2009 · Lockheed Martin and AAWSAP, United States

The Lockheed craft offered to AAWSAP

Sourced, unconfirmed

Strength D · 4/10 · 1 independent

Evidence 1/4 · Witnesses 2/3 · Backing 1/3

A named former senior official tells it, but the craft account is secondhand from a man who died in 2018, and the official said to have blocked it denies it.

Plausibility High

Score 13 · 10 factors for, 2 against

A former senior official tells it, Knapp's separate source to Congress confirms an offer of material, and Kona Blue is documented; the named CIA official denies it.

See the factors ↓

Testimony

Part ofThe squeeze

From Stratton's report of Jim Ryder's description (Out of the Shadows, 2026): a bell- or acorn-shaped craft with no visible controls, seats or power; no dimensions given. · Illustration for uaptrail.com

WhenEarly 2009

WhereLockheed Martin and AAWSAP, United States

Backing1 independent

Witnesses1 named

In his memoir Out of the Shadows (October 2026), Jay Stratton says Lockheed executive Jim Ryder told him in early 2009 that Lockheed alone held 12 craft, and wanted to hand one to the Pentagon's AAWSAP program for outside scientists to study: bell or acorn shaped, with no visible controls, seats or power, and "bigger inside than outside". A top CIA gatekeeper refused, "flat, immediate, and final." Eric Davis has named the official as Glenn Gaffney; AARO says the former CIA official denies knowing of it or blocking it. Ryder died in 2018, and Stratton did not see the craft himself. Avi Loeb, responding on air, found it plausible that a contractor could hold a craft for decades and not know what to do with it, and asked holders to bring in outside scientists, which is in effect the offer Ryder made.

Evidence, in date order (1)

Oct 2026Eric Daviswitness
Named the CIA official said to have blocked the transfer Jason Colavito review; R. M. McLaren

How plausible · High

A former senior official tells it, Knapp's separate source to Congress confirms an offer of material, and Kona Blue is documented; the named CIA official denies it.

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Access Stratton led the UAP Task Force and dealt with AAWSAP.
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Character record Senior intelligence career.
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Independent convergence Knapp told the House (2025) that "a quantity of unusual material" was offered and the deal not completed.
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Fits the documented skeleton AAWSAP and the Kona Blue proposal are documented.
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Fits secrecy practice A CIA gatekeeper refusing a contractor's transfer.
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Cost of speaking Published under his name.

Against

−
Contradicted by an insider The former CIA official denies it (half weight).
−
Commercial motive Told in a memoir.

Plausibility weighs how well an account fits where secrecy hides the documents by design, so missing records never count against it. Strength measures what is documented. Assessed 2026-10-23.

Claims

Lockheed alone held 12 craft and wanted to transfer one, bell or acorn shaped with no visible controls, seats or power and "bigger inside than outside", to AAWSAP. (secondhand; Lockheed executive Jim Ryder, via Jay Stratton's memoir)AAWSAP / AATIPsecondhandSourced, unconfirmedJay Stratton

A top CIA gatekeeper refused the transfer: "flat, immediate, and final." (firsthand for the refusal; Jay Stratton's memoir)firsthandSourced, unconfirmedJay Stratton

The official was Glenn Gaffney. (secondhand; Eric Davis)secondhandSourced, unconfirmed

The former CIA official denies knowing of the craft or blocking any transfer. (analysis; AARO)analysisOn the record

A contractor could hold a craft for decades and not know what to do with it; no sudden jump in technology has shown up on battlefields. (analysis; Avi Loeb, October 2026)analysisSourced, unconfirmedAvi Loeb

It was 'leftovers... scraps', not a whole craft, offered to BAASS in exchange for a service from Bigelow; meetings in Southern California and Las Vegas; Bigelow spent about $1 million bringing his plant up to DIA security standards; the material sat in an office/warehouse complex on 'Rye Road' (probably Rye Canyon Road, Lockheed's old site); the CIA's Gaffney 'was really pissed off that Lockheed still had this stuff' and killed the deal. This differs from the book's intact craft.AAWSAP / AATIP Kingman 1953secondhandSourced, unconfirmedGeorge Knapp

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The Lockheed craft offered to AAWSAP

Evidence, in date order (1)

How plausible · High

Claims

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Mentioned on (14)