Within TTSA Materials
Did the Army deal prove anything?
The Army agreement made TTSA's material claims worth examining, but it did not certify alien technology or exotic performance.
On this page
- What the CRADA actually said
- Why testing is not endorsement
- How the agreement affected Puthoff's credibility
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Introduction
The 2019 research agreement between To The Stars Academy (TTSA) and the US Army became one of the strongest factual pillars behind TTSA’s claims about unusual materials. Unlike many UFO-related stories, the agreement was real, documented and publicly acknowledged. That mattered because TTSA, whose advisers included Hal Puthoff, had spent years promoting the idea that it possessed or had access to potentially significant metamaterials linked to unidentified aerial phenomena.
However, a common mistake quickly emerged in media coverage and online discussion: many people treated the Army’s willingness to test the materials as proof that the materials were extraordinary. The agreement did not say that. It authorised research and evaluation. It did not certify alien technology, confirm UFO crash claims or validate TTSA’s broader narrative. Understanding that distinction is important when assessing Puthoff’s credibility, because the episode demonstrates both his ability to attract institutional attention and the recurring tendency for official interest to be mistaken for official endorsement.
Did the Army deal prove anything?
The short answer is no. The agreement proved that a US Army research organisation considered some of TTSA’s claims worthy of examination. It did not prove those claims were true.
In October 2019, TTSA announced a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Ground Vehicle Systems Center. TTSA described the partnership as a way to explore advanced technologies including metamaterials, electromagnetic systems, quantum communications and other concepts that might have military applications. [To The Stars*]tothestars.mediaTo The Stars*TTSA Announces CRADA with U.SArmy CCDCOct 17, 2019 — TTSA announced today a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the US Army Combat Capabilitie…
The announcement immediately attracted attention because TTSA had already publicised claims that some of its materials might originate from unidentified craft. To many readers, “the Army is studying it” sounded like “the Army believes it is real”. Those are very different propositions.
A research organisation can investigate a claim for several reasons:
- The claim might be true.
- The claim might be false but worth checking.
- The material may have useful properties regardless of its claimed origin.
- The potential payoff could justify a relatively small research effort.
Defence research institutions routinely evaluate unusual technologies, speculative proposals and commercially supplied materials without endorsing the claims attached to them.
What the CRADA actually said
The text of the agreement is more cautious than many public summaries suggested.
The CRADA described TTSA as possessing “materiel and technology innovations” that could potentially offer capability improvements for Army ground vehicles. It referred to technologies associated with metamaterials and quantum physics and established a framework for collaborative research. [The Black Vault]documents2.theblackvault.comTTSA ARMY CRADAThe Black VaultTTSA-ARMY-CRADA.pdfOct 1, 2019 — Cooperative Research and Development Agreement ("CRADA") that will be binding upon… CR…
Importantly, the document did not state that the Army had verified any exotic origin for the materials. Nor did it say the Army had confirmed any extraordinary performance claims.
The agreement was structured under the Federal Technology Transfer Act framework used for many government-industry research partnerships. A CRADA is fundamentally a mechanism for joint research and intellectual-property management, not a certification programme. The Army itself describes CRADAs as arrangements that allow federal laboratories and outside organisations to collaborate on research and development projects. [DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory]arl.devcom.army.milDEVCOM Army Research LaboratoryCooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA)A Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CR…
The most significant factual takeaway was therefore narrower than some headlines implied:
[army]arl.devcom.army.milDEVCOM Army Research LaboratoryCooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA)A Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CR… e Army accepted TTSA as a research partner. [army]arl.devcom.army.milDEVCOM Army Research LaboratoryCooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA)A Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CR… e Army agreed to examine technologies and materials supplied by TTSA. [army]arl.devcom.army.milDEVCOM Army Research LaboratoryCooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA)A Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CR… e Army did not publicly validate TTSA’s UFO-related claims.
- The Army did not publicly conclude that any material was non-human or extraterrestrial.
That distinction is easy to lose once a story enters popular UFO discussion, where institutional engagement is often treated as a proxy for confirmation.
Why testing is not endorsement
The strongest sceptical response to the CRADA was not that the agreement was fake, but that its meaning was being overstated.
