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"President Trump is focused on providing maximum transparency to the public, who can ultimately make up their own minds about the information contained in these files."

— DEPARTMENT OF WAR PRESS RELEASE, MAY 8, 2026

PURSUE: AT A GLANCE

Full Name: Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters

Established: February 19, 2026 by Presidential Directive

Coordinating Agency: U.S. Department of War (formerly DOD)

Public Portal: war.gov/ufo

Initial Release: May 8, 2026 — 162 files (120 PDFs, 28 videos, 14 images)

Clearance Required: None — fully public access

Release Schedule: Rolling basis; new tranches every few weeks

Participating Agencies:

• White House / Executive Office of the President
• Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI)
• Department of War (DOW) / AARO
• Department of Energy (DOE)
• National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA)
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
• Department of State
• Additional U.S. Intelligence Community Components

THE LEGAL MANDATE

What PURSUE Is Legally Authorized to Do

According to the official PURSUE webpage hosted by the Department of War, the program's core mandate is to "expeditiously find, review, identify, declassify and publicly release unresolved Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena-related records and historical documents in the federal government's possession." That language — direct, operational, and sweeping — gives PURSUE both a discovery function and a release function.

DISCOVERY & IDENTIFICATION MANDATE

PURSUE compels participating federal agencies to conduct active internal audits of their classified holdings for any records relating to UAP — whether labeled as such or catalogued under older, less standardized terminology such as "UFO," "unidentified aerial object," "anomalous phenomenon," "unknown aerial vehicle," or any equivalent designator used by the originating agency. The initiative builds on prior statutory mandates already enacted by Congress under several National Defense Authorization Acts.

DECLASSIFICATION & SECURITY REVIEW MANDATE

Consistent with Executive Order 13526 — the standing presidential order governing the classification of national security information — all materials identified under PURSUE must undergo a formal security review before public release. The Department of War confirmed that "all of the files have been reviewed for security purposes" before publication, though many materials had not yet been analyzed for scientific resolution of the anomalies depicted. Of the 162 files in the initial release, 108 contain redactions — with the DOW stating that withheld information protects witness identities, locations of government facilities, and sensitive military site data unrelated to UAP.

REPORTING & PUBLIC RELEASE MANDATE

The public-facing disclosure mandate is the most novel element of PURSUE. Unlike prior programs such as AATIP (Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program), which operated in classified obscurity for years, or AARO's earlier website releases, PURSUE establishes a permanent, publicly accessible repository with no clearance requirements. Materials will be deposited on a rolling basis "as they are discovered and declassified, with tranches posted every few weeks," according to DOW. The portal consolidates records from across the "entire" U.S. government — the broadest interagency sweep ever attempted on this subject.

⚖ LEGAL CONTEXT NOTE

The PURSUE initiative draws on authority from multiple legal frameworks: the President's constitutional authority over classified information (Department of the Navy v. Egan, 484 U.S. 518, 1988); NDAA Sections mandating UAP record collection since FY2022; and the UAP Disclosure Act provisions negotiated in the FY2024 NDAA. PURSUE does not supersede congressional mandates — the DOW confirmed it will continue separate statutory reporting on resolved UAP cases "as mandated by statute."

Legislative Backdrop

PURSUE does not operate in a legal vacuum. It is the executive capstone of years of mounting congressional legislation: