Department of War — PURSUE Release 04 (July 2026)
Dr. Voss's Analysis
PURSUE Release 04 is a historically rich and geographically diverse tranche. Its most striking contribution is a set of three photographs from NASA's STS-80 Space Shuttle Columbia mission (November–December 1996), showing unidentified objects in low-Earth orbit. STS-80 is a mission with a documented public history of anomalous observations reported by crew members. Alongside these, the release includes two new 2025 infrared video cases from the Indo-Pacific (Yellow Sea and East China Sea) and a 1996 Western U.S. dual-object infrared case with HUD elements visible. The historical document set is significant: the 1949 Department of the Army 'Analysis of Flying Object Incidents in the U.S.' and the 1948 Project Sign Progress Report are among the earliest formal military analytical products on UAP. The Atomic Energy Commission transmittal letter regarding a 1949 Los Alamos conference on aerial phenomena deepens the nuclear-UAP connection established by prior releases.
Overview
The U.S. Department of War published its fourth PURSUE release on July 10, 2026. The 10-file tranche includes three declassified Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-80) photographs of unidentified objects in low-Earth orbit from 1996, two 2025 infrared video cases from the Yellow Sea and East China Sea, a 1996 Western U.S. dual-object infrared video, a 2019 Gulf of America infrared video, the 1948 Project Sign Progress Report, the 1949 Analysis of Flying Object Incidents in the U.S., and the 1949 Atomic Energy Commission Los Alamos Conference on Aerial Phenomena transmittal letter.
Key Facts
- ◆Released July 10, 2026 — fourth PURSUE tranche, 28 days after Release 03
- ◆Three NASA STS-80 (Space Shuttle Columbia, 1996) photographs of unidentified objects in low-Earth orbit
- ◆Two 2025 Indo-Pacific infrared video cases: Yellow Sea (PR104) and East China Sea (PR105)
- ◆1996 Western U.S. dual-object infrared video (PR113) with HUD elements visible
- ◆2019 Gulf of America infrared video (PR115) — object over water surface
- ◆1948 Project Sign Progress Report (D097) — among the earliest classified U.S. military UAP analytical documents
- ◆1949 AEC transmittal letter regarding a Los Alamos conference on aerial phenomena (DOE-D004)
What Remains Unresolved
- ?What did the STS-80 crew observe during the mission that corresponds to these photographs?
- ?Do the 2025 Yellow Sea and East China Sea cases relate to the 2022 Iran formation case (PR050)?
- ?What conclusions did the 1949 Los Alamos conference on aerial phenomena reach?
- ?Does the 1948 Project Sign Progress Report contain analysis not reflected in the publicly known Project Sign Final Report?
