Pentagon Releases Third Batch of Files in Historic PURSUE UAP Declassification
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On June 12, 2026, the Pentagon, operating under the secondary title of the Department of War, officially released its third batch of secret records under the historic PURSUE UAP declassification program in Washington, D.C.. This massive transparency initiative, launched by the Trump administration on May 8, 2026, aims to provide public clarity on unexplained aerial sightings dating back to the 1940s. By publishing these documents on the official WAR.GOV/UFO portal, federal agencies seek to dismantle decades of security barriers while maintaining defense integrity. The latest release of 72 files offers unprecedented visual and textual evidence of unresolved encounters.
The June 12, 2026, disclosure marks the third major release under the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE) program, adding 72 files for a cumulative total of nearly 300 records.
Newly unsealed documents describe distinct shapes, including an opalescent, “potato-shaped” craft with articulating, fish-like scales seen over Cheyenne Mountain in 2022.
A declassified 2008 CIA report details a hollow-centered, disc-shaped craft projecting light beams above Harare International Airport in Zimbabwe.
The official repository, WAR.GOV/UFO, has generated immense global interest, surpassing 1.7 billion views within its first month of operation.
While visual and sensory evidence of these unidentified anomalous phenomena continues to grow, federal investigators maintain there is no conclusive proof of extraterrestrial life or active government cover-ups.
What Happened
The Department of War published 72 declassified files on June 12, 2026, expanding the public database established under the executive PURSUE program. This release includes 53 documents, 10 high-resolution images, six videos, and three audio recordings sourced from the CIA, FBI, NASA, and defense intelligence partners.
The files span several decades of reported encounters, incorporating firsthand testimonies from military pilots, federal agents, and civilian observers. While the materials provide detailed accounts of extreme kinematics and unusual physical structures, defense officials emphasize that they do not confirm the existence of non-human intelligence.
Timeline of Events
February 20, 2026: President Donald Trump signs an executive directive mandating federal agencies to identify, review, and systematically declassify all files related to UAPs and anomalous phenomena.
May 8, 2026: The Department of War officially launches the PURSUE program and the public-facing WAR.GOV/UFO portal, unsealing an initial tranche of more than 160 files.
May 22, 2026: Federal agencies publish the second tranche of records, adding dozens of military records and sensor recordings to the secure portal.
June 12, 2026: The Pentagon releases its third batch of declassified files under the PURSUE UAP declassification program, expanding public records to nearly 300 documents.
Official Statements
Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell released an official statement highlighting the progress of the PURSUE initiative :
”Today, the Department of War is publishing the third release of declassified and historical Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) files as part of the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE). The collection continues to be housed on WAR.GOV/UFO, and the Department will release additional files on a rolling basis. As the unprecedented levels of interest in both this topic and the Trump administration’s historic transparency effort continue, WAR.GOV/UFO has received over 1.7 billion hits worldwide since the site’s launch on May 8, 2026.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also reiterated that the administration’s goal is to maintain “maximum transparency” regarding federal knowledge of unexplained phenomena. Hegseth stated that the transition back to the Department of War name reflects a broader cultural shift focused on absolute military readiness and strategic openness.
Strategic Impact of the PURSUE UAP Declassification
The systematic release of these documents has reshaped public policy and altered how military intelligence addresses airspace security. Rather than treating anomalies as fringe events, the centralized repository consolidates interagency data to streamline defense planning.
Disclosure Summary Category
Program Data
Primary Initiative Name
Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE)
Official Public Portal
WAR.GOV/UFO
Cumulative Released Files
Nearly 300 Records
Latest Tranche Date
June 12, 2026
Total Digital Portal Traffic
Over 1.7 Billion Hits
Immediate Impact and Case Analysis
The newly unsealed files provide highly detailed accounts of civilian and military encounters that had previously remained restricted. Investigators from the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) continue to analyze these incidents, categorizing the vast majority of them as unresolved.
The Fort Carson Cheyenne Mountain Encounter
On a cold February morning in 2022, five U.S. Army personnel at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs stepped out of an office building and observed an object hovering west over Cheyenne Mountain. FBI records state the witnesses described an opalescent, whitish, “potato-shaped” craft with distinct, solid edges. The exterior of the object appeared to consist of “articulating fish scales or panels” that were non-overlapping, asymmetrical, and irregularly shaped.
