A Freedom of Information Act request filed in 2009 has reached its conclusion after nearly 17 years, making it the longest-running request documented by The Black Vault. The case, assigned number 09-F-1331, resulted in the identification of responsive records but ultimately concluded with a full denial, with all material withheld under multiple national security exemptions. The request was submitted on June 1, 2009, and sought a specific Cold War-era report related to anti-satellite weapons policy. The filing requested: “a copy of document entitled Analysis and Perspectives on ASAT Arms Control, report number AAC-TR-19501/81, dated December, 1981, with AD Number C951399.”…
Author: John Greenewald
A newly released Freedom of Information Act response from NASA reveals internal discussions focused on how the agency would communicate a confirmed discovery of extraterrestrial life. This includes details about a 2025 meeting convened to outline a formal communications protocol. The records stem from a request seeking documents related to “agency-level planning, policy, or procedural guidance addressing the detection, reporting, analysis, or response to the discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence, extraterrestrial life, or non-terrestrial technological signals.” 2025 Meeting Focused on “Definitive Discovery of ET Life” Central to the release is a June 2025 Microsoft Teams meeting invitation and related email correspondence…
A newly released Department of War document obtained through a Freedom of Information Request request (FOIA case #24-F-1205) originally filed with U.S. Space Command (FOIA case #24-R-020), outlines the 2023 formation of a “UAP Space Tiger Team,” a coordinated effort led by the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) to address unidentified anomalous phenomena specifically within the space domain. The document, a Joint Staff Action Processing Form dated November 20, 2023, describes a structured initiative aimed at integrating UAP considerations into space-based operations and detection frameworks. Framework for “Spaceborne and Transmedium UAP” The document explicitly defines the scope of the effort…
A newly released series of Pentagon emails from May 2019 reveals an internal contradiction at the center of the Department of Defense’s narrative on the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) and Luis Elizondo. At the center of the records is a May 7, 2019, email from senior Pentagon official Neill Tipton, former Director of Defense Intelligence for Collection and Special Programs, which states in clear terms that Elizondo “had no assigned responsibilities” related to AATIP during his time under Tipton within the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). Yet the same batch of emails, along with previously released…
Update and Note on June 17, 2026: After this article was written, an overlooked second batch of Christopher Sherwood emails was added to the archive below. Although their contents are not reflected in this article, they are available in full, below. A newly released collection of Department of Defense records centers on internal email communications tied to Pentagon spokesperson Christopher Sherwood and references to Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP). The material stems from a targeted Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking insight into how UAP-related terminology and issues were discussed within the Pentagon’s public affairs apparatus. The request specifically sought…