The case files
The record of every report the Council has reviewed.
Each entry is numbered, dated, located, and cited. Verdicts are revised when the evidence is.
3I/Atlas — Anomalous brightening event of 23 April 2026
Multiple observatories report an unexpected 0.6-magnitude brightening of the third confirmed interstellar object, 3I/Atlas, between 21 and 23 April 2026. The Council is monitoring; current evidence does not require a non-natural explanation.
Senate Intelligence Committee UAP hearing — 22 April 2026
On 22 April 2026, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence convened an open session on the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office's progress and the FY2025 annual UAP report. The Council is logging the hearing's substantive disclosures, witness commitments, and any new case references.
AARO FY2025 Annual Report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena
The AARO FY2025 annual report, released in April 2026, is the third such mandated report to Congress under the FY2023 NDAA. The Council is logging its case-resolution statistics, new disclosures, and any references to specific incidents for individual case-file follow-up.
Brazilian Air Force release of 1986 'Night of the UFOs' radar tapes
The Brazilian Air Force has, across multiple announcements, indicated additional declassification of materials related to the 19 May 1986 'Night of the UFOs' (Case #00114) including primary radar data. The Council is watching for the release window and is prepared to update Case #00114 substantially if the underlying tapes become public.
Reported PLA-AF J-16 UAP encounters — 2024 disclosures
Reports surfaced in 2024 of PLA Air Force J-16 fighter encounters with unidentified aerial phenomena, sourced to academic papers published by personnel affiliated with the People's Liberation Army. The Council is watching for primary-source confirmation; current public material is largely indirect.
Eglin AFB radar tracks — 26 January 2023
Eglin Air Force Base reported a series of radar contacts in restricted airspace in late January 2023 that AARO has acknowledged in its historical records review. Public detail remains limited; the Council is watching for additional declassification.
USS Omaha — Spherical object encounter, 15 July 2019
FLIR video taken from the bridge of the USS Omaha shows a spherical object tracking the ship before descending into the ocean. The Department of Defense has confirmed the footage is authentic Navy material; the object's identity remains unresolved.
GoFast — F/A-18 ATFLIR encounter, 2015
ATFLIR video from a 2015 USS Theodore Roosevelt training cruise shows a small, fast-moving object skimming above the ocean surface. The Department of Defense has confirmed the recording's authenticity; debate centers on whether the object's apparent speed is real or a parallax effect.
Gimbal — F/A-18 ATFLIR encounter, 2015
ATFLIR video captured from an F/A-18 Super Hornet operating with the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group shows a saucer-shaped object rotating against the prevailing wind. The Department of Defense has confirmed the footage as authentic Navy material; its identity remains officially unresolved.
Aguadilla, Puerto Rico — CBP thermal video, 25 April 2013
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection DHC-8 surveillance aircraft recorded approximately three minutes of thermal imagery showing a small, fast-moving object that crossed land, entered the ocean, and apparently split. The Council finds the official chain of custody intact and the object's behavior unresolved.
Stephenville, Texas — radar-confirmed sighting wave, January 2008
Dozens of witnesses around Stephenville, Texas reported a large, low-flying object in early January 2008. FAA radar data subsequently obtained by MUFON investigators correlated unidentified contacts with U.S. Air Force F-16 traffic, raising — and partially answering — questions about official involvement.
Chicago O'Hare International Airport — Gate C17, 7 November 2006
On the afternoon of 7 November 2006, multiple United Airlines employees and at least one pilot reported a metallic, disc-shaped object hovering over Gate C17 at O'Hare International Airport. The object reportedly punched a circular hole through the cloud layer as it ascended. The FAA acknowledged the report but did not investigate; no radar trace has been released.
USS Nimitz — "Tic Tac" encounter, 14 November 2004
Multiple radar contacts and visual confirmation by F/A-18 pilots from the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group of an oblong, white object — colloquially the 'Tic Tac' — exhibiting flight characteristics outside the known performance envelope of any contemporary aircraft.
The Phoenix Lights — 13 March 1997
Two distinct events on the night of 13 March 1997 — a triangular formation of lights moving silently across Arizona, and a row of stationary lights observed near Phoenix later that night. The Council finds the second event explained by military flare exercises; the first remains separately documented.
Phoenix Lights — Triangular formation, 13 March 1997
Separate from the later flare exercise (Case #00012), an earlier triangular formation of lights moved silently across Arizona on the evening of 13 March 1997, observed by witnesses including former Governor Fife Symington. The Council distinguishes this event from the explained later observations and assigns it Inconclusive.
Ariel School encounter — Ruwa, Zimbabwe, 16 September 1994
On the morning of 16 September 1994, an estimated 62 students at Ariel Primary School in Ruwa, Zimbabwe reported observing a craft and small humanoid figures during morning recess. Harvard psychiatrist John E. Mack interviewed the witnesses extensively. The Council finds the witness density and consistency unusual; no physical evidence exists.
