Pete Hegseth
U.S. Secretary of War (29th Secretary of Defense)
Pete Hegseth was confirmed in January 2025 as the 29th Secretary of Defense and became the first U.S. Secretary of War after the September 2025 rebranding of the department. He oversaw the May 8, 2026 PURSUE Release 01 declassification — the largest single public release of UAP-related government records to date — stating that the goal was to provide "maximum transparency" regarding the government's knowledge of unexplained aerial phenomena.
- Document Release
PURSUE Release 02: Department of War declassifies 64 more UAP files
Exactly 14 days after PURSUE Release 01, the U.S. Department of War publishes a second tranche of declassified UAP records through war.gov/UFO: 51 sensor videos (the DOW-UAP-PR050–PR099 series), 7 NASA crew audio files, and 6 documents. The centerpiece is a first-person USPER narrative from a currently-serving senior U.S. intelligence officer describing a one-hour, multi-witness UAP encounter from a U.S. military helicopter in late 2025.
- Document Release
Pentagon's PURSUE Initiative Prepares "Release 02" of Up to 46 AARO UAP Videos
A new tranche of up to 46 UAP videos held by the Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) is expected to be released imminently under the Department of War's Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE) initiative. The release follows a March 31, 2026, letter from Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth formally requesting the footage, which was originally due no later than April 14, 2026. On May 15, 2026, Luna confirmed she and Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) had completed a review of the videos alongside AARO director Jon Kosloski. The forthcoming batch — anticipated to be designated "Release 02" — includes footage of spherical objects, cigar-shaped UAP, fast-moving objects, and at least two videos depicting what the military characterizes as "transmedium" or unidentified submerged objects (USOs). The collection also appears to include additional footage related to the January 26, 2023, Eglin Air Force Base diamond-formation incident and the February 12, 2023, Lake Huron shootdown event. The article, published by The Debrief on May 21, 2026, represents the most detailed public accounting of the expected contents of the release prior to its official publication.
- Document Release
PURSUE Release 01: Department of War declassifies 160 UAP files
The Trump administration launches PURSUE — the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters — and the Department of War publishes 160 declassified UAP-related files in the first tranche: 117 PDFs, 29 sensor videos, and 14 photographs spanning 1944 to 2026. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth says the goal is 'maximum transparency.'