Now that the US Department of Defence has cut one of its long-standing assets loose, the Department of Energy, which oversees US nuclear weapons, has expressed interest in taking the secretive group onto its payroll.
The Department of Defence has decided to end its contract with a mysterious group of scientists who had worked with the DoD since early Cold War, Gizmodo reports. With their funding cut abruptly, the group will now scramble to find a new government sponsor, according to National Public Radio.
Known only as JASON or The Jasons, the group enjoyed the highest level of security clearance and had worked on top secret projects since 1960, the report says.
“By day, they're normal academics, working at colleges and universities and in private industry. But each summer, they come together to study tough problems for the military, intelligence agencies and other parts of the government,” NPR reports.
There are approximately 30 to 60 members in the group, but their exact number remains a mystery, and their annual summits cost the DoD several million dollars every year, according to NPR.
“The department has determined that the requirements previously supported through JASON National Security Research Studies have changed and that the Office of the Undersecretary of Defence, Research and Engineering will require only one study, rather than multiple studies, as projected under the previous solicitation,” Pentagon spokeswoman Heather Babb told…
