From Roswell to PURSUE
A chronology of verified institutional events — from the first government denials to the current rolling declassification.
Importance
Category
29 events — most recent first
PURSUE Tranche 3 — 53 files, 6 videos, NASA audio released
Pentagon releases third batch of declassified UAP files at war.gov/ufo: 53 documents, 10 images, 6 videos, and 3 NASA mission audio recordings from CIA, FBI, NASA, and DoD. Key document: AARO director Kosloski report on October 2023 incident over a sensitive national security site — federal agents observed an orange "mother" orb launching smaller red orbs, approximately 40% of phenomena remaining unexplained. Site has received over 1.7 billion visits since launch May 8, 2026. Rolling releases confirmed to continue.
SourceWhite House & AARO mandate UAP Science Advisory Council — Avi Loeb appointed chair
Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb announces he has been asked by the White House, AARO, ODNI, FBI, and other intelligence agencies to assemble and lead a UAP Science Advisory Council. Five founding researchers specializing in AI data analysis, instrumentation, numerical analysis, astrophysics, and human psychology. Mandate: rigorous scientific methods focused on collecting and analyzing higher-quality UAP data. First time a standing scientific council has been formally mandated by multiple government agencies simultaneously to advise on UAP. Loeb: "Identifying the unidentified deserves a high priority within the U.S. government and the scientific community."
SourceRep. Burlison confirms UAPDA push — "It will probably happen in the Rules process"
Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO, Congressional UAP Caucus) tells journalist Matt Laslo that the UAP Disclosure Act is "absolutely" still needed despite PURSUE releases. "We are working on it right now, trying to get that on the NDAA." Burlison signals the strategy: insertion via the House Rules Committee process rather than Armed Services Committee markup, which blocked it three consecutive years. Interviewed immediately after the bipartisan UAP Caucus Capitol press conference where Grusch cited the 1971 Australian NAA document.
SourceGrusch Capitol Press Conference — NAA Australian document cited
David Grusch, members of the UAP Caucus, and other senior figures hold a press conference near the U.S. Capitol. Grusch specifically references the 1971 Australian National Archives intelligence report (NAA A13693) as primary source validation of the institutional cover-up mechanism he described in his 2023 congressional testimony. The document had been publicly accessible but largely unknown outside specialist research communities.
UAP Caucus Capitol Press Conference, June 2026Pentagon PURSUE: 222 classified files released
Department of War launches PURSUE at war.gov/ufo — rolling declassification program. 222 files released across two tranches from FBI, DoD, NASA, and State Department. Defense Secretary Hegseth confirms AARO caseload exceeds 2,000 reports dating to 1945. Japan analyzes Pentagon files near Japan "with great interest."
SourcePresidential Executive Order: release all UAP files
President Trump directs DoD and all federal agencies to identify and release government files related to UAP, alien, and extraterrestrial life. First presidential directive of its kind. Bank of England analyst Helen McCaw urges central bank preparedness. UFOD ETF launches on CBOE.
"The Age of Disclosure" — 34 senior officials on record
Documentary by Dan Farah released on Amazon Prime Video after debuting at SXSW. Features 34 senior U.S. government, military, and intelligence officials. Secretary of State Marco Rubio: "We've had repeated instances of something operating over restricted nuclear facilities — and it's not ours." Former UAP Task Force Director Jay Stratton: "I have seen, with my own eyes, non-human craft and non-human beings."
SourceSecond House Oversight UAP hearing — "Exposing the Truth"
The House Oversight Committee holds a follow-up hearing titled "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth." Former national security and space officials testify about extreme institutional over-classification and a systemic lack of transparency. Key testimony from Luis Elizondo (former AATIP director), Michael Shellenberger (journalist), and others. Elizondo testifies under oath about the existence of non-human intelligence programs and retaliation against whistleblowers. The hearing produces significant bipartisan pressure for the UAPDA to be included in the FY2025 NDAA — which is subsequently blocked again by the Rules Committee.
U.S. House Oversight Committee, November 13 2024Japan: 80+ Diet members form bipartisan UAP caucus
Non-partisan group chaired by former Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada forms Japan's first cross-party UAP caucus. Has hosted briefings with U.S. AARO officials and Navy pilots. Formally proposes a dedicated Cabinet Office UAP body in March 2026.
AARO Historical Report Vol. I published
AARO publishes its Volume I report on historical UAP programs. It contests Grusch's allegations, finding no evidence of an extraterrestrial craft recovery program. Critics note significant limitations in archive access. AARO caseload reaches 1,600+ reports.
SourceNASA UAP Report published
NASA publishes its final independent study report: UAP are a legitimate national security and scientific problem. The agency recommends removing stigma, improving data collection, and integrating civilian data with government analysis.
SourceGrusch sworn congressional testimony — crash retrieval programs confirmed
Under oath before the House Oversight Committee, former intelligence officer David Grusch states the U.S. operates secret programs for recovery and analysis of non-human craft and biological materials. First such statement under oath in American congressional history. Protected under whistleblower statutes.
UAP Disclosure Act introduced in Senate
Senators Schumer and Rounds propose a bipartisan amendment requiring declassification of all UAP documents within 25 years. The amendment is incorporated into NDAA 2024 but with expanded executive veto powers. The act is subsequently blocked from NDAA FY2025 and FY2026 by DoD opposition.
