Within DIA Document

What Paid for the Antigravity Report?

AAWSAP funded speculative aerospace reference studies, including antigravity, without showing an operational secret weapons program.

On this page

  • How AAWSAP framed future aerospace technology
  • Bigelow Aerospace and the reference document pipeline
  • Why contract language matters for UFO claims
Preview for What Paid for the Antigravity Report?

Introduction

The Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) antigravity paper did not emerge from a stand-alone government physics project. It was produced under a specific procurement vehicle: the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP), a DIA-managed contract awarded to Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS). Understanding that contract is essential because many later claims about secret UFO technology, recovered craft, or hidden antigravity breakthroughs rely on assumptions about what AAWSAP actually funded. The available contract records, memoranda, and programme briefings point to a different picture. AAWSAP was structured to collect, commission, and assess information about potentially revolutionary aerospace technologies, including highly speculative concepts. The antigravity report was one product of that effort, not evidence that antigravity had been achieved. [Defense Intelligence Agency+2documents2.theblackvault.com]dia.milFile IdDefense Intelligence AgencySenator Harry Reid's Request to Put the Advanced…Nov 17, 2009 — The AAITP that SEN Reid refers to is offici…

AAWSAP illustration 1

What Paid for the Antigravity Report?

The antigravity study was one of dozens of Defence Intelligence Reference Documents (DIRDs) commissioned through AAWSAP. These reports examined technologies that might have long-term military significance if they ever became practical. Topics ranged from warp drives and traversable wormholes to advanced propulsion, metamaterials, gravitational-wave communications, and quantum-vacuum energy concepts. The antigravity paper sat within this broader catalogue rather than occupying a unique or privileged position. [Locations Unknown+2Defense Intelligence Agency]locationsunknown.orgLocations UnknownDefense Intelligence Reference Documents (DRIDs)The Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP) is. A…

DIA records identify AAWSAP as a contract programme designed to investigate “revolutionary advances in future aerospace technologies”. Internal briefing materials state that Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies was the sole bidder and became the contractor responsible for carrying out the work. The antigravity document was therefore not an independently funded research breakthrough but one deliverable within a larger contract framework. [documents2.theblackvault.com+2Defense Intelligence Agency]documents2.theblackvault.com09117 Final Packet Presented to DepSecDefUNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE17 Nov 2009 — The sole bid for the contract was from Bigelow Aerospace Advance Space Studies located in Las Veg…

The distinction matters because readers often encounter the antigravity report detached from its procurement context. Once placed back into the AAWSAP portfolio, it appears less like evidence of a hidden operational capability and more like a commissioned horizon-scanning exercise intended to explore possibilities that might matter decades in the future. [Defense Intelligence Agency+2Reason.com]dia.milDIA has executed option year 1 with BAASS, Research Antigravity for Aerospace Applications Field facilities…

How AAWSAP Framed Future Aerospace Technology

AAWSAP was organised around the idea that intelligence agencies should monitor technologies that could become strategically disruptive, even if they were immature or speculative. The contract did not require proof that a concept already worked. Instead, it sought assessments of scientific literature, theoretical pathways, technical barriers, and potential military implications. [Defense Intelligence Agency]dia.milFile IdDefense Intelligence AgencySenator Harry Reid's Request to Put the Advanced…Nov 17, 2009 — The AAITP that SEN Reid refers to is offici…

That framework explains why the programme funded studies that today appear unusual. The released DIRD list includes subjects such as negative-mass propulsion, wormholes, vacuum-energy extraction, invisibility cloaking, advanced nuclear propulsion, and antigravity concepts. The common theme was not demonstrated technology but the possibility of transformative aerospace effects if future scientific advances overcame known obstacles. [Locations Unknown+2Envisioning]locationsunknown.orgLocations UnknownDefense Intelligence Reference Documents (DRIDs)The Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP) is. A…

The antigravity report itself reflects this orientation. Rather than presenting a working system, it reviews theoretical approaches, discusses limitations, and evaluates whether any pathway might eventually support aerospace applications. Its role was analytical and exploratory, matching the wider AAWSAP mission. [Defense Intelligence Agency]dia.milFile IdDefense Intelligence AgencyAntigravity for Aerospace ApplicationsMar 30, 2010 — This product is one in a series of advanced technology re…