Belgian UFO wave — November 1989 to April 1990
From November 1989 through April 1990, thousands of Belgian witnesses — including police officers — reported large, slow-moving triangular craft. The Belgian Air Force's response on the night of 30–31 March 1990 produced an official radar-and-interceptor report that remains one of the most-cited military UAP documents in Europe.
Japan Airlines Flight 1628 — Alaskan airspace, 17 November 1986
On 17 November 1986, the crew of Japan Airlines Flight 1628 — a Boeing 747 freighter — reported a sustained 50-minute encounter with multiple unidentified objects over eastern Alaska, with corroborating radar contacts at Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control. The FAA's contemporaneous investigation file was released; Captain Kenju Terauchi's account remains one of the most-detailed civil aviation UAP reports.
Brazilian Air Force 'Night of the UFOs' — 19 May 1986
On the night of 19 May 1986, Brazilian Air Force radar tracked up to 21 unidentified contacts over southeastern Brazil, prompting the scramble of F-5 and Mirage interceptors from multiple bases. The case received an official FAB press conference within days and remains one of the strongest publicly-documented military UAP incidents in the southern hemisphere.
Hudson Valley wave — 1982 to 1986
Between 1982 and 1986, thousands of witnesses across the Hudson River Valley reported large, slow, V-shaped formations of lights. Investigation by the New York State Police, contemporaneous reporting, and admissions from local pilots converge on coordinated formation flights of ultralight aircraft based at Stormville Airport — a well-documented, if unconventional, mundane explanation.
Hessdalen lights — ongoing scientific monitoring, 1981 onward
The Hessdalen Valley in central Norway has produced recurring luminous-phenomenon sightings since the early 1980s. Project Hessdalen, an instrumented monitoring program operated continuously since 1984, has captured the lights on cameras, magnetometers, and spectrum analyzers. Multiple working hypotheses exist; no single explanation accounts for all observations.
Cash–Landrum incident — 29 December 1980
On the evening of 29 December 1980 near Dayton, Texas, Betty Cash, Vickie Landrum, and Landrum's grandson Colby reported a close encounter with a diamond-shaped object emitting flame, escorted by approximately 23 military helicopters. All three witnesses subsequently developed symptoms consistent with acute radiation exposure. The U.S. government denied involvement; the resulting federal claim was dismissed.
Rendlesham Forest — 26–28 December 1980
Across three nights in late December 1980, U.S. Air Force personnel stationed at RAF Woodbridge investigated unexplained lights in the adjacent Rendlesham Forest. The deputy base commander's memorandum to the UK Ministry of Defence, released decades later, remains one of the strongest first-hand military UAP documents in the public record.
Imperial Iranian Air Force F-4 incident — Tehran, 19 September 1976
On the night of 19 September 1976, two Imperial Iranian Air Force F-4 Phantoms scrambled to investigate an unidentified luminous object over Tehran experienced repeated avionics and weapons-system failures. The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency's contemporaneous report remains a central document in the international UAP record.
Westall, Australia — schoolyard mass sighting, 6 April 1966
On the morning of 6 April 1966, an estimated 200 students and staff at Westall High School in suburban Melbourne observed one or more disc-shaped objects descending into a nearby paddock and ascending again. Witnesses report subsequent ground impressions and an official advisory not to discuss the event. The Council finds the witness density unusual and the official record incomplete.
Levelland, Texas — vehicle interference reports, 2–3 November 1957
Over an approximately three-hour window on the night of 2–3 November 1957, at least 15 motorists in and around Levelland, Texas reported their vehicle engines and headlights cutting out as a luminous, egg-shaped object passed at low altitude. Project Blue Book attributed the reports to ball lightning; independent atmospheric scientists argued the explanation does not fit.
RAF Lakenheath–Bentwaters radar–visual incident, 13–14 August 1956
Multiple ground and airborne radar systems at RAF Lakenheath and RAF Bentwaters tracked unidentified high-speed contacts on the night of 13–14 August 1956, with corroborating visual sightings and a vectored RAF interceptor. The Condon Committee — generally a skeptical reviewer — classed the case as 'puzzling' and lacking a satisfying explanation.
Washington D.C. flap — 19–26 July 1952
On consecutive weekends in July 1952, radar operators at Washington National Airport tracked unidentified contacts over restricted airspace including the U.S. Capitol. The U.S. Air Force's contemporaneous explanation — temperature-inversion radar returns combined with misidentified celestial bodies — was substantiated by Project Blue Book and remains the well-supported account.
Kenneth Arnold sighting — Mount Rainier, 24 June 1947
On 24 June 1947, Idaho-based businessman and private pilot Kenneth Arnold reported observing nine objects flying in formation past Mount Rainier at extraordinary speed. His description — that the objects moved 'like a saucer if you skip it across the water' — gave rise to the term 'flying saucer' and effectively opens the modern UAP era.
Roswell incident — July 1947
Debris recovered in mid-June 1947 from a ranch near Corona, New Mexico is, by the U.S. Air Force's 1994 and 1997 official reports, attributable to a Project Mogul high-altitude balloon train designed to detect Soviet nuclear tests. The Council finds the Mogul attribution well-documented and assigns Debunked.