After US President Trump announced on Truth Social in February 2026 that he would promote the complete declassification of UAP (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon) files, the Department of War (Department of War) officially launched a code-named project on May 8. PURSUE（Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters） inter-agency declassification project and released the first large amount of images and documents, kicking off the largest UAP transparency operation in the history of the U.S. government.
What is PURSUE? Cross-agency joint decryption mechanism
PURSUE is a joint declassification operation led by the Department of War and spanning the White House, Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Department of Energy (DOE), AARO, NASA, FBI and multiple intelligence agencies. All information is published on a dedicated website WAR.GOV/UFO, and will continue to be made public in a rolling manner “one batch every few weeks”.
It is worth noting that this decryption operation was not a temporary initiative. As early as April 14, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy had quietly uploaded a batch of documents to the government website, until researchers and reporters discovered it on their own hours later. Trump has repeatedly announced the declassification schedule in public. In April, he even told supporters that “the first batch of disclosures will be coming soon.”
What were the first releases? Secret records spanning nearly 80 years
According to announcements from the War Department and multiple media reports, the first batch of disclosed information covers a wide range of time spans from the 1940s to the present:
Military sensor video
The Pentagon simultaneously released more than 20 UAP videos captured by military sensors, covering the waters of Syria, Japan, North America and the Middle East. These include an American football-shaped object captured over the East China Sea in 2022, and two circular points of light captured over North America on January 1, 2026. Some videos show white objects flying across the screen at high speeds, while others are moving slowly in the air and are continuously tracked by military cameras.
State Department Confidential Cable
A 1994 cable records a remarkable incident: a plane flying over Kazakhstan witnessed a luminous object moving at high speed and making multiple 90-degree turns and spirals. The document states that a Tajik pilot and three Americans each saw the object with their own eyes.
military combat report
Reports over the Aegean Sea in 2023 described a UAP flying at low altitude over the sea at about 129 kilometers per hour, making multiple 90-degree turns. Another report from Syria in 2023 described a “bouncy ball-shaped” object that continued to fly at a speed of about 777 kilometers per hour for at least 7 minutes and was eventually determined to be harmless.
FBI interview transcript
A drone operator said in September 2023 that he saw a linear object in the sky. The light was strong enough to see a “light stripe texture.” The object suddenly disappeared after 5 to 10 seconds.
Apollo 11 Mission Verbatim Transcript
In a briefing recorded after the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, astronaut Buzz Aldrin mentioned seeing a “fairly large object” and a “fairly bright light source” near the moon, which the crew briefly thought might have been a laser.
1940s Historical Archives
A 1948 U.S. military report in the Netherlands stated that there had been many sightings of “flying saucers” there, and the Swedish side even believed at the time that those objects did not come from “currently known civilizations on Earth.” The public information also includes a photo of a “flying saucer specimen” purportedly taken by Washington.
Intelligence officer interviews
A U.S. intelligence official revealed in an interview that when he was on a helicopter search mission last year, he saw an “extremely hot” light ball hovering above the ground and then flying at a high speed of about 32 kilometers. He later discovered 4 to 5 other similar light balls that flickered in and out of brightness.
From Trump to agency heads: Support transparency
Trump on Truth Socialexpress, successive governments in the past have never been transparent on UAP issues, and now the people can “judge what is going on” for themselves.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth emphasized: “These files have been kept secret for many years and have already given rise to reasonable speculation – now it is time for the American people to see them with their own eyes.” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said today’s release is “just the beginning” and will continue to work together with the intelligence community to declassify. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said: “Exploration and the pursuit of knowledge are NASA’s core missions, and we will continue to unlock the mysteries of the universe.” FBI Director Kash Patel also expressed support, calling this “unprecedented transparency.”
In Congress, Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna sent a letter to the Department of Defense in March this year requesting the release of 46 UAP videos. She said the Pentagon would release more clips later. Rep. Tim Burchett, Republican of Tennessee, thanked Trump for “fulfilling his promise” but admitted that the entire disclosure process will take time.
Doubts and reservations: Experts urge caution
However, not everyone is excited about the declassified files. Physicist Sean Kirkpatrick, a former director of AARO, said he has reviewed government records and found nothing significant, and that some of the footage may simply be diffraction patterns formed in the footage by heat sources from military aircraft engines. He bluntly said that releasing information without complete analysis will only further stimulate conspiracy theories and pseudo-scientific speculation. The Pentagon’s 2024 report also clearly stated that the U.S. government does not possess alien technology and has not confirmed the existence of alien life.
Legal scholars also pointed out that the declassification regulations include provisions that allow administrative departments to refuse to disclose certain information on national security grounds, which means that the content released in the future may have been screened.
Next Step: Rolling Declassification and Congressional Legislative Advancement
The War Department stated that it will continue to release new information in batches every few weeks in the future. At the same time, UAP transparency advocates in Congress are actively pushing for legislation such as the UAP Disclosure Act and the UAP Whistleblower Protection Act, which would require a mandatory comprehensive review of all confidential UAP records to ensure that this wave of transparency will not end with a change of regime.
For those who have long been concerned about UAP issues, the launch of PURSUE is undoubtedly a historic milestone. But as experts from all walks of life have said – the real test is not what is announced, but whether the information can withstand scientific testing.
Source (with more pictures and videos)
Source: KOCPC Chinese