Glenn Gaffney
Glenn Gaffney is a career Central Intelligence Agency official who served as Deputy Director for Science and Technology (DS&T) at the CIA. The CIA DS&T is the directorate responsible for technical intelligence collection systems, overhead reconnaissance, and technology development programs. Gaffney's tenure as DS&T Deputy Director placed him at the apex of CIA technical program oversight during the period when the Kona Blue technology transfer initiative was under consideration.
| Role | CIA Deputy Director for Science and Technology (DS&T) |
|---|
Role in Blocking Kona Blue Technology Transfer
Gaffney is alleged to have directly stonewalled Lockheed Martin's attempts to divest itself of recovered nonhuman craft materials to the Defense Intelligence Agency's AAWSAP program between 2008 and 2011. According to David Grusch and investigative reporting by Christopher Sharp, Lockheed Martin Vice President James T. Ryder proposed a UAP Material Divestment Plan that would transfer crash retrieval materials from the 1950s — possibly including craft hull fragments or the entire 1953 Kingman, Arizona crash vehicle — to Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BASS) through a proposed waived Special Access Program called Kona Blue.
At least two separate transfer attempts were made during this period. The 2011 transfer attempt involved a formal prospective PAP (Program Acquisition Plan) championed by Senator Harry Reid to create a secure "catcher's mitt" for the materials within Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology oversight. This waved USAP structure would have brought the materials under Congressional visibility while maintaining SAP-level security. However, Gaffney, in his capacity as CIA DS&T Deputy Director, allegedly met directly with Lockheed Martin executives, including a senior VP and an executive VP of the corporation, and was "very antagonistic" about the company releasing materials to DIA/BASS.
According to reports, Gaffney's intervention was the decisive factor in killing the technology transfer. His actions are interpreted by UAP researchers as deliberate program protection — preserving CIA DS&T control over legacy UAP materials by preventing their transfer to a DIA-administered program that would have involved Congressional oversight through Senator Reid's sponsorship.
Identification as Gatekeeper
Gaffney has been publicly named by multiple sources as a central gatekeeper figure within the UAP SAP structure:
- David Grusch identified Gaffney by name as blocking the material transfer during Congressional testimony and media appearances
- Christopher Sharp reported that a WINPAC (Weapons Intelligence, Nonproliferation, and Arms Control Center) member identified Gaffney as a legacy program gatekeeper
- Eric Davis stated in a 2025 interview that he would want to "string Glenn Gaffney up like Jesus" and publicly interrogate him about his role in blocking the transfer, though Davis acknowledged this confrontational approach would likely be counterproductive
Gaffney has reportedly denied to journalists that he was involved in blocking any UAP material transfers, though as CIA DS&T Deputy Director during the relevant period, such denials are expected under program protection protocols.
CIA DS&T and UFO Legacy Programs
The CIA Directorate of Science and Technology has been repeatedly implicated in UFO legacy program operations, including:
- Oversight of technical intelligence collection related to UAP crash retrievals
- Operation of the CIA Office of Global Access (created 2003 under DS&T Deputy Director Carl Wolf), alleged to coordinate logistics for foreign UAP crash retrieval operations
- Partnership with CIA Directorate of Operations in joint clandestine UFO recovery missions
Gaffney's position as DS&T Deputy Director during the Kona Blue period placed him at the intersection of these alleged legacy program structures with direct authority to approve or deny technology transfers involving recovered materials.
Potential Connections to Lockheed Personnel
Mary K. Sturdivant, who served as Lockheed Martin VP for intelligence, joint, and science and technology programs during the same period as the Kona Blue attempts, had extensive CIA background including work in a joint venture between CIA DS&T and CIA Directorate of Operations. Her concurrent presence at Lockheed Martin during Gaffney's blocking of the transfer, combined with the "once agency, always agency" principle, has led researchers to theorize she may have served as a CIA liaison within Lockheed, possibly coordinating with Gaffney to protect legacy program compartmentalization.