PURSUE Release 01

Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters

The first batch of declassified files released through the Department of War (war.gov) in May 2026. The collection spans military mission reports from active combat zones, FBI investigative serials and photographs, NASA Apollo and Skylab transcripts, State Department cables, AARO analytical slides, and 28 Department of Defense UAP videos. Classification levels range from SECRET//NOFORN to UNCLASSIFIED after declassification review by USCENTCOM.

PURSUE (Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters) is a declassification programme administered through the Department of War. Documents are reviewed across agencies, assigned DOW-UAP identifiers, and released in numbered tranches through war.gov.

155

Documents

Videos

What This Release Contains

PURSUE Release 01 is the first structured declassification of military UAP encounter data under the Department of War framework. The material comes from operational military units, intelligence agencies, NASA archives, and the Pentagon's own UAP office. The DOW-UAP mission reports, SPEAR range fouler debriefs, and AARO analytical slides did not exist in the public domain in this form before May 2026.

The mission reports use the DOW-UAP MISREP format: structured fields for UAP Event Type, Physical State, Maneuverability, Advanced Capabilities, and Propulsion. Locations span active military operating areas across the Middle East, East Asia, and the Mediterranean. The range fouler debriefs come from the SPEAR programme, which instructs military personnel on how to document unidentified objects encountered during operations.

Collection Categories

Secret // Noforn

Mission Reports

30 files | 2016 to 2025

DOW-UAP mission reports from military operations across the Arabian Gulf, Iraq, Syria, Greece, UAE, East China Sea, Djibouti, Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, Iran, Gulf of Aden, and Mediterranean Sea. Structured UAP encounter data with event serial numbers.

Secret

Range Fouler Debriefs

5 files | Middle East, Japan, Arabian Sea

SPEAR programme debrief forms documenting encounters with unidentified objects during military operations. Checkbox format covering shape, material, and propulsion, plus free-text narrative descriptions.

Secret

Email Correspondence

3 files | 2023 to 2025

Internal military email threads discussing UAP encounters and reporting procedures. Includes INDOPACOM correspondence from April 2025 and Pacific theatre communications.

Unclassified

State Department Cables

5 files | Papua New Guinea, Kazakhstan

Three 059UAP-numbered cables and two DOS-UAP cables. Named cables cover incidents in Papua New Guinea (January 1985) and Kazakhstan (January 1994). MRN/DTG format with TAGS and Executive Order references.

Unclassified

FBI Investigative Serials

3 files | FD-302a forms

FBI continuation forms (serials 3, 4, and 5) from UAP investigations. Serial 5 documents a UAP encounter near a drone test facility.

Unclassified

FBI Photographs

32 files | PNG and PDF

Eight PNG photographs (fbi-photo-a1 through a8) and 24 image-only PDF photo files (fbi-photo-b1 through b24) from FBI UAP investigations.

Unclassified

AARO Analytical Slides

2 files | May 2026

Presentation slides dated 8 May 2026 documenting four UAP events: "Orbs Launching Orbs" (6 federal agents, 3 independent teams), "Large Fiery Orb" (12 to 18m diameter), "Dark Kite" (triangular, pursued by agents), and "Transparent Kite" (partially transparent via NVGs). Plus a witness composite sketch.

Unclassified

NASA Transcripts

6 files | 1969 to 1973

Apollo 11 debriefing, Apollo 12 and Apollo 17 transcripts, Apollo 17 science and technical debriefings, and Skylab debriefing. The Apollo 17 transcript records CDR Cernan observing a rhythmically rotating distant object with a dual flash pattern.

Unclassified

NASA Photographs

6 files | 1969 to 1972

JPG photographs from Apollo missions: five from Apollo 12 (1969) and one from Apollo 17 (1972).

Unclassified

USPER Witness Statement

1 file | Redacted

Witness statement from a senior U.S. intelligence official regarding a UAP encounter. Heavily redacted under (b)(1)1.4a and (b)(6) exemptions.

Video

DOD UAP Videos

28 files | MP4

Department of Defense video recordings with numerical identifiers (DOD_111688723 through DOD_111689759). Military sensor and observation footage of unidentified aerial phenomena from operational environments.

Unclassified

Administrative / Reference

3 files

Declassification cover sheet (MG Harrison recommendation, cleared 10 March 2026) and two non-UAP reference documents: RTI space booster risk analysis and Vandenberg AFB launch summary 1958 to 2000.

Cleared for open publication in accordance with DOD Directive 5230.09.
MG Richard A. Harrison, USCENTCOM Chief of Staff, declassification recommendation, 10 March 2026

NARA Record Groups

31 files from this release originated from the National Archives and have been sorted into their respective Record Group folders in the archive. These span eight Record Groups:

RG 18: Army Air Forces

2 files | 1946 to 1948

General correspondence volumes from the Army Air Forces during the immediate post-war period when flying disc reports first reached military channels.

RG 38: Office of Naval Intelligence

3 files | Incident summaries 1 to 233

ONI incident summary compilations covering hundreds of reported aerial encounters compiled by Navy intelligence.

RG 59: State Department

1 file | July 1963

State Department file SP-16 from the period of intensified diplomatic interest in aerial phenomena.

RG 65: Federal Bureau of Investigation

19 files | Case 62-HQ-83894

The core FBI UFO case file: 10 sections of the headquarters file, 6 serials, 1 sub-file, and 2 Dallas field office documents. The most substantial FBI release in this batch.

RG 255: NASA

2 files

The COMETA report ("UFOs and Defense: What Should We Prepare For?") and associated transcripts.

RG 331: Allied Operational HQ

1 file | 1944 to 1945

German armament and equipment documents from the final years of the Second World War. Wartime context for early unidentified aerial reports.

RG 341: USAF Intelligence

2 files | 1948 to 1955

USAF intelligence records relating to collection and dissemination of aerial phenomena data during the early Cold War period.

RG 342: USAF Commands

1 file | 1949

The flying discs file from 1949, documenting Air Force analysis of disc-shaped aerial reports during the formative period of official UFO investigations.

Classification Levels

SECRET // NOFORN No foreign nationals

SECRET // REL TO USA FVEY Five Eyes releasable

SECRET // REL TO USA FIN SWE FVEY NATO Extended allied release

UNCLASSIFIED After declassification review

Declassification Authorities

MG Richard A. Harrison (USCENTCOM Chief of Staff) and MG Brandon R. Tegtmeier (USCENTCOM Chief of Staff) authorised the declassification of military documents in this release. Redaction codes applied include (b)(1)1.4a for classified national security information, (b)(6) for personal privacy, and (b)(3) 10 U.S.C. 130b for military personnel information.

DOD UAP Videos

28 Department of Defense video recordings released through PURSUE. Military sensor and observation footage from operational environments across the Middle East, Mediterranean, Indo-Pacific, and Africa. All videos are public domain, hosted by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDSHUB). Click any thumbnail to play.

Browse All Documents

View every page from all 12 document categories in the full-page document viewer

Archive Cross-References

Records from this release are searchable in the archive: 43 sighting reports (spanning Arabian Gulf, Iraq, Syria, and other operational theatres), 3 people entries, and multiple cross-references to existing FBI records and case files.

The 28 DOD videos represent the first batch of government UAP footage released through the PURSUE framework. The AARO slides from 8 May 2026 present four named UAP events with witness counts and observational detail not previously available in any public government record. The "Orbs Launching Orbs" event alone was observed by six federal agents across three independent teams.

Source: war.gov | Department of War UFO Files | Release 01 | May 2026