NASA launches independent UAP study
NASA announces the formation of an independent UAP study group chaired by astrophysicist David Spergel. The first time the space agency has officially engaged with UAP study. A permanent NASA UAP coordinator (Mark McInerney) is named in September 2023.
AARO Created — First permanent Pentagon UAP office
The Pentagon establishes the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), the first official permanent agency dedicated to UAP. Mandated by Congress in NDAA 2022 to synchronize data collection across all military branches and intelligence agencies.
SourceFirst public congressional UAP hearing in 50 years — House Intelligence Subcommittee
The House Intelligence Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation Subcommittee holds the first open congressional hearing on UAP in over 50 years. Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence Scott Bray and Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Ronald Moultrie testify that UAPs represent a concrete flight safety and national security concern. Bray presents new UAP footage including the "pyramid" video over the USS Russell. 400+ UAP reports now in the UAPTF/AARO database. First time the Pentagon publicly acknowledges the national security dimension in an open hearing since the 1960s.
U.S. House Intelligence Subcommittee, May 17 2022DNI Report to Congress — 144 cases, 143 unexplained
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence publishes a 9-page report on 144 UAP incidents. 143 remain unexplained. The report acknowledges 5 observation categories and requests additional resources for analysis. Canada launches its own multi-agency UAP investigation.
DNI UAPTF Report 2021Harvard's Avi Loeb publishes "Extraterrestrial"
Harvard professor Avi Loeb publishes a book defending the hypothesis of an artificial origin for 'Oumuamua, the first interstellar object detected passing through our solar system. The work provokes major academic debate and legitimizes scientific UAP research.
UAP Task Force (UAPTF) officially established — Deputy SecDef Norquist
Deputy Secretary of Defense David L. Norquist formally approves the establishment of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF) on August 4, 2020. Led by the Department of the Navy under the Office of Naval Intelligence, at the behest of Senate Intelligence Committee Acting Chair Marco Rubio. Mission: detect, analyze, and catalog UAPs potentially posing a national security threat. The UAPTF is the direct institutional successor to AATIP — Lou Elizondo, former AATIP director, called it "precisely the intended result of what we were trying to achieve." The UAPTF produces the landmark 2021 DNI Preliminary Assessment and is superseded by AARO in July 2022.
DoD / U.S. Navy Press Release, August 4 2020Pentagon officially confirms Navy UAP videos
The Pentagon declassifies FLIR1, Gimbal, and GoFast videos, confirming their authenticity "to clear up any misconception on whether the footage was real." Objects remain officially unidentified. Japan formalizes UAP reporting protocols for its Self-Defense Forces the same year.
New York Times reveals AATIP — Soft disclosure begins
Landmark investigation by journalists Helene Cooper, Ralph Blumenthal, and Leslie Kean. The first declassified UAP video (FLIR1/Tic-Tac) is published. The subject moves from taboo to institutional debate. The beginning of the current disclosure process.
SourceAATIP Created — $22M Secret Pentagon UAP Program
Senator Harry Reid secures $22 million to fund the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), a secret DIA program directed by Luis Elizondo. Its existence is not revealed until the 2017 New York Times investigation.
USS Nimitz Incident — The Tic-Tac
Commander David Fravor and other Navy pilots observe a wingless, Tic-Tac shaped object with no thermal signature during a training exercise off the California coast. Fravor: "I have never seen anything in my life, in the air, that could do what that thing did." The FLIR video is declassified in 2020.
France creates GEIPAN — the world's first official UAP program
France establishes GEPAN within CNES (now GEIPAN), the world's longest-running official government UAP investigation program. Still active in 2026 with over 3,200 archived cases and 3% remaining unexplained after full investigation.
SourceAustralian National Archives — Intelligence Report on UAP Cover-Up
A declassified 58-page Australian intelligence report (NAA A13693, 3092/2/000) concludes that the CIA used Project Blue Book as a public debunking facade while intensifying classified collection. Documents that anti-gravity research was funded by 46 U.S. government programs by 1966. Statistical analysis shows that the most reliable witnesses (pilots, scientists, radar operators) produced the highest percentage of unexplained cases — the inverse of official USAF claims. States explicitly that "by erecting a facade of ridicule, the U.S. hoped to allay public alarm." Referenced by David Grusch at the June 2026 Capitol press conference as primary source validation of the institutional cover-up mechanism.
SourceThe Condon Report (University of Colorado)
Funded by the USAF, this 1,000-page report concludes that UAP study has no scientific value and leads to the closure of Project Blue Book. Widely criticized for methodological bias and predetermined conclusions.
UAP Flyover — Washington D.C.
Multiple UAP detected on radars at Washington National Airport and Andrews Air Force Base. Fighter jets scrambled. General Samford holds a historic press conference. The incident triggers the largest number of UFO reports since records began.
National Archives; USAF press conference July 1952Project Grudge & Robertson Panel — CIA-sponsored debunking campaign
Following Project Sign (1947), the US Air Force pivots from assessment to containment. The CIA-sponsored Robertson Panel (1953) recommends an active debunking campaign to reduce public interest and keep national security channels clear of false alarms. This marks the beginning of systematic institutional dismissal of credible UAP reports — a posture maintained for decades. The panel explicitly recommends "training and debunking" to strip UAP of "special status" in the public mind.
CIA Robertson Panel Report, 1953The Roswell Incident
An object crashes near Roswell, New Mexico. The USAF initially announces recovery of a "flying disc," then retracts and claims it was a weather balloon. Remains the foundational case of UAP culture and government secrecy.
USAF Report 1994