Summary

On May 22, 2026, the United States Department of War, in coordination with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, released the second tranche of declassified Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) files under the PURSUE initiative, officially designated as PURSUE Release 02. This release comprises 72 newly declassified files, including historical case dossiers, contemporary military sensor videos, cockpit and astronaut audio, enhanced imagery from Department of Energy (DOE) sites, and interagency analytical reports from the CIA and ODNI. Key highlights include the Sandia Base UAP Reports (1948–1950), a CENTCOM video of four UAPs in formation over Iran (2022), sensor footage of a Syrian UAP demonstrating near-instantaneous acceleration (2021), a firsthand narrative from a senior U.S. Intelligence Community official (2025), and rare Apollo 12 mission audio (1969) discussing unexplained phenomena.

 

Detailed Report

1. Scope of PURSUE Release 02

The second PURSUE release, published on May 22, 2026, consists of 72 newly declassified files, as confirmed by the Department of War’s official UAP portal. The tranche includes historical PDF dossiers, high-resolution military sensor videos, cockpit and astronaut audio recordings, enhanced DOE site imagery, and interagency analytical reports from the CIA and ODNI. Compared to the first release (May 8, 2026), this batch features a greater emphasis on technical sensor data, high-resolution imagery, and interagency analytical products, with a notable increase in cases involving nuclear and intelligence community assets. The official designation for this release is “PURSUE Release 02: Declassified UAP Files – May 22, 2026.” To learn more about the first batch see our previous cable here.

 

2. Historical Sandia Base UAP Reports (1948-1950)

2A. Sandia Base Sighting Files 

A central component of the release is the Sandia Base UAP Reports, a historical dossier compiled by the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project (AFSWP). The dossier catalogues approximately 209 sightings of luminous green orbs, disc-shaped craft, and fireballs near Sandia Base, New Mexico—a critical nuclear weapons installation—between 1948 and 1950. Agencies involved in the investigation included the United States Air Force, the AFSWP, the Atomic Energy Commission, and Los Alamos National Laboratory, with Project SIGN and Project GRUDGE contributing field notes and technical analysis. The reports detail frequent sightings by military and technical personnel, often coinciding with weapons tests or heightened security alerts. Laboratory analyses of recovered metallic fragments found anomalous isotopic ratios but were inconclusive regarding origin.

 

2B. Significance of Sandia Base and the Albuquerque Nuclear Complex

Sandia Base and the broader Albuquerque area constituted one of the most strategically sensitive military complexes in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Sandia National Laboratories originated as Z Division of Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1945 and was formally renamed and established as an independent entity in 1948. Its focus was ordnance engineering and nuclear assembly. Kirtland Air Force Base, co-located with Sandia Base, served as a principal hub for nuclear weapons delivery and hosted the Armed Forces Special Weapons Command. The Manzano Mountain weapons storage facility — carved into the granite of the Manzano Mountains on the eastern perimeter of Kirtland AFB — became operational by April 1950. It was among the first purpose-built, hardened nuclear weapons storage sites in the United States. The concentration of nuclear assets, classified research programmes, and restricted airspace at this location required the most stringent security protocols of the era.

 

3. Contemporary Military Cases

3A. Four UAP Formation Over Iran (August 26, 2022): CENTCOM Military Video

A prominent contemporary case in the release is a CENTCOM military video, captured by a U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, showing four luminous objects in a coordinated diamond formation over water near Iranian territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. The objects maintained precise spacing and executed synchronized maneuvers, including coordinated turns and altitude changes, without visible means of propulsion, radar cross-section, heat signatures, or transponder signals. The formation persisted for over 12 minutes before the objects accelerated out of sensor range. The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) assessed the case as unresolved, with no evidence of adversary drone or aircraft activity. Some official documentation notes that the objects became increasingly indistinct due to video quality degradation.

