UAP Document Archive: Official UFO Files from the US, UK & Brazil
We're reading every declassified government UFO file, page by page, so you don't have to.
This is where WatchTheStars keeps its primary-source UAP research. We've pulled together the official government document releases, American, British and Brazilian, and we're reading through them systematically, publishing honest, plain-English write-ups of what each file actually says. No embellishment, no hype. Just what's on the page.
What the UAP Document Archive Project Is
Most UFO coverage works from press releases and secondhand summaries. We're trying to do something slower: read the actual documents. Since 2026, several governments have started declassifying and publishing genuine UAP records: thousands of pages between them, plus hours of video and radar footage. We've gathered the official releases we can get hold of and we're going through them properly, case by case, document by document, and writing up what's really there rather than what the headlines say is there.
This page is the index for that project. Below you'll find what each collection is, roughly how much material it contains, and links to the deep-dive pages and articles we've already published from it. It'll grow as we work through more of the archive. Think of it as a living catalogue rather than a finished product.
The Collections
2026 US DoD UAP Releases (PURSUE)
Seven bulk releases from the Department of War, CIA, FBI, Department of Energy, Department of State, ODNI, NASA, the Executive Office of the President and, since Release 6, a local police force, published under PURSUE, the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters. Together they run to 478 records: 298 documents, 134 videos, 30 images and 16 audio recordings, covering incidents from 1944 through to 2026.
Why it matters: this is the first time the US government has released primary UAP case files at this scale, with document reference numbers, dates and originating agencies attached, rather than summaries or talking points.
Honest highlight: most files are dull: routine radar logs and correspondence. The interesting minority includes the Pantex ground radar chase, the Newfoundland KC-97 "unable to explain" committee finding, the Gulf of Oman gunship crew who watched orbs leave between trigger pull and recoil, and the Blue Book file showing how the 1952 Tremonton film went from "unidentified" to "seagulls".
Browse & download all 478 files →Full collection guide →
Official source: war.gov/ufo →
UK MOD & National Archives UFO Files
Two related UK collections: a multi-volume MOD report on UAP with supporting annexes and transcriptions, and the older DEFE and AIR series files held by The National Archives at Kew, the Ministry of Defence's own UFO desk records, released gradually since 2008 and covering decades of RAF radar and pilot reports.
Why it matters: Britain's official UFO files include some of the best-documented radar-visual cases anywhere in the world, including the long-running Lakenheath-Bentwaters 1956 incident, all handled through ordinary MOD paperwork at the time rather than any dramatic disclosure process.
Honest highlight: the National Archives files are genuinely public and free to browse yourself, no FOIA request needed, just patience with 1950s typewritten memos.
Full collection guide →Official source: The National Archives →
Brazilian Air Force Releases: Varginha & Operação Prato
Brazil's National Archive holds the full military inquiry into the 1996 Varginha incident (the "Brazilian Roswell") and the complete file from Operação Prato, the Brazilian Air Force's 1977–78 intelligence mission sent to investigate beam-of-light attacks on villagers in Pará. Together the two cases run to well over 130 documents, sketches and photographs.
Why it matters: these aren't leaked rumours. They're signed military reports. Operação Prato's own mission conclusion states the objects observed were "intelligently directed". The Varginha inquiry (IPM 18/97) runs to hundreds of pages of formal testimony.
Honest highlight: Brazil is arguably ahead of the US and UK here: its air force put an official conclusion in writing decades ago, rather than leaving cases formally "unresolved" indefinitely.
Official source: Arquivo Nacional →NSA UMBRA Files
A collection of NSA signals-intelligence records classified UMBRA, one of the agency's highest handling caveats, covering Cold War-era UFO-related intercepts. The files were kept secret for 45 years and were only forced into the open by a court case in 2026.
Why it matters: UMBRA-level classification is reserved for the most sensitive signals intelligence the NSA handles. That the agency classified UFO-adjacent material at this level, rather than dismissing it, is itself notable.