AAWSAP illustration 2

Bigelow Aerospace and the Reference-Document Pipeline

A key feature of AAWSAP was the way research moved through the contract structure. BAASS functioned as the prime contractor. Rather than operating a secret antigravity laboratory, it coordinated research, commissioned specialist authors, assembled technical studies, and delivered products to the DIA. Internal programme documents describe BAASS performance in terms of producing reports, analyses, and programme outputs rather than fielding experimental aerospace systems. [Defense Intelligence Agency]dia.mil□ Performance by Bigelow Aerospace Advanced. Space Studies {BAASS) has been excellent and they are in full compliance with aerospace.Read…

Many of the DIRDs were written by scientists and subject-matter specialists with backgrounds in physics, engineering, propulsion, and related fields. The resulting reports were then incorporated into the DIA reference-document system. Researchers later obtained many of these documents through Freedom of Information Act releases, revealing the breadth of topics under study. [ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com]ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com37 out of those 38 aawsap defense23, 2022 — During the Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS) contract with the Defense Intelligence Agency…

This pipeline helps explain why the antigravity report reads like a technical survey rather than a classified engineering programme. Its purpose was to inform decision-makers about what might be scientifically conceivable, what barriers existed, and where future developments could emerge. That is the normal function of a reference document, even when the subject matter is highly speculative. [Defense Intelligence Agency]dia.milFile IdDefense Intelligence AgencyAntigravity for Aerospace ApplicationsMar 30, 2010 — This product is one in a series of advanced technology re…

Why Contract Language Matters for UFO Claims

The wording used in AAWSAP records has played a major role in later UFO debates. References to “advanced aerospace weapon systems”, “revolutionary technologies”, and unconventional aerospace concepts are sometimes cited as proof that the government possessed exotic craft or breakthrough propulsion systems. However, the contract documentation points toward a research-and-assessment mission rather than an operational development programme. [Defense Intelligence Agency+2documents2.theblackvault.com]dia.milFile IdDefense Intelligence AgencySenator Harry Reid's Request to Put the Advanced…Nov 17, 2009 — The AAITP that SEN Reid refers to is offici…

One source of confusion is the overlap between AAWSAP and the later public discussion surrounding AATIP. In popular accounts, studies of UFO reports, advanced propulsion concepts, and theoretical physics are often merged into a single narrative. Yet the released records repeatedly show that AAWSAP’s contractual obligations included producing technical reference material on a broad range of future aerospace topics. The antigravity paper fits naturally within that requirement. [Reason.com+2Defense Intelligence Agency]reason.comThe Feds Spent $22 Million Researching Invisibility Cloaks…20 Apr 2022 — Advanced Aerospace Weapons System Application Program (AAWSAP…

Another source of misunderstanding comes from treating government funding as validation. A defence agency’s decision to commission a study does not establish that the subject is real or technologically achievable. Governments routinely fund exploratory assessments precisely because the answers are uncertain. In the AAWSAP case, the existence of an antigravity report demonstrates official interest in examining the idea, not proof that antigravity technology existed. [Defense Intelligence Agency+2Defense Intelligence Agency]dia.milFile IdDefense Intelligence AgencyAntigravity for Aerospace ApplicationsMar 30, 2010 — This product is one in a series of advanced technology re…

AAWSAP illustration 3

What the Contract Reveals About the Antigravity Paper

Viewed through the AAWSAP contract, the antigravity document becomes easier to interpret. It was part of a structured effort to survey potentially transformative aerospace technologies and identify whether any deserved long-term attention. The contract supported literature reviews, technical assessments, and reference studies rather than a disclosed programme to build antigravity vehicles. [Defense Intelligence Agency+2Defense Intelligence Agency]dia.milDIA has executed option year 1 with BAASS, Research Antigravity for Aerospace Applications Field facilities…

For readers examining broader claims about UFO technology, secret propulsion systems, or alleged dangers faced by researchers, this procurement history is significant. The strongest documentary evidence shows that the antigravity paper originated within a government-funded analytical programme designed to explore possibilities at the edge of known science. The contract demonstrates official curiosity and strategic foresight; it does not, by itself, demonstrate possession of hidden antigravity technology. [Defense Intelligence Agency+2documents2.theblackvault.com]dia.milFile IdDefense Intelligence AgencySenator Harry Reid's Request to Put the Advanced…Nov 17, 2009 — The AAITP that SEN Reid refers to is offici…

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Endnotes

  1. Source: dia.mil
    Title: File Id
    Link: https://www.dia.mil/FOIA/FOIA-Electronic-Reading-Room/FileId/170015/
    Source snippet

    Defense Intelligence AgencySenator Harry Reid's Request to Put the Advanced...Nov 17, 2009 — The AAITP that SEN Reid refers to is offici...

