Developing Series
The Pentagon UFO Files
What we know so far
Here’s what has been reported so far:
- Sixth release, Sept. 18, 2026. The Pentagon published its sixth batch of UFO files under PURSUE, the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters. CBS News counts 71 files dated 1952 to 2025; some outlets count 72.
- Reference documents. The largest block comes from the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program: 37 Defense Intelligence Reference Documents that CBS notes have been public for years. The new versions restore some previously withheld details.
- A 2010 injury study. One of those documents describes three antenna engineers who fell ill after what it calls an “anomalous aerospace-related event.”
- An NDA waiver. On Sept. 14, the Pentagon announced a waiver allowing people bound by nondisclosure agreements to share UAP information with PURSUE representatives without breach-of-agreement penalties, DefenseScoop reported.
- Records withheld, Sept. 30, 2026. AARO told The Black Vault it had found written records behind encounters named by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s task force, and withheld all of them as classified (FOIA case 26-F-1892).
- Six dots, Oct. 8, 2026. Six members of the UAP Science Advisory Council proposed in a preprint that the “six small spherical objects” in Release 6 video DOW-UAP-PR135 were a flock of birds.
- More to come. The Pentagon’s chief spokesman said the department “will release additional files on a rolling basis.”
Timeline
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Latest
The Pentagon's '480 mph' Six-Dot Video Was Probably Birds, UAP Science Panel Members Say. One Number Still Doesn't Fit
Six members of the UAP Science Advisory Council, including Avi Loeb and Michael Shermer, say the six 'small spherical objects' in Pentagon video DOW-UAP-PR135 flicker at bird wingbeat rates, and that parallax explains the 480 mph. Their preprint, posted Oct. 8, 2026, names the crew's reported altitude as 'the greatest challenge' to their reading.
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AARO Found the UAP Records Congress Asked About. Then It Withheld Every Page
In a FOIA letter dated Sept. 30, 2026, the Pentagon said its UFO office had located written records on encounters named by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna's task force, and was withholding all of them as classified, partly under a statute covering 'sensitive information of foreign governments.' The Black Vault made the letter public Oct. 5.
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Pentagon's Sixth UFO File Release Includes a 2010 Study of Injuries Linked to an 'Anomalous Aerospace' Event
The Sept. 18 release features a 38-page study of three engineers who fell ill after what it calls an anomalous aerospace-related event. It came four days after the Pentagon issued a waiver letting people bound by NDAs share UAP information with its PURSUE team.