Honest highlight: the material is mostly Cold War MiG scramble intercepts and radar chatter rather than anything conclusive, fascinating as history, not proof of anything.
Scan the skies yourself
Kit we've reviewed in full
Every file in this archive started with someone looking up and describing exactly what they saw. A decent pair of binoculars is still the best way to turn a strange light into an actual identification: aircraft, satellite, planet, or something worth writing down properly.
Sharp, bright and quick to aim, enough to pick out navigation lights, engine count and direction of travel on a distant aircraft.
The extra aperture and magnification that turn "a light on the horizon" into something you can actually describe, which is where every good report starts.
Affiliate links: you pay the same price, we earn a small commission that helps keep WatchTheStars free.
Coverage So Far
These are the deep-dives and articles we've already published straight from the collections above. Each one is built from a specific document or case file, not secondhand reporting. To go to the raw files instead, the PURSUE file browser lists all 478 US records with downloads and video playback.
Browse Every PURSUE File (478 records)
All seven releases in one searchable page: filter by release, agency or type, play any of the 150 videos and recordings, and download the documents from our own mirror.
AAWSAP: The Contract and All 37 Papers
DOW-UAP-D110 to D153: the DIA's $21,948,810 contract with BAASS, the money line by line, and every released DIRD rated from literature review to fringe.
The DIA's UFO Injury Study (D128)
AAWSAP's paper on people hurt near unknown craft, read in full: a real 1997 radio-frequency accident, the Cash-Landrum comparison and the 356-case MUFON appendix.
The 2026 Western US Triangle
DOW-UAP-D176 and FBI-UAP-D043 side by side: a small black triangle over a ridge, two official accounts that disagree, and where the "1,800 mph" headline came from.
The 2026 Black Triangle: Two Accounts That Don't Match
Blog post: AARO's memo has the triangle in view for about 32 seconds with a hover; the FBI statement says three seconds and no hover. Neither gives a speed.
Skinwalker Ranch in the Pentagon's Files
DOW-UAP-D174 and the BAASS monthly reports: the Utah ranch investigation, the puzzle boxes, and the hair that came back as dog and raccoon.
Skinwalker Ranch Report: A Dog, a Raccoon and a Puzzle Box
Blog post: the lab found dog hair on the "Skinwalker" fence and raccoon hair on a mesa rock. Seven cameras, no image, and a Fibonacci box for "any intelligence".
AAWSAP's Own Plan: The Nine Projects
Blog post: BAASS's December 2008 plan (DOW-UAP-D168) for the DIA, from "Communication and or Contact" to Los Alamos files and samples of "potentially non-human origin".
When the Pentagon's UFO Contractor Hired MUFON
Blog post: BAASS's 2009 deal with MUFON (DOW-UAP-D169 to D173). 319 reports, four call-outs, a sheriff's Chinese lanterns, and money MUFON couldn't spend.
The B-52 That Circled the World and the Blip That Followed It
Blog post: DOW-UAP-D155, a 1957 radar contact logged by the lead bomber of Operation Power Flite over Saudi Arabia. Radar only, and two ordinary suspects the form never rules out.
Project Northern Tier
AAWSAP's attempt to reopen the Malmstrom, Minot, Loring and Wurtsmith cases, from the December 2008 plan to the November 2009 "Need to Know" stall.
Pentagon's Seventh UFO File Release
All 28 Release 7 documents read: the black triangle, the Utah ranch report, AAWSAP's own plan, Colonel McCoy's silent file and fourteen 1950s cases checked against the sky.
The Colorado Orbs, October 2023
LLE-UAP-D001 and PR001 to PR004: a police officer's transcript and four phone videos, set beside the two FBI Colorado Springs interviews from the same month.
Pentagon's Sixth UFO File Release
All 2,600 pages read: the AAWSAP contract file behind the warp-drive papers, a DIA study on people injured near unknown craft, and a 1952 tape of Project Blue Book's own chief.
