2026 UAP records release
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 📄 Document
Contents 4
| Type | Document |
|---|---|
| Also known as | United States UFO files, PURSUE, war.gov/ufo |
The 2026 UAP records release, also called the United States UFO files, is the ongoing publication of U.S. government records on UFOs and unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) that began in May 2026, after President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to identify and release them. The files are published on a Department of War website under a program called the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE).[1][2]
Directive

On 19 February 2026 Trump said in a social media post that, citing public interest, he would direct Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other departments and agencies to begin identifying and releasing government files on UFOs, UAP and alien life. A Pentagon spokesman said the department would work with other agencies to carry out the directive. The move followed pressure from members of Congress including Anna Paulina Luna and Tim Burchett.[1][2]
Releases

- 8 May 2026: about 160 files, including reports, memos, photographs, videos and transcripts from Apollo missions, covering the 1940s to the present.[1][4]
- 22 May 2026: 222 further documents plus audio recordings and videos. They included a 116-page set of reports from 1948–50 on sightings of "green orbs", discs and fireballs around a secret facility at Sandia, New Mexico, and Apollo-era material such as astronaut Alan Bean's report of flashes of light.[3]
- 12 June 2026: documents, images, videos and audio from the CIA, FBI, NASA and the Pentagon, including a report by AARO director Jon Kosloski.[1]
- 10 July 2026: 40 files, mostly from NASA, the Pentagon, the CIA, the FBI and the Department of Energy.[1]
- August 2026: 41 files from the Pentagon, FBI, CIA, State Department and Executive Office of the President, dated 1950–2026.[1]
- 18 September 2026: included the July 1952 Tremonton, Utah film, which the 1953 Robertson Panel judged probably showed birds.[1]
- 23 October 2026: 28 documents, including Walter Haut's 2002 account of the 1947 Roswell incident.[1]
Reactions

The Pentagon and Trump said the files did not confirm extraterrestrial life and that the public could draw its own conclusions. Skeptics and scientists, including former AARO director Sean Kirkpatrick, analyst Mick West, writer Jason Colavito and astronomer Seth Shostak, said the releases contained nothing unexpected or compelling, and that much of the material had been public for years. Burchett predicted that later releases would be bigger. Luna demanded UFO videos from Hegseth by a deadline, which passed without the videos being produced, according to the Associated Press.[1]
References
- United States UFO files — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- "Trump orders release of government files on UFOs and UAP", DefenseScoop (20 Feb 2026) · defensescoop.com · archived copy
- "Trump releases second tranche of UFO files", LBC (22 May 2026) · lbc.co.uk · archived copy
- "Trump administration releases first batch of formerly classified UFO files", The Washington Times (8 May 2026) · washingtontimes.com · archived copy
This page was last edited on 31 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
No discussion yet.