  2. Source: documents2.theblackvault.com
    Title: 09117 Final Packet Presented to DepSecDef
    Link: https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/09117-Final_Packet_Presented_to_DepSecDef.pdf
    Source snippet

    UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE17 Nov 2009 — The sole bid for the contract was from Bigelow Aerospace Advance Space Studies located in Las Veg...

  3. Source: dia.mil
    Title: File Id
    Link: https://www.dia.mil/FOIA/FOIA-Electronic-Reading-Room/FileId/170027/
    Source snippet

    Defense Intelligence AgencyAntigravity for Aerospace ApplicationsMar 30, 2010 — This product is one in a series of advanced technology re...

  4. Source: dia.mil
    Link: https://www.dia.mil/FOIA/FOIA-Electronic-Reading-Room/FileId/170018/
    Source snippet

    DIA has executed option year 1 with BAASS, Research Antigravity for Aerospace Applications Field facilities...

  5. Source: dia.mil
    Link: https://www.dia.mil/FOIA/FOIA-Electronic-Reading-Room/FileId/237650/
    Source snippet

    □ Performance by Bigelow Aerospace Advanced. Space Studies {BAASS) has been excellent and they are in full compliance with aerospace.Read...

  6. Source: reason.com
    Link: https://reason.com/2022/04/20/the-feds-spent-22-million-researching-invisibility-cloaks-ufos-and-a-tunnel-through-the-moon/
    Source snippet

    The Feds Spent $22 Million Researching Invisibility Cloaks...20 Apr 2022 — Advanced Aerospace Weapons System Application Program (AAWSAP...

  7. Source: envisioning.com
    Link: https://www.envisioning.com/research/xenotech/aatip-aawsap-dia-studies
    Source snippet

    Aerospace Studies | XenotechPrograms produced 38 Defense Intelligence Reference Documents (DIRDs) covering warp drives, traver...

  8. Source: dia.mil
    Title: File Id
    Link: https://www.dia.mil/FOIA/FOIA-Electronic-Reading-Room/FileId/170060/
    Source snippet

    Defense Intelligence AgencyUNCLASSIFIED INFO MEMO U-429-091(b)(3):10 USC 424...Oct 30, 2009 — Antigravity for Aerospace Applications in...

  9. Source: ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com
    Title: 37 out of those 38 aawsap defense
    Link: https://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com/2022/03/37-out-of-those-38-aawsap-defense.html
    Source snippet

    23, 2022 — During the Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS) contract with the Defense Intelligence Agency...

  10. Source: dia.mil
    Title: FOIA Request Log 2022
    Link: https://www.dia.mil/Portals/110/Documents/FOIA/All%20PDFs/FOIA_Request_Log_2022.pdf
    Source snippet

    Jan 18, 2024 — AAWSAP Contract HHM402-08-C-072 Bigelow Aerospace Advanced. Space Studies (BAASS) as follows: BAASS Project Management Pla...

  11. Source: documents2.theblackvault.com
    Title: FOIA 00349 2018
    Link: https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/FOIA-00349-2018.pdf
    Source snippet

    INTELLIGENCE AGENCYJul 18, 2008 — 134. CONTRACT TYPE: The contract shall be finn fixed priced (FFP).... BIGELOW AEROSPACE ADVANCED SPACE...

  12. Source: documents2.theblackvault.com
    Title: FOIA 00269 2018
    Link: https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/FOIA-00269-2018-.pdf
    Source snippet

    26, 2023 — CONTRACT NO. 3. AWARD/EFFECTIVE. 4. ORDER NUMBER. 5. SOLICITATION... BIGELOW AEROSPACE ADVANCED SPACE STUDIES, LLC. 4640 S E...

