Welcome to this edition of The Intelligence Brief… This week, anticipation is building around a possible new Pentagon disclosure involving dozens of UAP videos and records expected to be released under the Department of War’s PURSUE transparency initiative. In our analysis, we’ll be looking at 1) the growing signs that a new “Release 02” may be imminent, 2) what lawmakers and leaked descriptions reveal about the footage currently held by AARO, 3) why several of the reported incidents involving “transmedium” objects and spherical UAP are drawing renewed attention, and 4) how the forthcoming release could intensify debate over what the Pentagon knows—and may still be withholding—about unexplained encounters involving U.S. military personnel around the world.
Quote of the Week
“The lack of disclosure regarding the very real threat posed by UAPs in and around U.S. restricted airspace is concerning.”
– Rep. Anna Paulina Luna
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Pentagon Preparing New UAP Release as Lawmakers Push for Greater Disclosure
This week, many speculate that a new batch of Pentagon videos and records related to unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) could be made public soon as part of the Department of War’s ongoing PURSUE transparency initiative, with some observers anticipating the next release by the end of the week.
The forthcoming installment, expected to appear under what may become PURSUE “Release 02,” is reportedly set to include dozens of videos currently held by the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). Many of the videos were first publicly referenced in a March 31, 2026, letter from Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) to U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, in which Luna requested the release of 46 videos tied to unresolved UAP incidents.
Right now, there are several promising indications that the next release will be on the way very soon.
Here’s a look at what we know.
Subtle New Activity at the Department of War’s PURSUE Page
Although no new files had appeared at the Department of War’s PURSUE webpage as of Noon Eastern on Thursday, there was one very subtle change that came to our attention at The Debrief.
Specifically, this involved the page’s original “Release 01” designation in the site navigation headings near the top of the page, from which the “01” had quietly disappeared from the site’s navigation bar.
While there are other potential explanations for this, a likely interpretation is that it signals preparations that may be underway for an imminent new “Release 02.”
Descriptions of New UAP Videos
Additionally, descriptions of the forthcoming videos that have already been made available to the public suggest the release could potentially include some of the most unique military UAP footage disclosed to date.
Back in March, an itemized listing of UAP videos currently believed to be in the holdings of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) was included in a letter from Florida Representative Anna Paulina Luna to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Based on the information conveyed in Luna’s letter, we can discern several things about the UAP videos that are currently expected to be released.
For instance, many of the videos reportedly involve spherical objects, a shape category that military personnel and AARO officials have repeatedly identified in recent years. One video allegedly depicts a sphere maneuvering through clouds over Afghanistan in 2020, while another reportedly shows a pulsing orb over water. Additional videos are said to feature erratic movement patterns and unexplained flight characteristics.
Other footage reportedly includes elongated “cigar-shaped” objects similar to the now-famous “Tic Tac” UAP first observed by U.S. Navy aviators during exercises off the California coast in 2004.
“Transmedium” Objects in the New PURSUE Release?
One of the most intriguing categories expected in the release involves “transmedium” objects, which are described as operating both in the air and underwater. According to descriptions contained in Luna’s letter, at least two videos involve unidentified submerged objects (USOs), including one incident from March 2022 in which spherical objects were reportedly observed moving “in and out of water” near a U.S. submarine.
AARO defines UAP broadly as anomalous detections occurring across multiple domains, including airborne, seaborne, spaceborne, and transmedium environments.
In advance of “Release 02,” you can get a complete rundown of everything we currently know about the forthcoming videos in our recent article over at The Debrief, which gives a breakdown of all the new footage, as well as cases that are already well-known, but for which “Release 02” may help provide additional context.
New Support For AARO
Arguably, one of the most promising indicators that the new release will be on the way very soon—possibly within just a few hours—comes from social media, where Representative Luna has recently suggested that the declassification process is already underway.
This much was conveyed specifically in a May 15 posting on X, where the Florida Republican shared a photograph of herself alongside current AARO director Jon Kosloski and Representative Eric Burlison (R-Mo.), writing that they had completed a review of “40+ videos set for declassification.”
“We are standing with the NEW and very QUALIFIED Director of AARO who now has my full support,” Luna wrote, adding that additional releases could arrive “in the coming weeks.”
Whether all 46 requested videos will ultimately be released remains unclear. However, with anticipation building around PURSUE’s next tranche of disclosures, the forthcoming release is likely to renew debate over what the Pentagon knows—and what it may still be withholding—about unexplained objects observed by U.S. military personnel around the world.
That concludes this week’s installment of The Intelligence Brief. You can read past editions of our newsletter at our website, or if you found this installment online, don’t forget to subscribe and get future email editions from us here. Also, if you have a tip or other information you’d like to send along directly to me, you can email me at micah [@] thedebrief [dot] org, or reach me on X: @MicahHanks.
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