PURSUE Release 01: Department of War declassifies 160 UAP files

On May 8, 2026, the U.S. Department of War — the cabinet department renamed from the Department of Defense by executive order in September 2025 — published the first tranche of declassified UAP records through a newly launched government portal called PURSUE (Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters).

The first release contains 160 files in total: 117 PDFs (FBI investigative records, AARO mission reports, U.S. Navy range fouler debriefs, NASA crew transcripts, State Department diplomatic cables), 29 sensor videos from U.S. military platforms (the DOW-UAP-PR series), and 14 photographs (eight FBI Photo A files plus six NASA Apollo lunar stills, including the much-circulated Apollo 17 three-dot triangular formation).

The interagency release was coordinated by the Office of the Secretary of War, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the FBI, NASA, the State Department, and the Department of Energy. Files were drawn from each contributing agency's holdings and released as unresolved cases — incidents the U.S. government has not been able to determine a definitive explanation for. AARO continues separate statutory reporting on resolved cases.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said in his announcement that the files 'have been kept from the American people for too long' and that the administration's goal was 'maximum transparency' regarding the government's knowledge of unexplained aerial phenomena. The administration stated that additional tranches would be published on a rolling basis.

The most narratively striking modern case in Release 01 is the Western US Event — the AARO summary describes seven separate federal employees observing multiple anomalous phenomena over two days in 2023, including orbs launching other orbs, a large stationary glowing orb at close range, and what witnesses described as a 'translucent kite.' AARO calls the case 'among the most compelling within AARO's current holdings.' Other headline cases include an FBI composite sketch and 302 interviews documenting a bronze ellipsoid that materialized and vanished at a U.S. test site (September 2023); DOW-UAP-PR34, a Greek-Aegean sensor video showing multiple sharp 90-degree turns; and the previously unreleased Apollo 17 lunar still showing three dots in a triangular formation.

All files are works of the U.S. Federal Government and are in the public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105. Disclosure Archives mirrors the full catalogue and links to the official Department of War medialink as canonical source for each file.