The craft remained entirely motionless and shimmering in the clear sky for two minutes before disappearing “in the blink of an eye”. Because the soldiers did not have their mobile devices with them, no photographic or video evidence was recorded. A declassified intelligence report assigned a “low confidence” explanation of sunlight backscattering off mountain snow, which the soldiers flatly rejected, maintaining that the sky was cloudless.
The Federal Law Enforcement Ridge Sightings
In October 2023, six federal law enforcement agents reported seeing a bright orange orb appear multiple times over a local mountain ridgeline. According to their declassified accounts, the primary orange orb periodically spawned two to four smaller red orbs. While these smaller objects typically vanished quickly, the main orb once hovered motionless in place for several hours.
Aaro’s subsequent analysis noted that military aircraft were conducting training exercises and deploying flares in the area at the time. While AARO listed these flare deployments as “plausible” explanations, they did not rule out the presence of “unrecognized technology” and called for continued tracking.
The Northeastern Orb and Backyard Plasma Phenomena
The third release details a civilian sighting from February 2025 in the northeastern United States. An individual returned home to discover an intense, glowing red sphere hovering silently beneath the backyard trees. The witness reported that the center of the sphere contained a rotating “white plasma sun” roughly the size of a basketball. A second sphere emerged shortly afterward, and both objects silently accelerated out of the area.
A separate but morphologically similar report from October 2024 describes a “plasma-like sphere” hovering over a local pond for approximately 45 minutes at an estimated distance of 2,700 feet. Cellphone footage of a related July 2025 encounter shows two bright red lights moving smoothly in tandem, as if tethered together. This video, titled “Northeastern Orb Sighting,” was officially boosted on social media by the White House to demonstrate its commitment to the disclosure process.
The Harare International Airport CIA Report
A previously restricted July 2008 CIA report details an extraordinary sighting above Harare International Airport in Zimbabwe. Observers on the ground and airport personnel witnessed a disc-shaped craft with a completely hollow center and a series of rotating lights on its underside. At one point, the craft projected distinct, solid “beams” of light downward before its lights changed colors and the vehicle executed a rapid vertical ascent.
The unsealed CIA document shows that the intelligence community actively debated the source of the craft. Analysts remained divided on whether the vehicle represented an advanced foreign military reconnaissance platform or was of anomalous origin.
Highlighted UAP Case Name
Sighting Location
Description & Reported Kinematics
Declassification Date
Cheyenne Mountain “Potato”
Colorado Springs, CO
Opalescent white, bean-shaped, scaly panels; static hovering with instant acceleration
June 12, 2026
Ridge Sightings
Undisclosed Ridgeline
Bright orange orb spawning smaller red orbs; stationary for several hours
June 12, 2026
Northeastern Orb Sighting
Northeastern United States
Red sphere containing a basketball-sized “white plasma sun”; tandem flight
June 12, 2026
Harare Airport Disc
Harare, Zimbabwe
Disc-shaped with hollow center and rotating lights; projected beams; rapid ascent
June 12, 2026
Tactical Analysis of the Disclosure Strategy
To understand how the federal government is managing the public release of these records, we must analyze the structural mechanics of the disclosure framework. The administration’s approach functions like a highly coordinated team defense, systematically filtering information to protect national security.
Team Shape: Interagency Coalition Structure
The PURSUE initiative is structured as a centralized clearinghouse that legally compels cooperation across previously stovepiped agencies. By coordinating defense, intelligence, domestic law enforcement, and scientific organizations, the program eliminates the data fragmentation that historically hindered UAP analysis. This integrated shape ensures that all incoming sensor telemetry is standardized and cataloged under a single operational umbrella.
Formation: The Quadrumvirate of Disclosure
The operational layout of the program relies on four primary pillars that balance public transparency with active defense requirements :
The Department of War: Manages the physical unsealing of military sensor recordings and prioritizes the public’s right to know.
The ODNI: Oversees the declassification review board to ensure active collection methodologies remain fully protected.
The FBI: Unlocks domestic surveillance reports, agent interviews, and historical witness files dating back to the late 1940s.
NASA: Provides rigorous scientific analysis and validation to remove historical stigma and analyze physical kinematics.