The Tremonton Film: 1,479g, Birds Ruled Out
The US Navy's own frame-by-frame measurement of the 1952 Utah film, and the Air Force paperwork that turned an unresolved case into "seagulls" three years later.
AARO Is Buying Hynek's Blue Book Archive
The Pentagon's UAP office moves to acquire the private record collection of Project Blue Book's own scientific consultant.
Did Astronauts See UFOs? NASA's 1998 Answer
USG-UAP-D001: NASA's replies to UFO letters from Congress and the White House, and the 1976 Oberg article it sent to explain the McDivitt Gemini 4 sighting.
CIA-UAP-008: Kardashev, Sakharov and a Saucer Committee
A 1972 CIA report on a 1971 Armenian conference: Kardashev and Sakharov's black holes that bounce, and Soviet scientists laughing at their own flying saucer committee.
CIA-UAP-014: The CIA on Britain's Flying Saucers
A Secret CIA memo of 18 December 1952: R.V. Jones inherits Britain's saucer committee, a "perfect flying saucer" over a Yorkshire airfield, and why the CIA feared false alarms more than visitors.
DOW-UAP-D097: Project Sign's First Report
The Air Force's first UFO investigation reports in, April 1948: 100 tabulated sightings including Kenneth Arnold's, the Rhodes photos set beside a Horten flying wing, and Irving Langmuir's doubts.
DOW-UAP-D092: Why Project Blue Book Ended
The Air Force Scientific Advisory Board's 1966 review file, with Carl Sagan on the panel: the press office's plea to get "off the hook", the committee's verbatim notes, and the road to the Condon Report.
DOE-UAP-D003: The Pajarito Astronomers Letter (1986)
The Los Alamos "UFO letter" read in full: a one-page club meeting notice announcing a Laboratory physicist's talk, "Why Should a Scientist be Concerned about UFO's?". No sighting, no lights, and a correction to our own earlier coverage.
NSA UMBRA Message 00602874: The Spiral on Page 322
One Top Secret UMBRA cable read line by line: a 20-metre spiral of light with a black centre, an object that spiralled down glowing blue, and why the figure is 20 metres, not 22 or 24. Pages 322–323 of the 2026 NSA release.
The Fourth-Release UAP Videos (1996–2025)
All 19 "Unresolved UAP Report" clips, DOW-UAP-PR024 to PR116, watched end to end: the 1996 tape AARO says was 'digitally altered', three Range Fouler pilot debriefs, and the six-pointed star.
The SNI Secret Service Colares File (1977)
Brazil's spy agency briefs the top on the chupa-chupa: a photographed object put at 30,000 km/h, a doubt about Venus, and a doctor's testimony. Informação 1802/320/ABE/77, Section D of the dossier.
The Operação Prato Psychiatrist Report (1977)
Two Air Force medics, two patients, one placebo. The Colares chupa-chupa symptoms diagnosed as an 'adrenergic discharge', from Section L of the leaked I COMAR dossier.
The Manchester Airmiss (1995)
A Boeing 737 crew, a wedge-shaped object and a clean radar screen. Airmiss Report No 2/95, closed as unresolved, from MOD file DEFE 24/1958/1.
The JFK UFO Memo (1963)
Did Kennedy demand the CIA's UFO files ten days before Dallas? The famous scan, fact-checked against the genuine NSAM 271.
The Sandia Base Sighting Log (1948–50)
209 sightings of green orbs, discs and fireballs over America's atomic weapons sites, from the 116-page file DOW-UAP-D017.
The CIA's Sary Shagan Report (1973)
A green circular object over the Soviets' secret missile range, from CIA report FIRK-311/01638-77 (file CIA-UAP-D001).
The James Tuck UFO Letters (1970)
A Manhattan Project physicist quietly investigating the Los Alamos green fireballs, from file DOE-UAP-D002.
