Last Updated on 4 days ago by TodayWhy Editorial
The short version: Pentagon UFO Files Tranche 3 — officially PURSUE Release 03 — dropped on June 12, 2026, containing 53 documents, 10 digital renderings, 6 videos, and 3 NASA audio recordings. The most significant items are a CIA-sourced report on a disc-shaped object over Zimbabwe’s Harare airport, five federal law enforcement agents describing a glowing “potato-shaped” UAP near Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado, FBI orb footage from 2024–2026 in the northeastern US, and a 1962 recording of astronaut Gordon Cooper discussing anomalous observations with journalist Walter Cronkite. The war.gov/UFO portal has now received over 1.7 billion hits since launching May 8, 2026. A fourth tranche is confirmed to be in preparation.
1. What Is PURSUE? Context for Tranche 3
In February 2026, President Trump signed an executive order directing all federal agencies to locate, review, and declassify records connected to UFOs, UAPs, and related phenomena. The resulting program — PURSUE (Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters) — is coordinated by the Department of War and involves the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the FBI, NASA, the CIA, the Department of Energy, and other agencies.
All materials are hosted publicly at war.gov/UFO and represent cases the government cannot conclusively explain — what the Pentagon formally calls “unresolved” cases. Tranche 3 is the third of what the Department of War has described as a rolling series of releases “every few weeks as materials are discovered and declassified.”
For the full history of Tranches 1 and 2, the NSA UMBRA records, and congressional pushback, see our complete cluster guide: Pentagon UFO Files: Complete 2026 UAP Disclosure Guide.
2. Tranche 3 at a Glance: What Was Released
The Department of War published PURSUE Release 03 on June 12, 2026. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell’s statement confirmed the release is “part of the Trump administration’s historic transparency effort” and that the Department and its agency partners are “actively working on the next release.”
By the numbers:
- 53 documents from the CIA, FBI, US Army, NASA, and Intelligence Community Assessment office
- 10 digital renderings — artistic interpretations of reported sightings
- 6 videos — predominantly orb footage from US domestic sightings
- 3 NASA audio recordings — including the 1962 Gordon Cooper clip
- Download sizes: 826 MB (documents), 4.6 GB (videos)
- Portal traffic to date: 1.7+ billion hits since May 8, 2026
Unlike Tranche 2, which was dominated by military infrared sensor footage, Tranche 3 shifts toward law enforcement witness testimony, historical Cold War documents, and intelligence community assessments. Four of the six videos were filmed by civilian or federal law enforcement witnesses rather than military cameras — a notable change in evidentiary texture.
3. The CIA Zimbabwe Disc Sighting (2008)
CIA
- Document: CIA-UAP-017 — Placement on High Alert Due to Perceived Aggressive Foreign Posturing
- Date of incident: July 2008
- Location: Harare International Airport, Zimbabwe
One of the most geographically unexpected documents in Tranche 3 is a CIA record from July 2008 concerning a sighting at Harare International Airport in Zimbabwe. The object was detected by both radar and optical instruments, giving the report a multi-sensor foundation that distinguishes it from purely anecdotal accounts.
The CIA document describes the object as disc-like in shape with a hollow center and a series of rotating lights on the underside. Observers at the time explicitly debated two competing explanations: that the object was an advanced surveillance tool from a foreign government, or that it was a UAP of unknown origin. The CIA record preserves this ambiguity without resolving it.
The document’s routing information references Zimbabwe directly, making it one of the few PURSUE files tied to sub-Saharan Africa. The inclusion of African airspace expands the geographic scope of the PURSUE releases beyond the US and Middle East focus of Tranches 1 and 2.
What AARO says: The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) notes that all PURSUE documents carry a standard disclaimer: descriptive language in intelligence and military memos reflects the “subjective interpretation” of the reporting officer and should not be read as a definitive determination of what was observed.
4. Five Agents, One Potato-Shaped UAP: The Cheyenne Mountain Cluster
FBIICA
- Documents: FBI-UAP-D002 (FD-1057 report), FBI-UAP-D003 (digital rendering), ICA-UAP-D001 (intelligence analysis)
- Date of incidents: October 2023 (two-day cluster)
- Location: Western US — near Colorado Springs / Cheyenne Mountain
The most operationally significant new material in Tranche 3 concerns a two-day series of UAP encounters in October 2023 involving five federal law enforcement special agents operating in the western United States. Each agent filed a separate account with AARO. An Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) analysis of the Colorado Springs incident is included alongside the witness reports.
The accounts are detailed, first-person, and consistent across five independent witnesses — a evidentiary standard that distinguishes this cluster from many single-witness reports in the broader UAP record.