 

3B. Syrian UAP Instant Acceleration (2021): Sensor Footage

Another technically significant case is sensor footage from a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone, equipped with a Multi-Spectral Targeting System-B (MTS-B), operating near the Syrian-Jordanian border in 2021. The video captures a small, spherical object hovering before accelerating nearly instantaneously to the edge of the sensor’s field of view. The object exhibited no thermal or radar signature, and its acceleration profile was described as “instantaneous” by both sensor operators and subsequent AARO analysis. The incident remains unresolved, with the observed motion exceeding the performance envelope of any known military or commercial platform.

 3C. Senior USIC Official Firsthand Account (2025)

In late 2025, a senior U.S.Intelligence Community officer, accompanied by two pilots, undertook a helicopter mission from a Joint Operations Center (JOC) to investigate a series of loud thuds and prior UAP sightings over a western military test range. The team conducted a low-altitude search for debris, coordinating closely with ground teams and the JOC, and utilizing Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR), Night Vision Goggles (NVG), and advanced NVGx systems. After sunset, the JOC redirected the crew to an area with recent radar detections linked to previous UAP activity. Upon arrival, ground teams reported a “super-hot” object on FLIR, low to the ground and moving rapidly before splitting into two and changing direction. The helicopter crew observed the object rise from the ground, approach within approximately ten feet of the aircraft, then drop below and accelerate away, splitting into two as it departed. Hovering at roughly 700 feet above ground level, the crew witnessed countless orange orbs swarming in all directions against the mountainside, a display lasting several minutes. Subsequently, two large oval orbs—orange with white or yellow centers—appeared stationary above the rotor disk, joined sequentially by a third and fourth orb below, forming a vertical “T” formation. These orbs emitted light in all directions, remained stationary for ten to fifteen seconds, then dimmed and vanished in reverse order. As fighter jets transited the airspace at approximately 23,000 feet, similar orbs appeared above them in horizontal formation, flaring sequentially to match the jets’ speed and heading before dimming—a sequence repeated multiple times. Additional orbs formed a distinct triangle near the helicopter before disappearing.

  

5. NASA Apollo 12 Audio (1969): Debriefing and Mission Tapes

The second PURSUE release features previously classified medical debriefing tapes and mission audio from the Apollo 12 lunar mission. Astronauts Pete Conrad, Alan Bean, and Richard Gordon discuss observing anomalous streaks of light, flashes, and unexplained objects during their mission. The tapes include post-mission interviews and in-flight audio, with astronauts describing “bright, linear flashes” and “metallic, tumbling objects” near the spacecraft. NASA’s accompanying technical analysis suggests some phenomena may be attributable to cosmic ray interactions with the retina (phosphenes), but acknowledges that not all observations are fully explained. These tapes were previously held in NASA’s medical archives and are now declassified.

 

6. Additional Materials: DOE Site Imagery and Interagency Reports

The release includes enhanced imagery from DOE sites—specifically Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Hanford Site, and the Nevada National Security Site—captured between 2017 and 2024. The images, originally from security cameras and aerial patrols, depict luminous or metallic objects near restricted airspace. Enhancement techniques applied include AI-based super-resolution upscaling and multi-frame noise reduction. The DOE’s internal review found no evidence of intrusion or sabotage, but the objects’ origin remains undetermined. Interagency reports from the CIA and ODNI are also included: the CIA memorandum covers UAP incidents in the Middle East and Central Asia (2023–2025), noting an increase in multi-object formations and trans-medium events; the ODNI summary assessment (January 2025–March 2026) characterizes UAPs as a “persistent intelligence gap” and calls for expanded data-sharing protocols.

  

Conclusion

The second PURSUE UAP file release marks a significant expansion in the public record of unresolved aerial phenomena, providing detailed historical dossiers, contemporary sensor footage, firsthand intelligence narratives, rare astronaut audio, and interagency analytical reports. The release underscores the government’s stated commitment to transparency, while highlighting the persistent unresolved nature of many UAP incidents. Further releases are anticipated as the declassification process continues.