The Department of Defense (DOD) released the seventh batch of declassified files on unexplained aerial phenomena (UAP), including witness accounts and drawings of alleged anomalous creatures reported at a Utah ranch in 2010.
The release is part of the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE), an interagency initiative led by the DOD to make previously classified or rarely seen UAP records publicly available. The latest disclosure includes 28 PDF documents, bringing the total released files to 478 after six earlier batches.
UAP, commonly referred to as unidentified flying objects (UFOs), describes objects or events observed in the air, at sea, or in space that cannot immediately be identified or explained.
The newly available records span several decades and cover a range of subjects, from alleged anomalous encounters to intelligence reporting and government policy surrounding aerospace technology.
The DOD stresses that the documents in the release are “unresolved cases” and that the government cannot “make a definitive determination on the nature of the observed phenomena.”
Additional releases are expected in the coming months.
The Trump administration has rebranded the DOD as the Department of War.
What is inside the files?
Among the most unusual documents in the latest batch are records concerning alleged Skinwalker sightings at a ranch in Utah. The accounts prompted a Utah task force investigation and two visits by Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS) in March and April 2010.
A ‘Skinwalker’ is associated with traditional Navajo beliefs about witchcraft and transformation. The creatures are often described as malicious and have the ability to transform into animals.
BAASS was a research organization established by aerospace entrepreneur Robert Bigelow that conducted UAP studies under government contract. Its work was associated with the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP), a Defense Intelligence Agency-administered initiative active from 2008 to 2012.
The released material includes administrative and contractor-produced records documenting how AAWSAP was organized, funded, and carried out. The program’s official scope of work identified 12 technical research areas focused on potential aerospace threats over a period extending more than 40 years into the future.
An overview of the investigation describes efforts to examine unusual activity reported at the Utah property. The document references several hair samples reportedly collected in connection with a Skinwalker sighting, along with witness drawings depicting what the alleged creatures looked like.
Although the files describe investigations into reported anomalous activity, they do not establish definitive proof that the alleged phenomena occurred as described.
Project Capella sought to organize UAP data
Another document in the release outlines Project Capella, a proposed data warehouse framework developed for BAASS to capture, process, classify, and retrieve information related to unusual aerial phenomena and associated anomalies.
The proposal sought to bring together existing catalogs and historical case records in a standardized research system. Its methodology included establishing consistent classification and reliability measures, reviewing foreign and privately maintained databases, and developing the personnel and software capabilities needed to support analysis.
The proposed system was also intended to facilitate literature reviews and potentially support future field investigations. By consolidating disparate historical and contemporary records, Project Capella aimed to provide a common data infrastructure for multiple BAASS research initiatives.
The document illustrates how researchers associated with AAWSAP sought to formalize UAP data collection and analysis rather than rely solely on individual witness reports or isolated cases.
A 1963 memo examines the recovery of space debris
Another file provides a glimpse into government discussions about recovering sensitive aerospace technology during the early Space Race.
The document is an internal memorandum dated May 28, 1963, from R.W. Hale, a staff member of the National Aeronautics and Space Council (NASC), to Executive Secretary Edward C. Welsh. The NASC, established in 1958 and active until 1973, operated within the Executive Office of the President and helped coordinate U.S. space policy.
The memo records a meeting with Arnold Frutkin, then NASA’s director of international programs, about developing a coordinated interagency policy for recovering U.S. and Soviet space debris and satellite fragments that might land in foreign countries.
The memo describes several potential objectives, including obtaining access to foreign technology, safeguarding American hardware, maintaining diplomatic goodwill, and concealing the intelligence-gathering aspects of certain recovery operations.
Frutkin’s reaction to the proposal was reportedly “very negative,” according to the document.
The memorandum is part of a larger collection of interagency correspondence identified as “USG-UAP-D002.” Although its subject concerns space debris and technology recovery rather than a specific unexplained sighting, it provides historical context for the government’s handling of aerospace-related information and sensitive hardware.