he would make for
a very interesting conversation.
♪
I'm outside the headquarters
of bigelow aerospace,
Just six miles north
of las vegas.
Here, bob bigelow's
multi-million dollar
Government contracts
Have had him researching
and developing
Black budget space
And technology projects
for decades.
Now, they've declined
to speak with me on camera,
But that's not going
to stop my investigation.
♪
I'm very fortunate to be
meeting up with multiple
Award-winning investigative
journalist, george knapp.
George has spent decades
investigating black files
Including aatip,
and has gotten close to bigelow.
Bob bigelow is one of former
nevada senator harry reid's
Constituents and a big supporter
and contributor.
Aatip was funded
and created by reid,
Who's long been intrigued
by space phenomena.
♪
Mike, how you doing?
Good to see you.
Do you know if bigelow aerospace
Had any contracts
related to aatip?
They did.
The contract was for $22 million
Over a three-year period.
Bigelow put up a million
or so dollars
Before he got the contract.
He spent another couple
of million to keep the program
After the money
got bottled up in congress,
And he was deeply committed
to conduct a study into ufos
And related phenomena.
With aatip supposedly
wrapping up
With the end
of the aatip program,
You think that's actually
where it stopped
Or is there work that's ongoing
that we just don't know about
Because it's still buried
in a black file?
I'm certain that there's
work ongoing.
The program that we know
now as aatip,
That network of people
who are evaluating ufo reports
As they come in,
is still working.
Lou elizondo had told me,
and has announced to the world
Since,
that there are other videos,
A couple of dozen
of other videos,
That are very compelling.
We know that there has been
some lobbying effort
Behind the scenes
on capitol hill.
I know that there are programs
ongoing that we may never see.
Some of them could be
materials and technology
That we can't quite figure out.
Do you ever think we'll see
the whole file on aatip?
No, I don't.
You know,
there's probably 1,500 people
Who've filed foyer requests
for aatip files.
I'm one of them and dia,
defense department,
Nobody's in a hurry
to release that information.
George, thank you very much.
Fascinating.
♪
We still don't know
if aatip is hiding
Our own top secret technology,
Hunting down
that of another country,
Or seriously considering
an alien presence.
But we do know there are people
within the government
Who believed the work of aatip
needs to be made public.
I'm going to speak with one
who's demanding
That the government come clean.
Baker: Aatip's documentation
and exploration
Of as yet unexplained ufos
has raised many questions.
Do they capture sightings
of an earthbound technology
Or something alien?
What we do know
is that some of the ufos
Exhibit propulsion systems
beyond our capability.
Something that,
if we could harness,
Would fundamentally
alter life on earth.
♪
There are many who believe
that work of aatip
Should be declassified
and made public.
Among them,
the founder of aatip,
Senator harry reid,
And his fellow senator,
mike gravel.
Senator, I appreciate you taking
the time to speak with me today.
I'm happy to do that and I think
That this is an intelligent
and sophisticated inquiry
On a very important subject.
Senator harry reid started
the aatip program
Back in 2007 within dia.
And the whole point
was to study ufos.
Why did he do this
and how did he get
The support
of the us government?
Well, first off,
the last question,
How he got it,
he was majority leader.
And so, that has a lot of clout
within the government.
And so, he just commanded that.
With respect to his reasoning,
Certainly he's progressive
with respect
To his attitude towards ufos
And I commend him
in that regard.
Why is aatip's work important?
You know, I come to the issue,
not that I'm expert on it,
But I just have
a fundamental view
That it's the height
of human arrogance
To turn around and assume
That we are the only sentient
human beings in the cosmos.
That's the height of arrogance.
And I don't think
that's the case.
Now, where they are
in the cosmos, I don't know.
But I do know that I think
governments should monitor this
And monitor it
with the participation
Of all the nations
in united nations.
Do you believe that
some of the ufo sightings
Might be attributed
to foreign technology,
And that it's important to us
national security interests
That we understand
that technology?
Well, I think it's beyond
national security.
You know, if there's somebody
that can get to us
And monitor us
from another planet,
I got to tell you, they have
superior technology to us.
And I don't think
this phenomenon is tied
To another country.
I think it's tied
to outer space.
And that's the conclusion
that most people
Who have examined this issue,
That's their conclusion,
that it's outer space
And not at phenomena
from another country.
Senator reid and others have
spoken forcefully about the need
For ufo investigations
to be fully transparent.
Do you support that?
- Totally.
Totally and I think the absence
of that is ridiculous policy.
What happens is that
if it's not transparent,
People get suspicious
and get concerned,
And that's what feeds paranoia.
And we don't need
any more of that.
What is very tragic
is that the government
Has always tended to,
"well, we've got
to keep this secret."
There's just too much secrecy
in the world,
And one of the things they can,
in my point of view,
Keep no secrecy all,
Just make everything available
to the public worldwide
As to whatever observations
and conclusions
That our scientific community
has on this subject.
Senator, what is
the future of government
Funded ufo investigations?
Will it continue?
Well, I would hope so,
but here again,
We don't need
these black budgets
Like the cia budget to do this.
What we want is an arm
of the government
That is doing this publicly
And scientifically
with the private community
And the public community.
Should ufo investigations be
a top priority
For the u.S. Government?
It should be a top priority
to investigate this
Because it really is
we don't know what it is
And that's the problem
right there.
And we need to acquire
as much knowledge as possible.
And as we go
into space ourselves
And with our telescopes,
This may enhance
That investigation
And I think it will enure
to the benefit of our society.
Well, thank you very much,
senator.
Thank you very much.
We don't yet know the full
extent of what aatip
Has uncovered or the technology
that they're chasing after,
But we do know that
their investigation of ufos
Is likely continuing.
We also know that we are not
the only country interested
In advanced propulsion systems
like those many believe
Are on display
in the aatip videos.
It's important that scientists
and others working to understand
And engineer this technology
continue to do so,
Even if some of it has to remain
redacted in the black files.