U.S. efforts to investigate unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) are expanding through new government records and a proposed science council, but NASA says missing sensor data still limits what investigators can determine.
NASA’s 2023 independent study found that researchers could explain many reported observations using known causes, leaving a smaller set without a firm identification. The team said some cases cannot be resolved because investigators lack the necessary measurements. NASA framed the study as a roadmap for improving future UAP data.
The Department of War (DoW) began rolling out records through its Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE) on May 8, 2026. The department said some released files had not yet been analyzed. An archive snapshot listed releases only through the fifth batch, dated Aug. 7.
NASA recommended measurements from multiple calibrated sensors, along with detailed records of how the instruments operated and baseline data. These records can help analysts assess whether an observation came from an aircraft, a natural event or an instrument artifact.
Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb wrote in a June 16 Medium post that the White House, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the FBI and the Intelligence Community had asked him to assemble a UAP Science Advisory Council. Loeb said it would work with unclassified data and advise the U.S. government on assessing UAP. He said its meeting frequency had not been decided.
At a July 2023 House hearing, former U.S. Navy pilot Ryan Graves recounted that another aviator saw a cube inside a transparent sphere during a flight near Virginia Beach. Graves said two pilots maneuvered to avoid it and their mission ended early; his account did not establish the object’s origin.
Gallup’s July 1-19, 2026, poll found that 17% of U.S. adults said they had seen something they thought was a UFO. In the same survey, 49% said sightings could all have human or natural explanations, while 37% thought at least some involved alien spacecraft.
AARO’s March 2024 historical report said its investigations found no empirical evidence supporting claims that the U.S. government had recovered or was reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology.
The DoW said further records would be released on a rolling basis but gave no date. Loeb said the council had not set a meeting schedule.
