War.gov UFO Files Explained

PURSUE— the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters — is the Trump Administration's framework for declassifying and publicly releasing unresolved UAP-related records held across the federal government. The Department of War oversees PURSUE with support from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).

The DOW describes the undertaking as “unprecedented”, requiring coordination between dozens of agencies and review of tens of millions of records — many existing only on paper and spanning many decades. Records are released on a rolling basis as they are discovered and declassified, with new tranches posted every few weeks.

All materials released under PURSUE are designated unresolved — meaning the government cannot make a definitive determination on the nature of the observed phenomena. The DOW has stated it welcomes private-sector analysis and expertise.

The third PURSUE release was published on June 12, 2026 and is the first to include FBI-contributed records and the first to include a formal Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) on a specific UAP incident. It includes:

• FBI FD-1057 interview transcript used to develop a witness sketch of the Colorado Springs 2022 UAP (FBI-UAP-D002)
• Digital rendering of the Colorado Springs 2022 UAP phenomenon (FBI-UAP-D003)
• Intelligence Community Assessment of the Colorado Springs 2022 UAP incident (ICA-UAP-D001)
• FBI FD-302-67 field report documenting a Northeastern U.S. orb sighting, 2026 (FBI-UAP-D009)
• FBI FD-302-71 field report documenting a second Northeastern U.S. orb sighting, 2026 (FBI-UAP-D010)
• FBI correspondence referral, 1949 (FBI-UAP-D011)
• FBI video: orbs over a pond, 2024 (FBI-UAP-PR003)
• FBI video: two lights above a treeline, Northeastern U.S., 2025 (FBI-UAP-PR004)
• CIA intelligence cable: Placement on High Alert due to perceived aggressive foreign posturing, Zimbabwe (CIA-UAP-017)
• U.S. Army Flying Saucer Study, 1949 (DOW-UAP-D084)

Browse Release 03 file records on UFO Files Watch.

The second PURSUE release was published on May 22, 2026 and is the first multi-agency release — the CIA, ODNI, NASA, and Department of Energy all contributed records alongside DOW. It includes:

• Video of a four-UAP formation flying over water near Iran (PR050, August 2022)
• Video of a Syrian UAP exhibiting instant acceleration (PR051)
• Infrared footage showing multiple objects (PR052)
• USAF Air National Guard F-16C sensor footage of a UAP shoot-down (PR071)
• UAP footage from the East Coast of the United States, December 2019 (PR086)
• Historical reports of UAP at Sandia Base, New Mexico, 1948–1950 (D017)
• CIA intelligence information report on a USSR UAP sighting, 1973 (CIA-D001)
• ODNI USPER narrative from a senior U.S. Intelligence Community official (ODNI-D001)
• NASA Apollo 12 medical debriefing (NASA-D008)
• Department of Energy PANTEX radar tower unidentified object report (DOE-D001)

The DOW noted that war.gov/UFO received over 1 billion hits since Release 01. Release 03 is actively in development. Browse Release 02 file records on UFO Files Watch.

The first PURSUE release was published on May 8, 2026. It contains approximately 49 individually numbered unresolved case reports (PR01–PR49+), including:

• FBI infrared imagery of UAP over the western United States (September and December 2025)
• Sensor footage from military operators in the Middle East (2013, 2020, 2022)
• Video near the United Arab Emirates (October 2023)
• Radar and video footage from near Greece (October 2023)
• INDOPACOM report of a football-shaped object near Japan (2024)
• U.S. Army report in North America (2026)
• A composite sketch of a sighting in the southeastern United States (September 2023)
• Apollo 17 archival imagery showing three lights above the lunar terrain (1972)

Bulk PDF/image and video download bundles are available at war.gov/ufo. UFO Files Watch has indexed individual case records from Release 01 — browse the latest file records to explore them.

The phrase “war.gov UFO” reflects public awareness of the Department of War's active UAP release portal. The Department of War — the current name for the U.S. Department of Defense — hosts official UAP releases at war.gov/ufo under the PURSUE directive. Searches also reflect the historical association with the pre-1947 Department of War, which oversaw early military UFO investigations like Project Sign and Project Grudge.

The Pentagon's dedicated UAP office, AARO, maintains a parallel public site at aaro.mil. Official UAP/UFO records, reports, and videos are published through these channels.

• Check whether the release is from an official agency (DoD, ODNI, NASA, FAA).
• Note the release date and the incident date — they are often years apart.
• Distinguish between what the document confirms versus what it describes as unresolved.
• Look for the document type: raw sensor data, pilot report, analytical summary, or policy document.
• Check AARO's site for the most current status on any investigated case.