Agency / Organization Name
Coalition Team Role
Primary Contribution to PURSUE
Department of War
Lead Disclosure Partner
Releases military sensor data and oversees public portal operations
ODNI
Intelligence Oversight
Coordinates declassification reviews while safeguarding active sources
FBI
Domestic Registry
Discloses domestic surveillance, civilian interviews, and historical files
NASA
Scientific Validation
Applies empirical methods to validate flight characteristics and telemetry
Pressing Structure: Rebranding and Defensive Posture
The current disclosure push represents a complete reversal of the historical defensive posture recommended by the 1953 Robertson Panel. The panel argued that the primary threat of UAPs lay in the “morbid national psychology” they created, which foreign adversaries could exploit to clog military communications with “noise”. Consequently, they established a strict “debunking” policy to strip the subject of its mystery.
In contrast, the Department of War’s new posture uses maximum transparency to proactively flood the informational zone. By normalizing UAP reporting and making raw data accessible, the military neutralizes wild speculation while encouraging pilots to report encounters without career fear.
Possession Approach: Rolling Releases vs. Data Dumps
Rather than issuing a single, massive data dump that would overwhelm analysts and fuel panic, the Department of War is utilizing a rolling release methodology. This systematic approach allows the public, media, and scientific community to digest, verify, and debate smaller tranches of files. This incremental delivery maintains a steady, controlled public interest while allowing interagency partners to prepare subsequent releases.
Individual Player Roles: Key Officials
President Donald Trump: Directed federal agencies to bypass standard bureaucratic bottlenecks and identify UAP records for immediate public release.
Secretary Pete Hegseth: Coordinates interagency compliance, manages Department of War reforms, and champions the removal of classification barriers.
Sean Parnell: Serves as the primary public spokesman, managing the official communications pipeline and updating the public on rolling releases.
Context and Impact Analysis
The PURSUE declassification initiative carries profound implications for both national security and scientific research. In the short term, the release of nearly 300 records has succeeded in shifting UAP discourse from speculative conspiracy into structured scientific inquiry. By hosting raw sensor data on a public platform, the program has democratized the study of these anomalies, allowing academic institutions to analyze physical kinematics without relying on leaked documents
What Comes Next
The Department of War and its intelligence partners are actively preparing the fourth tranche of declassified UAP records under the PURSUE initiative, which will be published on WAR.GOV/UFO on a rolling basis. Meanwhile, congress is expected to formally vote on adopting the “Department of War” as the primary statutory name for the Pentagon as part of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act. This transition will trigger a massive, multi-billion-dollar administrative rebranding effort across more than 4,800 global military facilities.
Conclusion
The June 12, 2026, release of the third tranche of PURSUE documents marks another major step in the federal government’s historic UAP disclosure campaign. While the 72 newly unsealed files—including the Cheyenne Mountain potato-shaped craft and the Harare Airport disc—do not confirm the existence of extraterrestrial life, they reveal that highly structured, unidentified objects continue to challenge conventional physics and airspace security. By executing this rolling release strategy, the Department of War is successfully balancing public transparency with national security, ensuring that the study of these anomalies remains grounded in verified data.
FAQ Section
What is the PURSUE program?
The Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE) is an executive transparency program established in February 2026. The initiative directs federal intelligence and defense agencies to review, identify, and systematically declassify historical and active files regarding unidentified anomalous phenomena.
When was the third batch of declassified UFO files released?
The third batch of declassified files was officially published on June 12, 2026, by the Pentagon. This release added 72 new records to the public database, following two initial tranches released in May 2026.
What is the official website for viewing declassified UAP documents?
All declassified documents, images, audio files, and videos under the program are hosted on the dedicated, public-access government portal, WAR.GOV/UFO. The site has generated immense global interest, surpassing 1.7 billion hits since launching.
Was there any proof of extraterrestrial life found in the June 2026 release?
No, federal investigators and the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) confirm that the latest files contain no conclusive evidence of extraterrestrial life or active government cover-ups. Most cases simply remain categorized as unresolved.
What did observers see over Cheyenne Mountain in February 2022?
Five U.S. Army personnel witnessed an opalescent, bean-shaped craft with non-overlapping, articulating fish-scale panels hovering over Cheyenne Mountain. The object remained completely stationary for two minutes before vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Why is the Pentagon being referred to as the Department of War?
In September 2025, President Trump signed an executive order establishing “Department of War” as the official secondary title for the Department of Defense. The change is intended to project national strength and military readiness.
