Secure Archive // Public Release
UFO / UAP
Unidentified aerial phenomena documented in officially released government archives.
551 published articles
A newly released FOIA response from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shows that while the agency received reports of unidentified objects near nuclear facilities—including a 1984 sighting at Indian Point and a 2015 incident at Pilgrim—it has consistently stated it holds no records on such events.
In 1966, Gemini 11 astronauts photographed an unidentified object that NORAD claimed was the Soviet Proton 3 satellite. But physicist Bruce Maccabee's detailed analysis shows the images are inconsistent with that explanation, and the sighting remains officially 'unidentified.'
A newly released 1952 U.S. Air Force investigation report describes a witness's account of a disc-shaped object that hovered over his car on Ritchie Highway, stalling the engine, before speeding away. The report includes interviews and concludes with doubts about the sighting.
Newly released DoD briefing cards, obtained via FOIA, show how the Pentagon prepared officials to discuss the Navy's UAP videos and the establishment of the UAP Task Force, confirming the videos' authenticity and the task force's mission to detect and catalog unidentified aerial phenomena.
Declassified FBI and Army communications from 1950 reveal that while the Air Force publicly announced its flying saucer project was discontinued after most sightings were explained as misidentifications, internal messages show continued radar tracking of unexplained objects near Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and investigations into claims of small humanoid occupants.
Declassified FBI files show that in 1949 the Bureau considered investigating a man who reported seeing a metallic, top-shaped flying saucer in the mountains near Los Angeles in 1947. The files also include J. Edgar Hoover forwarding a citizen's letter to the Air Force in 1952.
Declassified FBI files from July 1947 detail multiple sightings of disc-like objects, including a United Airlines pilot's report of a barrel-rolling object over the Cascade Mountains and an Air Corps sergeant's observation of three high-speed objects.
A declassified FBI file contains a letter from a Civil Defense official in Franklin, Indiana, to J. Edgar Hoover, inquiring about the International Flying Saucer Bureau, along with a detailed report of a multi-hour UFO sighting over the town on July 28, 1952.
Newly released FBI files from 1947 show the Bureau tracking flying disc reports across the country, including a recovered disc in Wisconsin, a pilot's sighting in Oregon, and a memorandum claiming the discs were crewed by beings from another world.
Declassified FBI files include a Portland police report of a round silver object that changed shape, and a Louisville newspaper photographer's film of a flying saucer, both forwarded to military intelligence.
Declassified FBI files show that in September 1957, radar stations at Montauk Point and Benton, Pennsylvania tracked an unidentified object at 50,000 feet and speeds up to 4,500 mph. The Intelligence Advisory Committee concluded it was 'highly improbable' that a Soviet operation was responsible, though the Air Force later suggested atmospheric phenomena could explain the radar returns.
A FOIA release titled 'Flying Saucers from Denmark' has been made available via The Black Vault, but the document's text is largely illegible due to scanning issues.