A new batch of Pentagon videos and other records related to unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) is expected to soon be released by the Department of War, with many anticipating their arrival by week’s end.
The next installment in an ongoing series of Pentagon disclosures is anticipated to include up to 46 new UAP videos reportedly held by the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).
Although the existence of the videos has been discussed publicly on several occasions by lawmakers in recent weeks, a complete listing of the collection of AARO UAP videos, along with preliminary titles and descriptions of some of the footage, was initially disclosed earlier this year in a letter from Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) to U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
“The continued lack of transparency surrounding these anomalies and the potential national security threat they pose is troubling,” Luna’s letter, dated March 31, 2026, reads.
According to Luna, the existence of “additional video records of potential UAP sightings” came to the attention of Luna’s Task Force as a result of whistleblowers who participated in a September 29, 2025, hearing related to UAP transparency. “To continue its investigation, the Task Force requests certain video files related to UAP sightings,” Luna explained to Hegseth in the letter.
Indications of a Forthcoming Release?
The imminent arrival of the videos, originally requested for release by Luna “as soon as possible but no later than April 14, 2026,” is now anticipated by as early as Friday.
On Thursday, the official page on the Department of War’s website for the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE) featured no additional videos or documents beyond those included with the original release, which appeared on May 8, 2026, when the page went live.
However, the heading originally titled “Release 01” that appears in the page’s navigation bar is now missing the “01,” seemingly indicating that preparations for a new batch, tentatively titled “Release 02,” are likely underway.
What To Expect in the PURSUE “Release 02”
Based on the original list of videos detailed in Luna’s letter from March, along with some descriptions and imagery associated with the videos that have been disseminated prior to their complete authorized release, a few details about what the videos are expected to reveal can be discerned.
One video that Luna and her Task Force have requested reportedly depicts a formation of four unidentified objects flying over an unspecified region in Iran, observed on August 26, 2022.
Another video, reportedly captured in 2021 over Syria, appears to show an object that seemingly displays “instant acceleration,” a capability that would require overcoming several fundamental laws of physics.
While unusual—or even seemingly impossible—physical maneuvers can often be attributed to camera motion and other artifacts arising from the conditions under which such videos are obtained, there are indications that there could be other intriguing footage in the forthcoming batch, a few of which may display a key capability that has increasingly been attributed to some UAP during military observations.
Unidentified Submerged Objects and “Transmedium” UAP
According to AARO, UAP sometimes represent more than just aerial phenomena, with its official definition including “sources of anomalous detections in one or more domains (i.e., airborne, seaborne, spaceborne, and/or transmedium) that are not yet attributable to known actors and that demonstrate behaviors that are not readily understood by sensors or observers.”
Intriguingly, at least some of the files expected in the forthcoming release include videos that purportedly show objects exhibiting what the military characterizes as “transmedium” capabilities, with the objects, described as “USOs” (unidentified submerged objects), reportedly observed both in and out of water.
In at least one of the two USO videos, several spherical objects observed in near proximity to a U.S. submarine on March 25, 2022, are reportedly observed both “in and out of water” in the AARO footage.
Another video, dubbed “UAP USO formation Wiley 2X Zinc,” reportedly shows a different formation of unidentified objects that may be displaying transmedium capabilities.
Spheres Take Center Stage
Several of the videos requested by Luna and other lawmakers reportedly feature what appear to be spherical objects, a common shape class that has been frequently reported by military personnel in recent years, as well as historical reports involving aerial phenomena.
One video, obtained on November 23, 2020, appears to show a spherical object operating in airspace over Afghanistan as it moves “in and out of clouds.” Another spherical object, filmed in 2022, reportedly displays “erratic movement” frequently attributed to such objects, while in a separate video, a spherical UAP is said to have been observed “pulsing” as it passed over a body of water.
Finally, in an incident that occurred on April 12, 2021, a series of three videos was obtained by U.S. personnel depicting a spherical object of unknown origin.
AARO officials have previously expressed interest in this class of objects. In one incident in 2022, an MQ-9 Reaper UAS operating in the Middle East recorded video of a spherical object using its onboard electro-optical sensor. “The object’s characteristics and behavior are consistent with other ‘metallic orb’ observations in the region,” according to a short summary of the footage included in a 2025 AARO mission brief available at its website.
Tic Tacs, Flying Cigars, “Fast Movers”
Spherical objects aren’t the only objects that make appearances in the videos AARO has obtained. Several other varieties of UAP that are commonly recognized from historical accounts are reportedly featured in the videos, which include elongated “cigar” shapes such as the “Tic Tac,” a designation first attributed to an unusual object captured by an FA/18 Super Hornet Pilot during training exercises off the Baja California Coast in November 2004.
One of the new videos describes a “cigar-shaped or fat spherical UAP” observed on October 15, 2022, while another appears to describe a case in which a United States Coast Guard EADS HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft observed a Tic Tac-shaped object with its high-definition forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensor system.
Another video that could be in the forthcoming release involves a trio of “fast moving UAPs” that were observed by U.S. personnel on October 29, 2020. The term “fast mover” is recognized as slang for “fighter jet,” while similar terminology, such as the variant “Fastwalker,” is also occasionally used in relation to UAP sightings.
New Details on the Eglin Air Force Base UAP?
Some of the videos expected in the forthcoming release may offer additional details about UAP incidents that are already well known and for which case resolutions have been produced during AARO’s investigations.
One video in the forthcoming tranche, designated “IIR 1 665 SO301 23/Eglin AFB,” appears to refer to a January 26, 2023, incident involving a U.S. military pilot who observed four objects flying in a diamond formation over the Gulf of Mexico. At the time of the sighting, the pilot claimed that several of his aircraft’s onboard capabilities malfunctioned, requiring them to manually capture imagery of the object.
In a case resolution report on the incident following AARO’s assessment, investigators concluded that the UAP “very likely was an ordinary object and was not exhibiting anomalous or exceptional characteristics or flight behaviors,” concluding that the object the pilot filmed may have been a lighting balloon.
However, AARO’s resolution report added that it had only “moderate confidence in this assessment due to the limited data provided,” a conclusion that drew criticism from even some of the more skeptical UAP investigators.
“The lighting balloon hypothesis always felt like something someone at AARO liked, but wasn’t really supported by much evidence,” skeptic Mick West told The Debrief following the publication of AARO’s report on the incident.
Another of the videos in the forthcoming release was captured by a U.S. Air Force F-16C pilot (callsign AESIR11) during a widely publicized incident that occurred on February 12, 2023, where an object was shot down over Lake Huron with an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile.
According to former AARO director Sean Kirkpatrick, this incident had been one of several involving objects that were later determined to have been hobbyist balloons that were shot down in early 2023, as Kirkpatrick revealed during a recent presentation he gave at the Center for Naval Analyses on April 27, 2026.
Looking Ahead: Cooperation with AARO Continues
Luna has also conveyed to her followers on social media in recent days that the review process required for the release of the new videos was underway, with cooperation from AARO officials.
In a posting on her official X account on May 15, 2026, Luna appeared in a photograph alongside current AARO director Jon Kosloski and Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.), writing that they had just completed the review of “40+ videos set for declassification” by the Department of War, which could be expected “in the coming weeks” as of the time of posting.
Finished review of 40+ videos set for declassification out of @DeptofWar in coming weeks this am. We are standing with the NEW and very QUALIFIED Director of AARO who now has my full support and has proven through action that he is working in good faith on declass efforts. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/1OWhsn6M9b
— Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina) May 15, 2026
“We are standing with the NEW and very QUALIFIED Director of AARO who now has my full support and has proven through action that he is working in good faith on declass efforts,” Luna wrote.
It remains to be seen whether all the videos Luna has requested will be released, although a few glimpses of footage allegedly from the forthcoming batch have already appeared on social media in recent days.
Should the requested tranche of AARO UAP videos arrive in time for the unofficial, but widely anticipated deadline, The Debrief will provide additional reporting on the release of those records, along with any new information they may contain.
For the time being, the records released under the PURSUE initiative are available on the Department of War’s website.
Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow him on X @MicahHanks, and at micahhanks.com.