The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office: History and Origin of KONA BLUE

The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office: History and Origin of KONA BLUE Released on February 5, 2024, by The Black Vault, a declassified report from the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) sheds light on the history and origin of KONA BLUE, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) prospective special access program (PSAP) terminated on February 10, 2012. The document, released in partnership between the Department of Defense (DoD) and DHS, is a flagship declassified release from the OSD/AARO. It can be found on The Black Vault's website, along with the canonical PDF. The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office History and Origin of KONA BLUE The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) first learned of the KONA BLUE program from interviews conducted as part of its historical review. Multiple interviewees identified KONA BLUE as a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sensitive compartment established to protect the retrieval and exploitation of "non-human biologics." AARO researched the information provided by the interviewees and learned KONA BLUE was a Prospective Special Access Program (PSAP) that had been proposed to DHS leadership but was never approved or formally established. KONA BLUE never received any materials or funding, and there is no information beyond the proposal presentation marked with the KONA BLUE name. AARO traced the origin of the proposal for KONA BLUE to the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Application Program (AAWSAP)/Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) program, which was managed by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) from 2009-2012 and funded through congressional earmarks. Bigelow Aerospace, headquartered in Nevada, served as the primary contractor executing funds for the program and delivered multiple reports during the period of their contract. DIA terminated the program due to a cited lack of merit and lack of utility in the products Bigelow produced for DIA’s mission. When DIA canceled AAWSAP/AATIP, several individuals involved with that program advocated for DHS to take the effort over and fund a new version of AAWSAP/AATIP under the code name “KONA BLUE.” According to the proposal, KONA BLUE would continue the work previously undertaken by DIA’s AAWSAP/AATIP to investigate, identify, and analyze sensitive materials and technologies, to include advanced aerospace vehicles. In 2011, the DHS Under Secretary for Science and Technology (S&T) established KONA BLUE as a PSAP based on claims that relevant information and material existed and required this level of protection. The Under Secretary (S&T) also cited congressional interest in the subject and possible impacts on homeland security as part of the justification for the program. Six months later, however, the Deputy Secretary of DHS disapproved KONA BLUE as a Special Access Program (SAP), and further directed its immediate termination citing concerns about the adequacy of justification for the program, and sufficiency of information central to the proposal development, including personnel and budget requirements. It is critical to note that while some DHS personnel believed that relevant information and material would be delivered to DHS upon establishment of the SAP, no data or material of any kind was ever transferred to or collected by DHS under the auspices of KONA BLUE. Information associated with the activities conducted under the auspices of AAWSAP/AATIP remains within DIA’s archived holdings. This archived PSAP proposal and associated documents have been declassified in partnership between DoD and DHS and are being released to the public in accordance with both agencies’ commitment to transparency. On February 5, 2024, the Acting Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Kristie Canegallo, wrote to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Kathleen H. Hicks, stating that DHS agrees to provide the Department of Defense with documents and relevant information associated with KONA BLUE. The document, declassified by the Chief Security Officer of DHS, is classified with a reason of 1.4(e) and is waived for public release. It is scheduled to be declassified on April 25, 2036. This is what the public record looks like at its most ordinary. For more information, visit storyflo.com. The canonical PDF of this document can be found at https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/osd/konablue-release1.pdf.