Several defence and technology journalists noted that the Army’s interest appeared to be exploratory. The War Zone’s review of the agreement concluded that the Army wanted to determine whether TTSA’s claims could be verified, not that they already had been. [The War Zone]twz.comThe War ZoneThe Army Wants To Verify To The Stars Academy's…Oct 20, 2019 — An official agreement makes it clear the Army wants to expl…
That wording matters.
A laboratory evaluates materials precisely because their properties are uncertain. If a material’s capabilities were already established, much of the research process would be unnecessary.
The same principle applies outside the UFO debate. Universities test controversial medical ideas. Defence agencies evaluate unconventional technologies. Government laboratories analyse disputed claims. The existence of testing does not tell us whether the claims survive testing.
This became especially relevant because TTSA’s public messaging often placed speculative technologies such as active camouflage, advanced propulsion and exotic metamaterials alongside discussions of UAP-related evidence. [To The Stars*]tothestars.mediaTo The Stars*TTSA Announces CRADA with U.SArmy CCDCOct 17, 2019 — TTSA announced today a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the US Army Combat Capabilitie…
Supporters interpreted Army involvement as evidence that insiders saw something remarkable.
Critics argued that the Army was merely conducting due diligence on claims that had not yet been demonstrated.
The available record supports the second interpretation more strongly. The Army agreed to investigate; it did not publicly announce successful validation.
The validation mistake in public discussion
The most persistent misunderstanding surrounding the CRADA was a chain of reasoning that looked persuasive but was logically weak:
- TTSA claimed to possess unusual materials.
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- The Army signed a research agreement with TTSA. [tothestars.media]tothestars.mediaTo The Stars*TTSA Announces CRADA with U.SArmy CCDCOct 17, 2019 — TTSA announced today a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the US Army Combat Capabilitie…
- Therefore the Army must already know the materials are extraordinary.
The third step does not follow from the first two.
Government agencies frequently investigate uncertain claims because the consequences of being wrong in either direction can be significant. If a material genuinely offered novel performance characteristics, it would be worth understanding. If it did not, testing could establish that.
The distinction became even clearer in later years as additional analysis of the best-known TTSA material samples emerged. Publicly discussed examinations, including work associated with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and later analysis referenced by the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), did not produce evidence that the material was alien technology. Instead, the findings pointed toward terrestrial manufacture and challenged some of the more dramatic interpretations previously attached to the sample. [To The Stars*]tothestars.mediaTo The Stars*TTSA Announces CRADA with U.SArmy CCDCOct 17, 2019 — TTSA announced today a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the US Army Combat Capabilitie…
That outcome did not prove every TTSA-related claim false. It did, however, demonstrate why institutional testing cannot be treated as institutional confirmation.
How the agreement affected Puthoff’s credibility
For Puthoff, the Army deal had both positive and negative implications.
On the positive side, it showed that organisations connected to him could attract attention from legitimate government research entities. Critics sometimes portray Puthoff as operating entirely outside serious institutions, but the CRADA demonstrates that Army researchers were willing to engage with a project in which he was a prominent scientific figure. [To The Stars*]tothestars.mediaTo The Stars*TTSA Announces CRADA with U.SArmy CCDCOct 17, 2019 — TTSA announced today a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the US Army Combat Capabilitie…
The agreement also reinforced a broader pattern in Puthoff’s career. Whether in remote viewing research, advanced propulsion concepts or UAP investigations, he has repeatedly operated at the boundary between speculative ideas and official institutions. The Army partnership fit that pattern.
On the negative side, the episode highlighted a recurring credibility problem surrounding Puthoff-adjacent claims. Institutional interest was often presented publicly in ways that encouraged audiences to infer more than the evidence justified.
The CRADA became a symbol of that problem. Supporters sometimes cited it as proof that TTSA’s materials had effectively been validated. Yet the publicly available documents never made that claim, and subsequent analysis did not produce the dramatic confirmation many expected. [The Black Vault]documents2.theblackvault.comTTSA ARMY CRADAThe Black VaultTTSA-ARMY-CRADA.pdfOct 1, 2019 — Cooperative Research and Development Agreement ("CRADA") that will be binding upon… CR… [The War Zone]twz.comThe War ZoneThe Army Wants To Verify To The Stars Academy's…Oct 20, 2019 — An official agreement makes it clear the Army wants to expl…
As a result, the Army deal ultimately strengthened Puthoff’s credibility in one narrow sense while weakening it in another.
It strengthened the case that he had access to networks capable of engaging real defence institutions.
