AATIP: The Pentagon's Secret UFO Initiative (2007–2012) — a Multi‑Million Effort Reflected in Declassified Records

To the point

From 2007 to 2012 the Pentagon ran a secret multimillion-dollar program, the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Programme, led by Harry Reid, to study unidentified flying objects with only a few officials aware, which produced reports of strange fast-moving and hovering aircraft while scientists cautioned that unexplained phenomena don’t prove aliens; it cost over $20 million and was shut down to save costs, though officials continued examining sightings, and the CIA later released 13 million pages of declassified material, all within ongoing interest in unexplained aerial phenomena and the line between evidence and extraterrestrial proof.