What the Agents Saw
One agent wrote in their FD-1057 field report: approaching through an alley, they suddenly noticed a large glowing ball approximately 90 degrees to their right. Using a range finder, they placed it at roughly 1,100 meters distance. They described it as “a circle of light that looked like a swirly pattern of bright lava.”
Shortly after, three red lights flew out of and away from the object, moving quickly and disappearing from view. A flash was simultaneously observed on the horizon. The spontaneous witness reaction is captured in another agent’s account: “Are you seeing this?” the agent recalled asking a partner as a glowing orb lit up the sky.
A separate report within the same cluster uses different descriptive language for what appears to be a related object: it was “shaped like a potato, with fish-like scales with a white opalescent color” — somewhat translucent and shimmering. A digital rendering of this description is included in the release.
Why Cheyenne Mountain Matters
The sightings occurred in the vicinity of Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, which houses the NORAD Operations Center — one of the most hardened and strategically significant military facilities in the United States. The concentration of PURSUE-documented UAP incidents near major military and national security infrastructure is a recurring pattern across all three tranches. Whether this reflects sensor bias (more detection equipment near sensitive sites) or something more significant remains, in the Pentagon’s own framing, unresolved.
“The pattern of UAP activity around nuclear and military infrastructure is one of the more consistent threads in the entire declassified record.” — TodayWhy analysis; see our Complete 2026 UAP Disclosure Guide
5. FBI Orb Sightings: Northeast US, 2024–2026
FBI
- Documents: FBI-UAP-D009 (FD-302-67), FBI-UAP-D010 (FD-302-71), FBI-UAP-D011 (DoJ correspondence, 1949)
- Videos: FBI-UAP-PR003 (Orbs Over the Pond, October 2024), FBI-UAP-PR004 (Northeastern Orb Sighting, 2025)
- Location: Northeastern United States
- Witness credibility: Assessed by FBI as “highly credible”
A cluster of FBI field documents covers orb sightings in the northeastern United States spanning 2024 through early 2026. The files use the standard FD-302 interview format — the same document type used in criminal investigations — indicating these accounts were processed through formal FBI evidentiary channels rather than informal reporting.
Two videos accompany the reports. The first, titled Orbs Over the Pond, shows a ball of light over a body of water in October 2024. The second shows two lights above a treeline from a 2025 incident that occurred within 25 miles of the same location — suggesting a geographically recurring phenomenon across a multi-year window. Witnesses to both incidents were assessed by the FBI as “highly credible.”
A third FBI document traces back to 1949 via a Department of Justice referral letter — placing the Bureau’s formal involvement in UAP documentation at least as far back as the early Cold War period, consistent with the historical pattern established by earlier PURSUE releases.
Tranche 3 marks the first time FBI-originated civilian footage — as opposed to military sensor video — forms a primary evidence stream in a PURSUE release. Four of the six videos in Tranche 3 were filmed by civilians or federal law enforcement rather than military systems.
Video: FBI-UAP-PR004, “Northeastern Orb Sighting,” 2025
6. Gordon Cooper’s 1962 NASA Audio Recording
NASA
- Recording type: Audio debrief / interview
- Date: 1962
- Participants: Astronaut Gordon Cooper; journalist Walter Cronkite
Three NASA audio recordings are included in Tranche 3. The most notable features astronaut Gordon Cooper in conversation with journalist Walter Cronkite in 1962. Cooper was part of the original Mercury Seven astronaut group and flew Mercury-Atlas 9 (1963) and Gemini 5 (1965).
Cooper is among the most outspoken early NASA astronauts on the subject of anomalous aerial phenomena. In 1951, while flying an F-86 over West Germany, he reported observing objects he could not identify that appeared to be operating in formation and exhibiting flight characteristics inconsistent with known aircraft of the period. He later spoke publicly about UAP observations on multiple occasions and submitted a letter to the United Nations advocating for formal international study of the phenomenon.
The specific content of the 1962 Cooper-Cronkite recording has not been officially transcribed in the Tranche 3 release materials. Its inclusion follows the seven Apollo-era NASA audio recordings released in Tranche 2, in which crew members described anomalous observations during lunar missions. The pattern of NASA mission audio entering the declassified record across multiple tranches suggests this category of material is being released deliberately and incrementally.
7. The 1949 US Army Flying Saucer Study
US Army
- Document: DOW-UAP-D084 — US Army Flying Saucer Study
- Date: 1949
- Classification (original): Secret
Among the historical documents in Tranche 3 is a declassified cover sheet from a Department of the Army study on what were then called “flying saucers,” dated 1949 and bearing the original classification marking “Secret.” The document predates the CIA’s Project Blue Book by several years and confirms that formal US Army analysis of anomalous aerial objects began no later than the first years of the Cold War.
This document joins a growing body of Cold War-era records in the PURSUE releases that collectively demonstrate a single point: the US government has treated UAP as a serious military intelligence matter for at least 77 years. The public narrative of UAP as a recent or fringe concern is contradicted by the institutional record.