It weakened arguments that such engagement should be treated as evidence that extraordinary UAP-related material claims had already been proven.
What remains established and what remains unproven
Several points are relatively secure.
Established facts include:
- TTSA entered into a formal CRADA with the US Army in 2019. The Black Vault [documents2.theblackvault.com]documents2.theblackvault.comTTSA ARMY CRADAThe Black VaultTTSA-ARMY-CRADA.pdfOct 1, 2019 — Cooperative Research and Development Agreement ("CRADA") that will be binding upon… CR…
- The agreement involved research into advanced materials and related technologies. [To The Stars*]tothestars.mediaTo The Stars*TTSA Announces CRADA with U.SArmy CCDCOct 17, 2019 — TTSA announced today a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the US Army Combat Capabilitie…
- Puthoff was one of the most visible scientific figures associated with TTSA’s materials programme. [PR Newswire]prnewswire.comPR NewswireTo The Stars Academy of Arts & Science Announces…Oct 17, 2019 — 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ – To The Stars Academy of Arts & Sci…
- The Army agreement represented genuine institutional engagement rather than a fabricated claim. [The Black Vault]documents2.theblackvault.comTTSA ARMY CRADAThe Black VaultTTSA-ARMY-CRADA.pdfOct 1, 2019 — Cooperative Research and Development Agreement ("CRADA") that will be binding upon… CR…
What remains unproven is equally important:
- The agreement did not establish that TTSA possessed alien technology.
- The agreement did not verify UFO crash-retrieval stories.
- The agreement did not demonstrate exotic physics.
- The agreement did not show that claimed metamaterials performed beyond known science.
The key lesson from the episode is therefore not that the Army secretly confirmed TTSA’s narrative. It is that official testing and official validation are different things. In the debate over Hal Puthoff’s credibility, that distinction is central. The CRADA demonstrated institutional curiosity and research interest. It did not resolve the underlying question of whether the extraordinary claims attached to the materials were true.
Endnotes
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Source: arl.devcom.army.mil
Link: https://arl.devcom.army.mil/collaborate-with-us/opportunity/crada/Source snippet
DEVCOM Army Research LaboratoryCooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA)A Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CR...
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Source: cbc.devcom.army.mil
Link: https://www.cbc.devcom.army.mil/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/FY19-CCDC-CBC-Proceedings-Report_WEB_FINAL.pdfSource snippet
of the CCDC CBC ILIR and SSI Programs FY19 iAs part of the Combat Development element, CCDC focuses on fundamental scientific research, t...
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Source: tothestars.media
Title: To The Stars*TTSA Announces CRADA with U.S
Link: https://tothestars.media/blogs/press-and-news/ttsa-announces-crada-with-u-s-army-ccdc?srsltid=AfmBOorTezS7GcDTnKmaiEUZJjDvkbmt8xwraWHqgcA2gt50uPZmsLrRSource snippet
Army CCDCOct 17, 2019 — TTSA announced today a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the US Army Combat Capabilitie...
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Source: prnewswire.com
Link: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/to-the-stars-academy-of-arts–science-announces-crada-with-the-us-army-combat-capabilities-development-command-to-advance-materiel-and-technology-innovations-300940211.htmlSource snippet
PR NewswireTo The Stars Academy of Arts & Science Announces...Oct 17, 2019 — 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- To The Stars Academy of Arts & Sci...
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Source: documents2.theblackvault.com
Title: TTSA ARMY CRADA
Link: https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/army/TTSA-ARMY-CRADA.pdfSource snippet
The Black VaultTTSA-ARMY-CRADA.pdfOct 1, 2019 — Cooperative Research and Development Agreement ("CRADA") that will be binding upon... CR...
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Source: Wikipedia
Title: Cooperative research and development agreement
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative_research_and_development_agreement -
Source: twz.com
Link: https://www.twz.com/30498/the-army-wants-to-verify-to-the-stars-academys-fantastic-ufo-mystery-material-claimsSource snippet
The War ZoneThe Army Wants To Verify To The Stars Academy's...Oct 20, 2019 — An official agreement makes it clear the Army wants to expl...
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Source: twz.com
Link: https://www.twz.com/30481/what-we-know-about-the-army-teaming-up-with-rockstar-tom-delonges-ufo-research-companySource snippet
Army has confirmed that it has signed a cooperative research deal with former Blink 182 frontman Tom DeLonge's To The Stars Academy...
