American
Luis Elizondo is an American former U.S. Department of Defense intelligence official who became a public voice in the debate over unidentified aerial phenomena. He worked in counterintelligence and says he ran the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, known as AATIP, at the Pentagon. He left the Defense Department in 2017 and joined To The Stars Academy of Arts and Science, where he helped release Navy videos of unexplained aircraft. His account of the program drew wide media coverage, and the Pentagon has disputed parts of his description of his role. In 2024 he published Imminent, a memoir from William Morrow about his work on the Pentagon's UFO and UAP programs. In it he argues that unidentified objects are a national security matter and that the government withholds information. He has also appeared in television documentaries and testified in the public discussion that led to congressional hearings on the subject. Supporters see him as a whistleblower, while critics question his credentials and claims.