HYPOTHESIS: FFRDC records-concealment layer.
hypothesissource_actorConjecture Layer (hypotheses)
Conjecture that FFRDCs (MITRE, Aerospace, SAIC, Battelle) shield UAP records via FOIA exemptions rather than hold craft. SPECULATIVE.
This is CONJECTURE. Distinct from physical custody: it hypothesizes FFRDCs as a records-concealment seam, the suspicion driving the 2026 Burlison congressional inquiry. Support tier SPECULATIVE: the inquiry is documented but is a suspicion, not a finding; no FFRDC has produced custody records and SAIC crash-retrieval ties exist only in disclosure-community commentary.