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Source: tothestars.media
Title: To The StarsTTS Analysis on ORNL Report
Link: https://tothestars.media/en-gb/blogs/press-and-news/tts-analysis-on-ornl?srsltid=AfmBOorYJtuAKQzykm3fOoyhi-8d3FKm2fMozqX0zU6RzpJevVTZ-tkKSource snippet
February 28, 2025 — The Puthoff/Davis analysis and the ORNL analysis answer most of the fundamental questions about the structure of the...
Published: February 28, 2025
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Source: tothestars.media
Link: https://tothestars.media/en-gb/blogs/press-and-news/crada-faq?srsltid=AfmBOoobze0IEc88tWxsFN8n96bCTOvZTNLirHu-8iDLC2TMjm9-jFM6Source snippet
CRADA FAQThe U.S. Army approached To The Stars Academy in search of additional information about mechanical and electro-magnetic (EM) met...
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Source: reddit.com
Title: to the stars academy of arts science ttsa
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/ufo/comments/dj6edu/to_the_stars_academy_of_arts_science_ttsa/Source snippet
Army Combat...Read more...
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Source: Wikipedia
Title: To The Stars Inc
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_The_Stars_IncSource snippet
To The Stars Inc.... cooperative research and development agreement with the United States Army Combat Capabilities Development Comman...
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Source: theblackvault.com
Title: Secrecy Deepens About U.S
Link: https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/secrecy-deepens-about-u-s-army-agreement-to-analyze-ufo-material/Source snippet
Army Agreement To Analyze...12 Mar 2020 — “TTSA sending metamaterials to the Army isn't what they implied they were going to do a couple...
Additional References
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Source: sec.gov
Link: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1710274/000110465920089220/tm2023098d2_ex6-28.htmSource snippet
SECus army combat capabilities development commandCOOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT. BETWEEN. TO THE STARS ACADEMY OF ARTS A...
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Source: nextgov.com
Link: https://www.nextgov.com/media/gbc/docs/pdfs_edit/ng_ttsa_crada.pdfSource snippet
COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT...COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT. BETWEEN. TO THE STARS ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCE...
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Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/165450020177678/posts/2412605535462104/Source snippet
US Army partners with To The Stars AcademyThe contract states that To the Stars will provide samples in its possession of “metamaterials”...
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Source: smsbiotech.com
Link: https://www.smsbiotech.com/blog/smsbiotech-establishes-a-crada-with-the-u-s-army-medical-research-institute-of-chemical-defenseSource snippet
SMSbiotech Establishes a CRADA with the U.S. Army...22 Apr 2025 — Under this agreement, SMSbiotech and USAMRICD will conduct joint resea...
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Source: vice.com
Link: https://www.vice.com/en/article/tom-delonges-ufo-research-group-signs-contract-with-us-army-to-develop-far-future-tech/Source snippet
Tom DeLonge's UFO Research Group Signs Contract With...21 Oct 2019 — The group, called To the Stars Academy, just signed an agreement wi...
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Source: metabunk.org
Title: claim the cia blocked the transfer of meta materials from crashed ufos.13773
Link: https://www.metabunk.org/threads/claim-the-cia-blocked-the-transfer-of-meta-materials-from-crashed-ufos.13773/Source snippet
Claim: The CIA Blocked the Transfer of Meta-materials...19 Nov 2024 — As noted, Hal Puthoff was present in the AAWSAP/BAASS meeting with...
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Source: nextgov.com
Title: army partners ufo researchers study active camouflage and other sci fi tech
Link: https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2019/10/army-partners-ufo-researchers-study-active-camouflage-and-other-sci-fi-tech/160787/Source snippet
Nextgov/FCWArmy Partners with UFO Researchers to Study Active...22 Oct 2019 — The partnership will explore metamaterials, quantum commun...
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Source: nationalacademies.org
Link: https://www.nationalacademies.org/projects/DEPS-BOARD-24-01Source snippet
Preventing Technology Surprise: The Army's Leading Edge...The Army relies on its science and technology research enterprise to ensure th...
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Source: reddit.com
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/ufo/comments/pkle7i/why_did_ttsa_send_their_samples_to_the_army_for/Source snippet
analysis?In 2012 Howe sent the materials to Hal Puthoff for testing. He told her he couldn't find anything special about them, and sent t...
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non-human life connected to crashed UAPs He said his...Read more...
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