Pentagon's AARO Moves to Contract Access to North America's Largest Private UAP Historical Records Collection

The Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office disclosed plans in a Defense Department contracting notice to pursue a sole-source subscription agreement with the National Unidentified Flying Object Historic Records Center (NUFOHRC), a nonprofit corporation based in New Mexico. The notice, reported by DefenseScoop on September 2, 2026, identified NUFOHRC as holding North America's largest private collection of historical UAP records, comprising hundreds of thousands of unique case files that, according to the department, exist exclusively within NUFOHRC's archives and are unavailable in any other public or private repository.

A source who asked to be referred to as a War Department official — a designation reflecting President Donald Trump's executive order rebranding the Department of Defense, though an official name change would require an act of Congress — told DefenseScoop that "market research conducted to date indicates that no other organization possesses the historical depth, volume of unique records, and specialized analytical expertise to meet the government's minimum needs." The official also stated that "NUFOHRC has unparalleled, specialized expertise in analyzing this specific data, demonstrated by its staff's proven ability to generate the high-quality, science-driven analytical studies required by the government."

The proposed contract consists of a one-year base period with four subsequent one-year option periods, through which AARO would receive digital access to NUFOHRC's proprietary data, metadata, and analytical products. The department specifically cited materials predating 1990 as a priority, a timeframe during which historical military UAP records were heavily fragmented, decentralized, or preserved only by civilian researchers and private organizations after official government projects concluded. The total estimated cost of the contract was not disclosed.

AARO's interest in NUFOHRC's holdings stems directly from a series of expanding congressional requirements. The fiscal year 2023 NDAA directed AARO to compile a comprehensive historical record report on all U.S. government UAP-related intelligence and military engagements since 1945. The fiscal year 2024 NDAA further mandated the creation of a UAP Records Collection at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), requiring all federal agencies to review, organize, digitize, and transfer their UAP records for eventual public disclosure. Separately, President Trump earlier in 2026 called for wide-scale declassification and release of government UFO and "alien" files.

NUFOHRC is founded and led by David Marler, a UAP historian who has spent decades accumulating an extensive private collection of UAP-related books, journals, newspapers, audio and video recordings, photographs, and physical artifacts spanning more than 75 years. His holdings include the complete historical files of one of the earliest civilian scientific UFO research groups founded in the 1950s, as well as rare personal files belonging to Dr. J. Allen Hynek, a prominent ufology expert who consulted for the Air Force's Project Blue Book and other military UAP investigations. Prominent early researchers and their families have entrusted Marler with their personal archives as they retired or died. NUFOHRC did not respond to DefenseScoop's request for comment.