UFO in September 2023A composite sketch showing an ellipsoidal object emerging from bright light in September 2023.  ©  US Department of Defense

The US Department of War has released the second batch of UFO records under PURSUE. The first batch was released on May 8, 2026, while the second was published on May 22, 2026.

Following strong public interest, President Donald J. Trump announced that the Secretary of War and other government agencies will begin identifying and releasing files connected to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), UFOs, and related topics.

The Department of War, working with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), is leading a government-wide effort to locate, review, declassify, and release unresolved UAP records and historical documents held by federal agencies. Officials describe it as a historic and unprecedented project involving millions of records collected over decades, many of them existing only in paper form.

From UFO Files   ©  US Department of Defense

Because of the enormous scale of the effort, new records will continue to be released in stages every few weeks as they are reviewed and declassified.

The files published so far involve unresolved cases, meaning investigators could not reach a final conclusion about what was observed. In many cases, there was not enough data available to fully explain the events. The Department of War also welcomed outside analysis and expertise from the private sector.

From UFO Files   ©  US Department of Defense

The government says it will continue reporting separately on resolved UAP cases while pursuing greater transparency and sharing findings with the American public.

Why it matters:
This marks one of the largest government transparency efforts ever focused on UAPs and UFOs. The releases could reshape public understanding of unexplained aerial incidents, increase pressure for accountability, and fuel debate over national security, advanced technology, and the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

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