  13. Source: documents2.theblackvault.com
    Title: FOIA 00159 2018
    Link: https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP-DIRDs/FOIA%2000159-2018.pdf
    Source snippet

    theblackvault.comFOIA-00159-2018DIRD: Antigravity for Aerospace Applications 20 DIRD: Biosensors and BioMEMS - A Survey of the Present Field...

  14. Source: locationsunknown.org
    Link: https://locationsunknown.org/foia-reading-room/the-deep-end/ufos-aliens/defense-intelligence-reference-documents
    Source snippet

    Locations UnknownDefense Intelligence Reference Documents (DRIDs)The Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP) is. A...

  15. Source: marcellocatalano.com
    Link: https://www.marcellocatalano.com/aaro.htm
    Source snippet

    UFOs - Excerpts from AARO's reports - Marcello CatalanoReid agrees that the ranch deserves attention and inserts a line into the DoD budg...

Additional References

  1. Source: youtube.com
    Title: He Ran The Pentagon’s Secret UFO Program
    Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu8pudJk_-A
    Source snippet

    AAWSAP contract Bigelow Aerospace BAASS DIRD Pentagon AATIP, AAWSAP, and the 38 DIRDs: The Pentagon's $22M UAP Program 4orbs...

  2. Source: nasawatch.com
    Title: bigelow aerospace had a secret dod ufo study contract update
    Link: https://nasawatch.com/news/bigelow-aerospace-had-a-secret-dod-ufo-study-contract-update/
    Source snippet

    Bigelow Aerospace Had a Secret DoD UFO Study Contract...19 Dec 2017 — The Pentagon has officially confirmed that there was, in fact, a $...

  3. Source: Wikipedia
    Title: Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program
    Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Aerospace_Threat_Identification_Program
    Source snippet

    Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification ProgramAATIP, through a contract awarded to Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS)...

  4. Source: esd.whs.mil
    Title: 21 F 0299 UAP The Debrief Emails 12 2020
    Link: https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/FOID/Reading%20Room/UFOsandUAPs/21-F-0299%20_UAP_The_Debrief_Emails_12-2020.pdf
    Source snippet

    whs.milGough, Susan L (Sue) CIV OSD PA (USA) Sent14 Aug 2020 — In regards to the contract award for AAWSAP to Bigelow Aerospace (BAAS) ca...

  5. Source: uapedia.ai
    Title: origins of aatip aawsap programs dirds
    Link: https://uapedia.ai/wiki/origins-of-aatip-aawsap-programs-dirds/
    Source snippet

    Origins of AATIP/AAWSAP: Programs & DIRDs6 Mar 2026 — AAWSAP was a Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) It was managed under DIA and execute...

  6. Source: academia.edu
    Title: On the AAWSAP AATIP Confusion
    Link: https://www.academia.edu/121609473/On_the_AAWSAP_AATIP_Confusion
    Source snippet

    (PDF) On the AAWSAP/AATIP ConfusionJun 30, 2024 — The blurb for this episode states: Bigelow also broke the news of the creation of Bigel...

  7. Source: governmentattic.org
    Title: NavyONTfoiaCaseLogs2019 2023
    Link: https://www.governmentattic.org/53docs/NavyONTfoiaCaseLogs2019-2023.pdf
    Source snippet

    Office of Naval Research (ONR) received your FOIA request on March 07, 2023.... All Records Bigelow Aerospace advanced space studies, BA...

    Published: March 7, 2023

  8. Source: bigelowaerospace.com
    Link: https://bigelowaerospace.com/
    Source snippet

    Bigelow AerospaceFor media inquiries, please call (702) 639-4440. EMPLOYMENT. Interested in a career with Bigelow Aerospace? Click here t...

  9. Source: youtube.com
    Title: Jim Lacatski: The DIA Officer Who Ran the Pentagon’s UAP Program
    Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NR12Dmn2w0
    Source snippet

    He Ran The Pentagon’s Secret UFO Program - And Says We’ve Been Played: Dr. James Lacatski (PART 1)...

  10. Source: youtube.com
    Title: The 38 DIRDs: What the Pentagon Paid $22M to Have Written About Warp Drives
    Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxdDsPnTMQI
    Source snippet

    The UFO Lie: Shocking truth of Pentagon AAWSAP program | The Basement Office...

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