Cleared May 22, 2026
PURSUE Release 02: May 22, 2026 UFO and UAP files
PURSUE Release 02 is now official. The Department of War says the second tranche of declassified and historical UAP files was published on May 22, 2026, remains housed at WAR.GOV/UFO, and is part of the rolling Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters.
The urgent story is not only that more files arrived. It is that Release 02 shifts the archive from a first drop into a continuing public-record system, with new documents, a large video download, heavy public traffic, and an official statement that a third release is already being prepared.
Release at a glance
- Official program
- Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE)
- Release
- Release 02
- Cleared for release
- May 22, 2026
- Primary portal
- war.gov/UFO
- Official document download
- Release 02 Documents, listed by the portal as 70.1 MB
- Official video download
- Release 02 Videos, listed by the portal as 5.6 GB
- Traffic claim
- The Department of War says WAR.GOV/UFO received over 1 billion hits since the May 8 launch
- Next step
- The Department of War says agency partners are actively working on the third release
Source chain
May 22 portal update
The official PURSUE portal now presents Release 02 as cleared for release on May 22, 2026, with separate document and video downloads.
Official announcement
The Department of War announcement says the second release contains declassified and historical UAP files and that additional files will continue to be released on a rolling basis.
Public indexing begins
Public archive watchers immediately began counting rows, checking agency labels, and flagging high-interest documents. Those leads are useful, but official URLs remain the source of record.
Third release signaled
The official announcement says the Department of War and agency partners are actively working on a third UAP file release.
What this tranche contains
- A second official tranche listed on the PURSUE portal as cleared for release on May 22, 2026.
- A Release 02 document download listed at 70.1 MB.
- A Release 02 video download listed at 5.6 GB.
- New public discussion around ODNI, CIA, and Department of Energy records appearing in the archive.
- High-interest leads around ODNI-UAP-D001, CIA-UAP-D001, DOE/Sandia records, Pantex material, and new video rows that require record-level verification before full articles.
How to read the release
- Treat Release 02 as official because it is now present on the Department of War PURSUE portal and in a May 22 Department of War release announcement.
- Do not treat third-party row counts, mirror files, or Reddit highlights as final until they are checked against official source URLs.
- Prioritize provenance: official URL, title, release label, file type, file size, companion media, and whether the item has enough context for analysis.
- Separate “newly public in PURSUE” from “newly created,” “newly declassified,” and “newly interpreted.” Those are different claims.
Official positions to track
Department of War announcement
Frames Release 02 as the second publication of declassified and historical UAP files under PURSUE, with more releases to follow.
Sean Parnell statement attribution
The official release is attributed to the Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs and Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell.
Third release status
The Department of War says it and agency partners are actively working on the third UAP file release.
What this release establishes
Release 02 confirms that PURSUE is now a rolling disclosure process rather than a one-time May 8 file drop. It also confirms that the Department of War is using the portal for both documents and large video packages.
What it does not establish
Release 02 does not by itself prove non-human origin, extraordinary performance, or a final explanation for any individual record. Each document and video still needs source-specific analysis.
Open research questions
Which Release 02 records have the strongest official metadata, which videos have companion reports, and which public tracker claims can be verified against the source files?
Record pages in this release
Senior intelligence officer orb encounter: ODNI-UAP-D001 in the 2026 UFO files
Analysis of ODNI-UAP-D001, the Release 02 senior intelligence officer orb narrative with helicopter, radar, FLIR, and NVG context.
Sandia green fireballs: why DOW-UAP-D017 matters in the 2026 UFO files
Guide to DOW-UAP-D017, the Release 02 Sandia green fireballs file linking 1948-1950 reports and sensitive-site UFO interest.
CIA-UAP-D001: the Sary Shagan green object report in Release 02
Analysis of CIA-UAP-D001, the Release 02 intelligence report involving a 1973 green circular object near the Soviet Sary Shagan weapons testing range.
Pantex unidentified object image: DOE-UAP-D001 in the 2026 UFO files
Source-led analysis of DOE-UAP-D001, the Release 02 Pantex image fragment showing a ground surveillance radar tower image and Sandia-enhanced object images.
Video records to examine next
Iran four-UAP formation video: inside DOW-UAP-PR050
Source-led analysis of DOW-UAP-PR050, the Release 02 Iran four-UAP formation video, its infrared sequence, metadata, and source limits.
USO formation video: inside the Release 02 PR052 mission clip
Analysis of DOW-UAP-PR052, the Release 02 UAP/USO formation video with four contrast areas, edits, filters, zooms, and source limits.
USO near submarine video: what DOW-UAP-PR067 actually shows
Analysis of DOW-UAP-PR067, the Release 02 video titled multiple spherical UAP/USO near submarine, with timestamps and source limits.
Jet shoots down UFO over Lake Huron: inside the 2026 UAP video release
Investigative 2026 analysis of the Lake Huron UAP shootdown video, the F-16 clip, and what the official record adds to the 2023 case.
Syrian UAP instant acceleration: what the 2026 video actually shows
Source-led analysis of DOW-UAP-PR051, the 2026 Release 02 Syrian UAP instant acceleration video, its edited sequence, and the evidence still missing.
Related briefing
Lake Huron UFO shot down: what the 2026 video adds to the fighter-jet case
What the 2026 Lake Huron UFO shot down video adds to the fighter-jet case, the official UAP record, and the still-missing evidence.
PURSUE Release 02 is live: what changed in the May 22 UAP file drop
Plain-English briefing on the May 22, 2026 PURSUE Release 02 UAP file drop, videos, documents, and next-release signals.
Release 02 records to read first: orb encounter, Sandia green fireballs, Pantex image, CIA report, and Lake Huron video
Guide to Release 02 UFO records drawing attention, including orb, Sandia, Pantex, CIA, and Lake Huron leads.
Senior intelligence officer orb encounter: why the Release 02 record is getting attention
What the Release 02 orb encounter discussion says, why ODNI-UAP-D001 is drawing attention, and what still needs verification.
Sandia green fireballs: why the Release 02 DOE records matter
Why Sandia green fireballs and DOE-linked Release 02 records matter, with source limits and historical context.
Lake Huron UAP video: why the Release 02 shootdown footage matters
What to look for in the Lake Huron UAP video discussion around Release 02 and why footage alone does not settle the case.
Official sources
- Department of War Release 02 portal - Official PURSUE portal view showing Release 02, cleared for release on May 22, 2026.
- Department of War May 22, 2026 Release 02 announcement - Official Department of War announcement for the second PURSUE UAP file release.
- Reddit discussion: Release 02 archive indexing - Public discussion signal about Release 02 indexing, agency labels, and high-interest records; not a primary source.
- Reddit discussion: Release 02 source-control note - Public discussion signal about Release 02 row counts, video caveats, and citation hygiene; not a primary source.