A groundbreaking revelation has emerged from Las Vegas, where a former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) scientist has shared new details about the largest UFO investigation ever funded by the United States government. Conducted in secrecy, this multimillion-dollar research project aimed to understand unidentified aerial phenomena and potentially replicate their advanced technology.

The Secret Program Hidden in Plain Sight

Dr. James Lacatski, a physicist who spent much of his career analyzing foreign weapons and intelligence data for the DIA, led the Advanced Aerospace Weapons Systems Application Program (AAWSAP). The initiative was launched with the support of Nevada Senator Harry Reid and operated under a $22 million budget.

Although its existence remained classified for years, the program’s central hub was located in Las Vegas — far from the political spotlight of Washington, D.C. The research was managed through Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS), a subsidiary of entrepreneur Robert Bigelow’s aerospace company. The team included 50 full-time investigators who collected and analyzed an unprecedented amount of data on UFO encounters, strange aerial phenomena, and their possible effects on human observers.

Skinwalker Ranch and the Quest for Technology

AAWSAP’s roots trace back to a mysterious location in northeastern Utah — the now-famous Skinwalker Ranch. Reports from this remote area included sightings of glowing orbs, large craft emerging from the sky, and bizarre creature encounters. Dr. Lacatski, intrigued by these accounts, personally visited the ranch with Bigelow and witnessed unexplained activity himself.

He later convinced DIA leadership that such events warranted scientific investigation, both for potential defense implications and for technological opportunities. As he explained, “We wanted to learn what could be weaponized — that was our job.”

Classified Findings and Government Secrecy

Over its 27-month existence, AAWSAP produced more than 115 classified reports and created what is believed to be the world’s largest database of UFO-related material. However, most of this information remains locked away within government archives.

Dr. Lacatski, now retired, has begun cautiously publishing some of the program’s findings in his new book New Insights: Inside the U.S. Government’s UFO Program. The book presents evidence suggesting that many UFOs — and related paranormal effects — originate from an intelligence or source that is “not human.”

He describes cases where commercial pilots were shadowed by massive, shape-shifting craft, and where witnesses suffered physiological and medical changes following close encounters. Some incidents also involved what appeared to be “men in black” and other unexplained entities connected to UFO hotspots.

A Recovered Craft and the Global Race for Reverse Engineering

Perhaps the most stunning claim by Lacatski is that the U.S. government possesses at least one recovered craft of unknown origin — a machine with no wings, no visible engine, and no fuel system, yet capable of flight. While such assertions remain unverified, they align with earlier statements by Senator Reid, who confirmed that multiple nations — including Russia and China — are engaged in a race to understand and replicate these technologies.

“The race is real, and we better win it,” Reid once said, emphasizing the potential defense advantage that could arise from mastering UFO propulsion.

Politics, Secrecy, and the End of Funding

Despite the program’s success, AAWSAP’s funding was abruptly halted. Lacatski later revealed that Senator Reid himself suspended financing after learning that a spy within his office might leak the project’s existence during his 2010 re-election campaign. Reid eventually won, but the program never regained full congressional support.

Nevertheless, parts of the investigation reportedly continued under other Pentagon initiatives, including the later Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), keeping alive the effort to understand unidentified aerial phenomena.

A Glimpse Behind the Curtain

For decades, government officials publicly dismissed UFO sightings as misidentifications or atmospheric anomalies. Behind the scenes, however, agencies like the DIA and Pentagon treated the subject with utmost seriousness. Dr. Lacatski’s disclosures mark one of the rare moments when an insider has lifted the veil — revealing a high-stakes race for technology that could redefine humanity’s understanding of physics and intelligence itself.

While official disclosure remains elusive, the scientist’s testimony and declassified details confirm one thing: Las Vegas once served as the headquarters for one of the most secretive and extraordinary scientific projects in modern U.S. history.