PURSUE / AARO · Release 01
PURSUE · First release
22 cases use documents from this release. The foundational historic drop from the Department of War: FBI and early-USAF files.
On 11 May 2026, three days after the first release, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary, Minoru Kihara, addressed it at his regular news conference. The release included two videos recorded near Japan. Kihara said the government is constantly gathering and analyzing information with great interest on incidents related to national security, including UAP, in close coordination with the United States and other countries. Asked whether Japan would disclose similar files, he said decisions would be made case by case, weighing among other factors the risk of exposing its intelligence-gathering capabilities. The Japan Times ↗
22 cases · Tier S 4 · A 10 · B 8
'U/I Small Thermal Signature': the label the original reporter wrote onto the video· 2020
In 2020, U.S. Central Command submitted to AARO a report with one minute and three…
The object wasn't growing: the platform was closing in· 2020
In 2020, the U.S. Department of the Air Force submitted a report to AARO (DOW-UAP-PR45,…
Three objects holding a fixed position and orientation relative to each other for two minutes· 2023
In 2023, an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform in the INDOPACOM area…
An oval body with three radial projections, seen for 9 seconds· 2024
In 2024, an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform within Indo-Pacific Command's…
An eight-pointed star with unequal-length arms· 2013
In 2013, an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform within U.S. Central Command's…
The hot object that crossed the crosshairs between release and impact· 2024
On September 20, 2024, during a weapons calibration over Ayn al-Asad Airbase (Iraq), a…
Two circular objects skimming the sea, two days apart· 2023
On October 27 and 29, 2023, two separate missions flown out of Larissa Air Base each…
The diamond with a probe that existed only in short-wave infrared· 2024
On January 25, 2024, on an ISR mission out of Larissa Air Base, the crew of a U.S.…
Detroit · circular object with a 'crystal-type dome' (FBI memo, 1958)· 1958
An FBI memorandum dated April 17, 1958 (field-office file 100-DE-18221, Serial 844),…
FBI UAP still images · A series (linked by the official index to a Western U.S. test range, 2025)· 2025
The 'A series' is eight still images (A1–A8) from a reticle-equipped sensor that the FBI…
Apollo 11 · Technical Crew Debriefing observations (NASA, PURSUE)· 1969
Apollo 11's Technical Crew Debriefing (Jul 31, 1969), declassified in the first PURSUE…
Trans-Caucasus 1955: the 'three highly reliable observers' were Senator Russell and his party· 1955
Report IR 193-55 (PURSUE Release 01), signed on October 14, 1955 by U.S. air attaché Lt.…
Papua New Guinea · high-altitude aircraft and contrails (DoS cable, 1985)· 1985
DOS-UAP-D1 (first PURSUE release) is a cable dated January 28, 1985 from the U.S. Embassy…
Skylab · light flashes and reddish object (NASA, PURSUE)· 1973–74
Document NASA-UAP-D7, declassified in the first PURSUE release, gathers excerpts from the…
Apollo 17 · VM6 triangular formation (PURSUE)· 1972
The Apollo 17 VM6 plate (December 1972) shows, when the lower-right quadrant of the lunar…
Gemini 7 · Borman & Lovell· 1965
In December 1965, during the Gemini 7 mission, astronaut Frank Borman reported an…
Mother Orb · Western U.S.· 2023
Over two days in October 2023, six federal agents (three two-person teams) observed near…
Foo Fighters· 1944–45
Between late 1944 and 1945, Allied pilots (chiefly of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron…
Tajik Air · UFO over Kazakhstan (PURSUE)· 1994
On January 27, 1994, Tajik Air's chief pilot, the American Ed Rhodes, and two American…
Apollo 12 · 'streaks of light' (NASA)· 1969
Audio from the Apollo 12 post-mission medical debrief (1969), declassified in the second…
LiDAR Test Site — Ovaloid Object (PURSUE, 2023)· 2023
September 2023, a U.S. military test site with airspace closed for LiDAR trials: a…
Washington Flap· 1952
On the weekends of 19 and 26 July 1952, radar controllers at Washington National Airport…