The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) declassified a document which pertains to a formerly prospective special access program (PSAP) named KONA BLUE. 

Summary:

Declassification and Disclosure: KONA BLUE was a DHS PSAP (Department of Homeland Security Prospective Special Access Program) that was terminated on February 10, 2012. All documents related to this program have been declassified and are approved for public release. The declassification process involved retaining visibility of prior classifications via the strike-out method and redacting information based on policy and legal review.

Justification for Need: The document outlines the significant interest in remote vision, communication, and materialization techniques that can operate across dimensional and space-time barriers, citing these capabilities as top intelligence and security priorities. The document notes that countermeasures against such capabilities are also a priority. Furthermore, it mentions that technology from recovered Advanced Aerospace Vehicles (AAV) is secured and accessible only within a SAP framework, emphasizing the sensitive nature of this information.

Operational Security Concerns: The document stresses the need for high operational security due to the potential adversarial misuse of associated technologies, which involve advanced concepts in quantum mechanics, nuclear science, electromagnetic theory, gravitation, and thermodynamics. A small, specialized group of Department of Defense (DoD) personnel is required for SAP-related functions and to execute programmatic requirements, underlining the necessity of a restricted access program to protect the integrity and objectives of AATIP (Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program).

Protection of Personnel and Partnerships: There is a need for the protection of identities of personnel and affiliations with AATIP due to the specialized nature of their work, to mitigate security and counterintelligence risks. Industry partnerships are also deemed critical, with public knowledge of an industry’s association with AATIP potentially hindering further collaboration with the U.S. Government.

Restricted Access and Oversight: The Kona Blue document indicates that senior government approval may be needed for the nuanced collection, engineering, and application of these technologies. Access to the overarching goals of the program is to be strictly limited to a ‘Bigoted List’—a list of cleared individuals. This indicates a tiered access structure to maintain the program’s secrecy and integrity. 

The release of this document following the public UAP hearings with David Grusch, Ryan Graves, and David Fravor suggests a strategic move towards transparency, providing public insight into the government’s interest and activities in areas that were once highly classified and outside the realm of public knowledge.