The MITRE Corporation is a U.S. not-for-profit company that operates multiple federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) on behalf of federal sponsors, working extensively on classified defense, intelligence, aviation, and homeland-security programs.
UAP records inquiry (May 2026)
MITRE enters the vault via Rep. eric-burlison’s May 22, 2026 records-production request. On May 26 Burlison’s office announced (src-burlison-mitre-press-release-2026-05) that he had transmitted legislative interrogatories and production requests to MITRE seeking records on its potential custody, control, analysis, transfer, destruction, or withholding of UAP-related records — including recovered materials, “technologies of unknown origin,” transmedium data, and alleged legacy crash-retrieval or reverse-engineering programs — dating back to 1930.
Per DefenseScoop (src-burlison-mitre-uap-records-2026-05), the 10-page letter carries an enclosure with 40+ enumerated requests (records collections/transfers, contracts, task orders, classified/special-access programs, analysis activities, AI models, technology exploitation, health/safety data, secure facilities). A MITRE spokesperson confirmed staff are reviewing the company’s archives to comply and would coordinate with responsible federal agencies on providing any assets.
Burlison’s letter argues that MITRE’s FFRDC-operator role places it potentially “in custody or control of government-funded records” that fall within the FY2024 NDAA UAP Records Collection framework (NARA Record Group 615), and that FFRDCs “cannot become private vaults for federal records.” It builds on his prior letter to MIT Lincoln Laboratory over the Beacon Hill Study, and demands a preservation hold, a records-location index, production of unclassified records, and a classified briefing for Task Force members. The inquiry names a roster of aerospace/defense contractors (Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon/RTX, Boeing, General Dynamics, SAIC, Leidos, Battelle, The Aerospace Corporation, Booz Allen Hamilton, BAE Systems, Bigelow Aerospace) whose UAP-related work MITRE is asked to surface.