8. What Tranche 3 Doesn’t Contain
Pre-release analysis of Tranche 3 anticipated two categories of material that did not appear in the June 12 release:
USO (Unidentified Submerged Object) footage. Tranche 2 included video of spherical objects moving in and out of the ocean surface near a US Navy submarine, which many analysts read as a preview of a USO-focused third tranche. No new submarine or transmedium footage appeared in Tranche 3. This content may be reserved for a future release.
Department of Energy records. Tranche 2 included DOE documents from the PANTEX nuclear weapons production facility. No additional DOE records appeared in Tranche 3, despite the established pattern of UAP activity near nuclear infrastructure.
Additionally, three categories of records that critics have consistently highlighted remain absent from all PURSUE releases to date:
- Technical reports from the classified AAWSAP and AATIP programs (2008–2012)
- Any reference to physical materials allegedly recovered from UAP incidents, as testified about by former DIA officer David Grusch before Congress in 2023
- Full-resolution raw sensor data (radar returns, thermal signatures, acceleration metrics) rather than the compressed footage released so far
9. What Comes Next: Tranche 4 and Beyond
The Department of War’s June 12 press statement, attributed to Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, confirmed that the Department and its agency partners are “actively working on the next release of UAP files.” The Pentagon’s original PURSUE commitment was to release new materials “every few weeks” on a rolling basis.
The release cadence so far: Tranche 1 on May 8, Tranche 2 on May 22 (14 days later), Tranche 3 on June 12 (21 days later). If the pattern holds, Tranche 4 could arrive in late June or early July 2026.
Congressional pressure for deeper disclosure remains. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna has stated that witnesses have been “stonewalled” and that some have faced intimidation. Rep. Tim Burchett has characterized the releases as “Deep State classic” — material the government has already decided is safe to disclose. Whether PURSUE produces genuinely sensitive records or manages public expectations through selective declassification remains, for now, an open question.
TodayWhy will update this article and our Tranche 3 preview article as Tranche 4 developments emerge.
10. Frequently Asked Questions
What was released in Pentagon UFO Files Tranche 3?
Tranche 3, released June 12, 2026, contains 53 documents, 10 digital renderings, 6 videos, and 3 NASA audio recordings from the CIA, FBI, US Army, NASA, and ICA. Key items include a CIA document on a disc-shaped object over Zimbabwe’s Harare airport, FBI footage and reports on orb sightings in the US Northeast, five federal agent accounts of a potato-shaped UAP near Cheyenne Mountain, a 1949 US Army flying saucer study, and a 1962 Gordon Cooper NASA audio recording.
What is the Zimbabwe CIA UFO document in Tranche 3?
The CIA document concerns a July 2008 sighting over Harare International Airport in Zimbabwe, detected by both radar and optical means. The object was described as disc-like in shape with a hollow center and rotating lights on the underside. Observers debated whether it was advanced foreign surveillance technology or a UAP of unknown origin. The CIA document does not resolve this question.
What happened near Cheyenne Mountain in the Tranche 3 files?
In October 2023, five federal law enforcement special agents filed accounts with AARO about a two-day series of encounters in the western US. They reported a large glowing ball that one agent described as “a swirly pattern of bright lava,” with three red lights that flew out of it. A separate report described the object as potato-shaped with fish-like opalescent scales. Cheyenne Mountain, nearby, houses NORAD’s operations center.
What is the Gordon Cooper NASA audio in Tranche 3?
One of the three NASA audio recordings in Tranche 3 is from a 1962 discussion between astronaut Gordon Cooper and journalist Walter Cronkite. Cooper was one of the earliest NASA astronauts to publicly discuss anomalous aerial sightings, having reported a UAP encounter in 1951 over Germany. The full content of the 1962 recording has not been officially transcribed in the release materials.
Where can I download the Tranche 3 UFO files?
All Tranche 3 files are available at war.gov/UFO. The document bundle is approximately 826 MB; the video package is approximately 4.6 GB. Both can be downloaded directly from the PURSUE portal.
Will there be a Tranche 4?
Yes. The Department of War confirmed on June 12, 2026 that additional releases are actively being prepared. The Pentagon committed to rolling releases every few weeks as materials are discovered and declassified.
Continue reading — TodayWhy UAP cluster
- Pentagon UFO Files: Complete 2026 UAP Disclosure Guide — Full breakdown of every tranche, all videos, congressional pushback, and what comes next.
- Pentagon UFO Files Tranche 3: What Was Actually Released on June 12, 2026 — Updated preview article with the full Tranche 3 breakdown.
- NSA Top Secret UMBRA UAP Records: What the 2026 FOIA Release Reveals — The parallel NSA disclosure running alongside PURSUE.