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Claim origin · GN-01

The United States holds intact or partially intact craft of non-human origin, the product of a retrieval program that has lasted for decades.

Partly independent

First attestation
1949 · Frank Scully, Columns in Variety magazine, then the book “Behind the Flying Saucers” (1950). Reports, on the basis of the account of Silas Newton and Leo Gebauer, that in 1948 the military were said to have recovered a disc with sixteen humanoid bodies near Aztec (New Mexico) and to have taken it for secret research. In 1952 the journalist J. P. Cahn showed that it was a swindle and in 1953 the two were convicted of fraud. First documented attestation in the sources consulted; AARO itself writes that claims about recovered and hidden craft date back to the 1940s and 1950s.
Who picked it up
  1. 1978 · Leonard Stringfield: Maintains that the Aztec case was real and that the craft was one of many captured and held by the military; since 1978 (MUFON symposium) he has published reports on alleged retrievals of craft and bodies. Hearsay (source given: Not indicated in the sources consulted)
  2. Oct 1980 · Bill Moore: In the book “The Roswell Incident” they maintain that in 1947 the government recovered a crashed extraterrestrial craft and hid it; they take up Stanton Friedman's 1978 interview with Jesse Marcel. Hearsay (source given: Testimonies gathered by the authors (more than 90 stated, 25 reported), including Jesse Marcel)
  3. Dec 1984 · anonymous document (MJ-12): An anonymous roll of film sent to Jaime Shandera contains alleged documents about a secret committee, “Majestic 12,” tied to the retrievals; all the recipients were connected to Bill Moore. As early as 1983 the AFOSI agent Richard Doty had spoken to researchers about an MJ-12 group that recovered alien craft. Based on documents (source given: Anonymous documents; in 1988 the FBI, informed by AFOSI that no such committee had ever existed, judged them fake)
  4. May 1989 · Bob Lazar: In May 1989, interviewed in silhouette by George Knapp for KLAS-TV, he says he worked from December 1988 at a site near Area 51 on a government project to reverse engineer extraterrestrial technology. Direct knowledge (source given: Personal experience; the educational credentials and employment claimed have not been corroborated)
  5. Apr 19, 2019 · Eric Davis: Notes appear online about an alleged 2002 conversation in which former DIA director Thomas Wilson is said to have described a reverse-engineering program with an intact craft, to which he was reportedly denied access; in 2022 they are entered into the record of a House hearing. Based on documents (source given: A conversation with Wilson, who denies it ever took place; provenance from Edgar Mitchell's archive, never authenticated)
  6. Jun 5, 2023 · David Grusch: Claims that secret programs hold intact and partially intact craft of non-human origin, recovered for decades by the government, allies and defense contractors. Hearsay (source given: Unnamed intelligence officials, some involved in the programs; statements cleared by DOPSR on April 4 and 6, 2023)
  7. Jun 5, 2023 · Christopher Mellon: In the same article he says that several well-placed officials described the alleged program to him, including its history, the documents that govern it and the place where a craft was allegedly abandoned and recovered; since October 21, 2019 he has organized confidential briefings on the retrievals for Senate staff. Hearsay (source given: Unnamed serving and retired officials)
  8. Jun 5, 2023 · Karl Nell: In the same article he describes as substantially correct Grusch's thesis about an underground race to reverse engineer technologies of unknown origin, some of them of non-human origin. Opinion or hypothesis (source given: No source indicated; he worked with Grusch on the UAP task force)
  9. Jul 26, 2023 · David Grusch: Under oath he says he was informed of a “multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering program” and answers that the government possesses UAP; he says he cannot describe in public what he saw personally. Hearsay (source given: More than 40 witnesses interviewed over four years, not named in public; names and locations provided in a closed setting)
  10. 2023 · James Lacatski: According to George Knapp, in 2023 Lacatski disclosed that he had said, during the Kona Blue talks with a senator and a DHS under secretary, that the United States possesses a craft of unknown origin and has gained access to its interior. Hearsay (source given: None: according to Knapp, Lacatski did not say where it is located or how it was acquired)
