A newly released government archive has made public a previously restricted FBI file concerning Unidentified Flying Objects, spanning a 21-year investigation from 1947 to 1968. The Department of War’s PURSUE archive published the document, case number 62-HQ-83894, on May 8, 2026.
The file, weighing 34.2 megabytes, is described by officials as “minimally redacted.” This marks a notable shift from earlier versions housed in the FBI’s public vault, which contained missing pages and extensive blacked-out sections. The current release is characterized as “the complete case file with several newly declassified pages and only minor redactions.”
The document opens with a standard U.S. Department of Justice form, FD-245.1, dated January 4, 1999. This field office cover sheet includes checked boxes for “FOIPA,” “DO NOT DESTROY,” “NCIC,” and “Other.” Notably, neither “Armed and Dangerous” nor “Suicidal” were checked. The form also lists “See also Nos.” followed by a series of names, giving the document a bureaucratic appearance.
According to the official description, the file contains eyewitness testimonies, public reports, and investigative records. It specifically mentions photographic evidence from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, a site known for nuclear weapons production. The file also includes technical proposals regarding potential propulsion systems, convention programs, researcher accounts, and extensive media coverage from the period, including newspaper clippings and pamphlets collected by the FBI.
The Department of War acknowledged that the file was “previously partially posted on the FBI’s public vault,” with more redactions and missing pages in that version. The difference between a partial posting and a complete file with minor redactions is significant for researchers and the public.
The PURSUE archive is accessible at war.gov, where anyone can download the PDF. The file is titled “65_HS1-834228961_62-HQ-83894_SUB_A.” The PDF viewer in a browser will not open the document; users must download it to access the full content.
The investigation covered in the file begins in the summer of 1947, when pilot Kenneth Arnold reported seeing flying saucers near Mount Rainier, and concludes in July 1968, just one year before the Apollo 11 moon landing. The bureau continued collecting reports and filing paperwork throughout this period.
While the release does not constitute a single definitive piece of evidence, it represents a more complete version of a document the government previously kept partly hidden. The “minimally redacted” description highlights that what was once blacked out is now visible, and what was missing is now present. The file is complete, allowing readers to examine the contents directly.