The Varginha Incident (1996)
The full 357-page military inquiry into Brazil's most famous UFO case, now online in English.
Operação Prato (1977–78)
The Brazilian Air Force's own mission files, including its signed "intelligently directed" conclusion.
The Chupa-Chupa Attacks (1977)
Victim statements: names, ages, injuries, preserved in the Brazilian Air Force's own case file.
The 1978 Amazon Pilot Encounters
Two pilot reports, records 129 and 130: how Brazil's official UFO file ends.
The Pantex Plant Incident (2015)
A diamond-shaped object over America's only nuclear weapons assembly plant, from the DOE-UAP-D005 file.
The Bagram Triangle (2002)
A silent 500-foot triangle over a wartime airbase, from FBI witness file FBI-UAP-D024 in the fifth PURSUE release.
The Gulf of Oman Gunship Encounter (2021)
Twenty-five "cold orbs" around an AC-130J, from intelligence report DOW-UAP-D101 and six DVIDS video clips.
The Black Triangle Files (2002–2023)
Four FBI FD-302 witness interviews and their digital renderings, files FBI-UAP-D024 to D031.
The Navy Film Analysis (1953)
DOW-UAP-D098: the Navy's frame-by-frame study of the Tremonton and Great Falls films, ruling out birds and balloons.
The Puerto Rico Encounters (1964)
CIA-UAP-D022 and D023: a Top Secret BYEMAN/OXCART file in which the CIA rules out its own Mach 3 spy plane.
Project SIGN: The 1947–48 File
DOW-UAP-D100: 245 pages of HQ USAF correspondence, including the Twining memo and the Cabell/McCoy exchange.
Pentagon's Fifth UFO File Release
All 41 records from the August 2026 batch: our full read-through of every document and video.
The Newfoundland KC-97 Incident (1955)
Radar and visual contact the Air Force's own committee called "unable to explain": from the fourth PURSUE release.
The Senator Russell Sighting (1955)
A sitting US Senator's CIA-debriefed sighting over Soviet territory, declassified in 2026.
RAF Lakenheath 1956
Three independent radar systems and an RAF night fighter: the UK's most puzzling official radar-visual case.
Pentagon's Fourth UFO File Release
What's actually in the July 2026 batch: our full read-through of the latest release.
The NSA's Secret UFO Files
45 years classified: what the UMBRA-level release actually contains.
What the Pentagon's Files Mean for the UK
A British perspective on the US releases, and how they connect to the UK's own MOD files.
What's Coming
We're planning a recurring "document of the week" feature, working through the remaining unpublished files in each collection, starting with the unopened portions of the UK MOD volumes and the parts of the July 2026 US release we haven't covered yet. We'll also be building out dedicated sub-pages for each collection as coverage grows, rather than keeping everything on this one index.
If there's a specific document, case or release you want us to prioritise, the fastest way to reach us is through our about page.
Frequently Asked Questions
More UAP cases
- UAP and Nuclear Weapons: A 70-Year PatternCOVERAGE PERIOD: 1945–PRESENT | DECLASSIFIED INCIDENTS: 150+ | US + SOVIET CASES
- The Roswell IncidentJuly 1947 · Foster Ranch, New Mexico · Status: Unresolved
- Types of Aliens & the EvidenceGreys · Reptilians · Robots · Monsters · Men in Black
- The Green Fireball IncidentsDURATION: DEC 1948 – 1952 · LOCATION: LOS ALAMOS / SANDIA / KIRTLAND / WHITE SANDS · STATUS: UNEXPLAINED
- The UK UFO Files: A Guide to the MOD and National Archives Records1962 TO 2005 · DEFE 24 · DEFE 31 · AIR 2 · DI55 REPORT 55/2/00
- The Newfoundland KC-97 Incident6 JULY 1955 · NEWFOUNDLAND, CANADA · FILE RELEASED 10 JULY 2026