DIA Further Verifies AAWSAP Award to BAASS, Fails to Locate Skinwalker Report

     The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) issued final responses to a pair of FOIA requests by email today, one of which further substantiates Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies was awarded a contract in the Advanced Aerospace Weapon Systems Application Program (view the documents). The contract award was previously established in 2019 at The UFO Trail through the FOIA after acting on a lead uncovered by researcher Keith Basterfield.

The most recent documents provided by the DIA consist of five files totaling 36 pages, issued in response to a 2018 request for all contracts undertaken with and funding provided to BAASS. The documents include a file containing a 2008 contract and a 2009 amended contract. The contract number is HHM402-06-C-0072, issued in response to AAWSAP Solicitation Number: HHM40208R0211, numbers of potential significance to select researchers who have closely followed the winding saga. 

The 2008 contract indicates some 10 million dollars was allocated to be paid to BAASS from the National Security Agency:

Also included in the most recent FOIA response is a 2009 apparent DIA memo, "SUBJECT: (U) Review of Advanced Aerospace Contract Deliverables".  The memo states, "The goal of the contract is to identify key technologies and physics concepts that would support revolutionary aerospace vehicle research and development. Contracted studies were designed to provide a prioritized list of technologies/concepts that then would drive detailed, focused searches into foreign aerospace research and development.":

The 2009 "Info Memo" goes on to state reviews of technical reports were performed by three research staff members at Sandia National Laboratories. It is suggested reviews were favorable and the evolving work might be useful to Defense Department agencies, circumstances we might question given the apparent discontinuation of the project and shuttering of BAASS.

In a second final response received today, the DIA stated no report was located as described by James T. Lacatski and co-authors. The report, referenced in Skinwalkers at the Pentagon and said to be titled "Utah Ranch Investigation: August 2009-February 2010", was unable to be found after a search was conducted: 

Several FOIA requests remain open for records pertaining to AAWSAP and AATIP. The DIA continues to advise that it is conducting a review of all its AATIP holdings and preparing those documents for release. Upon release, the DIA explained, the documents will be available for viewing in its online FOIA Reading Room. The release is estimated to occur no sooner than December 2022.