  11. Mar 8, 2024 · anonymous AARO interviewees: In the historical report an interviewee relays, third-hand, that an organization possessed 12 craft recovered before 1970, some intact; others relay second- or third-hand accounts. Hearsay (source given: Second- and third-hand accounts; AARO writes that no one had direct knowledge)
  12. Nov 13, 2024 · Luis Elizondo: Under oath he answers “yes” on the existence of secret retrieval and reverse-engineering programs; in the written answers he says he knows of several retrievals of craft of non-human origin. Hearsay (source given: Discussions at the Pentagon and Lacatski's statement cleared by DOPSR; he defers further details to a closed session)
  13. Jan 16, 2025 · Jake Barber: Says he transported by helicopter, for a secret organization, an egg-shaped object that he believes to be non-human. Direct knowledge (source given: Personal experience; footage and account not independently verified)
  14. Mar 9, 2025 · Jay Stratton: In the documentary “The Age of Disclosure” he says he saw non-human craft and beings with his own eyes; in 2026 on Fox News he adds that both defense contractors and the government possess craft of non-human origin. Direct knowledge (source given: His own work at the DIA and leading the UAP task force; images and evidence that he describes as classified)
  15. Sep 9, 2025 · George Knapp: In written testimony to the House he maintains that a retrieval program exists and that reverse engineering has been going on for some time with limited success. Hearsay (source given: Lacatski, unnamed sources and Grusch's sworn testimony)
  16. May 5, 2026 · David Grusch: Says that, after his testimony to the Senate in late 2022, part of the physical materials held was moved. Hearsay (source given: Unnamed people inside the programs)
Analysis
The thesis has two strands. The pre-2009 strand (Scully, Stringfield, Berlitz and Moore, MJ-12 documents, Lazar) arises outside the AAWSAP network and consists of accounts later judged to be swindles or fakes, or never corroborated, which in part feed one another: Moore receives the MJ-12 documents and Knapp spreads Lazar's account in 1989 (edges george-knapp → bob-lazar “media”). In the later strand the main nodes are connected: Nell and Mellon back Grusch in the same article (karl-nell → david-grusch “guarantor,” christopher-mellon → david-grusch “guarantor”), Stratton is a colleague of Elizondo and co-producer of the film (jay-stratton → luis-elizondo “colleague”), Knapp is a co-author of Lacatski (james-lacatski → george-knapp “co-author”) and Barber is linked to Nell and Nolan through Skywatcher (jake-barber → karl-nell “media”). For this strand, AARO's reading, that is, circular reports from a group active since at least 2009, finds support in the map of connections, but it does not cover the historical strand and does not by itself prove that the claims are false; Stratton and Barber state direct experiences, which do not derive from others but have not been verified. To decide, one would need an identified direct witness with documented access, verifiable materials or documents, or an official confirmation; AARO instead writes that none of its interviewees had direct knowledge of the programs.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia, “Aztec crashed saucer hoax” (other)
  2. Wikipedia, “Roswell incident” (other)
  3. AARO, Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with UAP, Volume I (March 8, 2024) (primary source)
  4. Wikipedia, “Leonard H. Stringfield” (other)
  5. Wikipedia, “Majestic 12” (other)
  6. Wikipedia, “Bob Lazar” (other)
  7. The Liminal Record, “The Memo in the Parking Lot” (April 14, 2026) (analysis)
  8. The Black Vault, “The Admiral Wilson Leak: An Analysis” (December 13, 2020) (analysis)
  9. The Debrief, Kean and Blumenthal, “Intelligence Officials Say U.S. Has Retrieved Craft of Non-Human Origin” (June 5, 2023) (press, pro-disclosure)
  10. Official transcript of the July 26, 2023 House hearing (GovInfo, CHRG-118hhrg53022) (primary source)
  11. George Knapp, written testimony for the September 9, 2025 hearing (House Oversight Committee) (primary source, pro-disclosure)
  12. Official transcript of the November 13, 2024 House hearing (GovInfo, CHRG-118hhrg57440) (primary source)
  13. Written answers by Luis Elizondo to Rep. Burlison's questions (December 19, 2024) (primary source)
  14. Skeptic, Michael Shermer, review of “The Age of Disclosure” (November 23, 2025) (analysis, skeptical)
  15. Sentinel News, Jay Stratton interviewed by Fox News (October 13, 2026) (press, pro-disclosure)
  16. Stranger Than Fiction, summary of Grusch's interview on Judicial Watch's “On Watch” (May 6, 2026) (press, pro-disclosure)

On this site

People 11

Claims 8

Inconsistencies 3

Official positions 11

Documents 10

Timeline 17

Open in the interactive archive The whole section: Where the claims come from

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