James T Ryder
Dr. James T. Ryder (also known as Jim Ryder) was Vice President of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Corporation and head of the Advanced Technology Center (ATC) — an R&D organization covering advanced aerospace technologies including optics, electrooptics, nanotechnology, space sciences, and guidance systems. Ryder held these positions from 2004 to 2011, overseeing approximately $9 billion in annual program infrastructure including remote sensing, telecommunications, defensive systems, and strategic systems. He is most significant in UFO legacy program research for his alleged attempts to transfer recovered nonhuman craft materials held by Lock heed Martin since the 1950s to Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies under the AAWSAP program via a proposed waived Special Access Program called Kona Blue.
| Role | Vice President of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Corporation (2004-2011); Head of Advanced Technology Center |
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Career and Qualifications
Ryder held a PhD in theoretical and applied mechanics, a master's degree in engineering mechanics, and a bachelor's degree in theoretical and applied mechanics, all from the University of Illinois. His nearly 40-year career at Lockheed Martin positioned him at the nexus of the corporation's most advanced and classified research programs. The Advanced Technology Center's research portfolio under Ryder's leadership included phenomenology and sensors, optics and electrooptics, telecommunications and photonics, guidance and navigation, modeling and simulation, materials and structures, thermal sciences, nanotechnology, and space sciences.
Ryder's published work in Defense Technical Information Center archives includes research on fatigue life relationships for composite laminates and load history effects on materials — highly specialized aerospace engineering domains critical to advanced vehicle design.
Kona Blue Material Transfer Attempts
Between approximately 2008 and 2011, Dr. Ryder allegedly led efforts to divest Lockheed Martin of recovered UFO materials through a technology transfer to AAWSAP, the Defense Intelligence Agency program administered by Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies. According to documents entered into the November 2024 House Oversight UAP hearing record by Representative Tim Burchett, Ryder proposed a UAP Material Divestment Plan to AAWSAP leadership describing materials from a specific Lockheed Martin facility that included crash retrieval materials from the 1950s and other historical operations.
The plan proposed a technology transfer agreement into a prospective waived Special Access Program championed by Senator Harry Reid — the Kona Blue PAP. According to whistleblower testimony and investigative journalism by Christopher Sharp, at least two separate attempts were made to transfer these materials, with both efforts ultimately stonewalled by CIA Directorate of Science and Technology Deputy Director Glenn Gaffney, and possibly Robert Cardillo serving as Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Intelligence Integration.
Some sources suggest the materials in question included craft hull fragments or possibly the entire recovered craft from the 1953 Kingman, Arizona crash. Eric Davis has stated that this specific batch of materials was so advanced and beyond human comprehension that Lockheed had made no progress in exploitation since acquiring them in the 1950s, and that Ryder may have sought fresh minds and new contractor perspectives to tackle the intractable reverse-engineering challenge.
Post-Lockheed Work and Esoteric Interests
Following his retirement from Lockheed Martin, Ryder joined Hal Puthoff and Eric Davis on the Starfire Project science review team, which explored the controversial electric sun hypothesis. This collaboration placed Ryder in continued professional proximity to two of the most prominent physicists associated with UAP legacy program research.
Between 2015 and his death in 2018, Ryder delivered a series of talks at Lucis Trust conferences — an esoteric organization promoting spiritual principles — that touched on UAP phenomena, consciousness, physics, and extrasensory perception (ESP). His talks included:
- "The Rendering of the Veils Part One: Fairies, Devas, and Unidentified Aerial Phenomena" (June 2017, London) — Discussed UAP as phenomena rather than craft, referenced cave art, ancient depictions of nonhuman beings, crop circles, UFO videos, and the 1980 Rendlesham Forest incident
- "The Soul is Light: What Then is Light?" (2015) — Explored the intersection of esotericism and physics, touching on Big Bang theories, light as both physical and metaphysical, and human consciousness as an interconnected cosmic matrix
- "The Garment of God" (2018) — Discussed ESP research suppression in the United States versus state support in Russia, echoing themes similar to those allegedly raised by Ben Rich regarding ESP and interstellar travel
Ryder's post-retirement pursuit of consciousness and esoteric topics mirrors a pattern observed in other alleged UAP legacy program insiders, including Carl Nell's recent explorations of consciousness at the Archives of the Impossible conference.
Connection to Wilson-Davis Notes and Program Gatekeeping
David Grusch publicly named Dr. James T. Ryder as a specific gatekeeper within the UAP SAP Federation at Lockheed Martin during testimony and interviews. Ryder's role as VP of Space Systems and head of the Advanced Technology Center would have positioned him with oversight authority over Lockheed's most compartmentalized programs, potentially including those related to technologies of unknown origin.
Death
Dr. James T. Ryder passed away suddenly in 2018. His death followed his 2017-2018 Lucis Trust lectures and occurred during a period when he appeared to be actively exploring consciousness, metaphysics, and the intersection of advanced physics with esoteric knowledge. UAP researchers do not suspect foul play but note the loss of a potential key witness to Lockheed Martin's alleged UAP material custody.