DHS KONA BLUE Information Release

The documents consist of the archived proposal presentation for KONA BLUE, a PSAP proposed in 2011 within the DHS Science and Technology Directorate as a follow-on to elements of the AAWSAP/AATIP effort. Interviewees had described it as a sensitive compartment to protect the retrieval and exploitation of non-human biologics and advanced aerospace technology. The records show the proposal was approved at the Under Secretary level as a PSAP but was disapproved by the Deputy Secretary of DHS in early 2012 for lacking sufficient justification and credible supporting information. It was immediately terminated, received no funding, and no materials, data, or biologics were ever transferred to or collected under the program. AARO's accompanying assessment states that no extraterrestrial craft or bodies were collected and that this material was only assumed to exist by advocates of the proposal. The release was coordinated between DoD and DHS for transparency and includes a transmittal letter confirming the search of DHS records found no additional associated materials.