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Pentagon Claims Transparency In New UAP Files Release (Aviation Week, May 2026)

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Summary

Aviation Week’s PURSUE Release 01 coverage adopts an aerospace-industry trade frame: it foregrounds the platform and sensor provenance of the unresolved video trove rather than the political-disclosure framing dominant in mainstream wires. Everstine and Norris emphasize that the bulk of the recent military reports involve General Atomics ASI MQ-9 Reapers flown by USAF (including special-operations sorties out of the UAE) using full-motion video and other sensors. They flag that one diamond-shaped Greece UAP was detectable only via short-wave infrared (SWIR) — a sensor-modality observation distinct from the standard MTS-B IR critique. The piece also surfaces operational-context details that other outlets glossed: X-band radar jamming from the Turkish border during a February 2023 F-15E Syria report, and a 2022 MQ-9 over western Syria approached by a Russian Su-27/Su-35. Reception-wise the article is neutral-to-skeptical: it questions whether future tranches will include collection methodology, classification rationale, or full-resolution sensor data.

Key Claims

  • PURSUE Release 01 contains 162 total records; ~82 events tied to U.S. military sources, 12 from nasa (Gemini/Apollo/Skylab), 28 video clips, ~93 linked to aaro submissions, ~50% mission reports.
  • The bulk of recent-operations reports involve General Atomics ASI MQ-9 Reapers (reaper-uas) operated by the USAF; encounter geography spans Mediterranean, Middle East, Africa, Asia, North America.
  • A CENTCOM-submitted MQ-9 clip over Greece (1m05s) shows a “diamond-shaped” object moving at 434 kt (500 mph), only detectable via short-wave infrared (SWIR) sensor.
  • A June 2024 special-operations MQ-9 flying from the UAE reported a “hot, spherical object” with a “vertical unwavering probe.”
  • March 2023 USAF F-16s in Iraq reported “several bright objects maneuvering quickly” through targeting pods.
  • August 2020 U.S. Navy MH-60 over the Persian Gulf reported three small contacts “appearing with a wing and airframe structure.”
  • November 2016 U.S. Navy P-8 observed a sea-skimming-missile-like UAP at ~500 kt above the ocean.
  • February 2023 F-15Es over Syria near al-Shaddadi reported a balloon-like UAP and experienced X-band radar jamming from the Turkish border.
  • May 2022 MQ-9 in western Syria was approached by a Russian Su-27 or Su-35 that flew close beneath the drone.
  • FBI accounts for 56 of 162 records, including the 1964 “Socorro saucer” New Mexico State Police case and 30+ late-2025 photo records.
  • Heavily redacted 2025 FBI-to-AARO report describes a “super-hot” orb hovering over an unidentified U.S. military facility, traveling 20 mi at a speed too fast for a pursuing helicopter, with an additional “swarm” of lights.
  • Open question: whether future PURSUE tranches will disclose collection methodology, classification, analytic conclusions, or full-resolution sensor data.

Notable Quotes

“These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation — and it’s time the American people see it for themselves.” — pete-hegseth

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