From 1947 to now

Key moments

1. June 24, 1947Kenneth Arnold's nine objectsA private pilot reports nine fast, shiny objects near Mount Rainier. The press coins "flying saucer."
2. July 8, 1947RoswellRoswell Army Air Field announces it has recovered a "flying disc," then the next day calls it a weather balloon.
3. December 1947Project SignThe Air Force sets up its first UFO study. It becomes Project Grudge in 1949.
4. March 1948Aztec, New MexicoAccording to witnesses and later researchers, a craft is recovered at Hart Canyon. The account first appears in a 1950 book.
5. March 22, 1950The Hottel memoThe head of the FBI's Washington office passes on a tip about three saucers recovered in New Mexico.
6. March 1950Radar over Oak RidgeRadar sets near the atomic plant at Oak Ridge pick up objects over it through 1950; the FBI and Army trace the reports.
7. 1950The first saucer booksDonald Keyhoe's The Flying Saucers Are Real and Frank Scully's Behind the Flying Saucers both become bestsellers.
8. March 1952Project Blue BookThe Air Force renames its study Project Blue Book, led at first by Edward Ruppelt. It runs until 1969.
9. July 2, 1952The Tremonton filmA Navy photographer films bright objects over Tremonton, Utah. Navy analysts study it at length.
10. July 1952Lights over WashingtonRadar and witnesses report unknown objects over the capital on two weekends, and jets are sent up.
11. January 1953The Robertson PanelA CIA-sponsored panel of scientists recommends the government reduce public interest in UFOs.
12. May 1953Kingman, ArizonaAn Air Force engineer later swears he was taken to a crashed craft in the desert east of Kingman.
13. 1956NICAP foundedA civilian group, later led by Donald Keyhoe, starts pressing Congress for open hearings.
14. September 19, 1961Betty and Barney HillA New Hampshire couple report a craft and lost time, the first widely known abduction account.
15. 1963The Bahia cablesUS diplomats in Brazil report UFO sightings back to Washington.
16. July 1968House symposiumThe House Science Committee hears scientists including J. Allen Hynek and James McDonald.
17. December 17, 1969Blue Book closesAfter the Condon Report says further study is unlikely to help science, the Air Force ends Project Blue Book.
18. 1972Remote viewing beginsHal Puthoff and Russell Targ start CIA-funded experiments at Stanford Research Institute. The program, later Stargate, runs until 1995.
19. December 1972Apollo 17The last Moon mission. Its transcripts are in the first 2026 release.
20. 1973Center for UFO StudiesAstronomer J. Allen Hynek, the Air Force's long-time consultant, founds CUFOS.
21. November 5, 1975Travis WaltonAn Arizona logger goes missing for five days after his crew says a craft struck him with a beam.
22. 1978Roswell revivedJesse Marcel tells Stanton Friedman the 1947 debris was not a weather balloon.
23. December 1980Rendlesham ForestUS Air Force personnel at RAF Woodbridge, England, report lights and a craft in the forest over several nights.
24. May 1989Bob Lazar on KLAS-TVLazar tells George Knapp he worked on recovered craft at S-4 near Area 51.
25. 1994 to 1997The Air Force Roswell reportsThe Air Force says the debris was from Project Mogul balloons, and later reports of bodies were crash-test dummies.
26. 1995Stargate declassifiedThe CIA ends and makes public the government's remote viewing program.
27. March 13, 1997The Phoenix LightsThousands in Arizona report a huge V of lights. The military later says some lights were flares.
28. May 2001The Disclosure ProjectSteven Greer brings about 20 former officials and service members to the National Press Club.
29. November 14, 2004NimitzNavy pilots off San Diego see a white, oblong object over the sea, and one later films it on infrared.
30. 2008AAWSAP fundedSenator Harry Reid arranges about $22 million for a Pentagon UAP study run by Robert Bigelow's company.
31. January 2015Gimbal and GoFastNavy crews off the East Coast film two of the most famous UAP videos.
32. December 16, 2017The New York Times storyThe Times reveals the Pentagon's program and publishes two Navy videos.
33. April 27, 2020The Pentagon releases the videosThe Defense Department officially releases the Nimitz, Gimbal and GoFast videos. A UAP Task Force follows that summer.
34. June 25, 2021The first report to CongressThe intelligence community's preliminary assessment covers 144 reports and explains only one.
35. 2021Gulf of OmanA Special Operations gunship crew reports and films "cold orbs."
36. May 17, 2022First public hearing in 50 yearsPentagon officials testify on UAP before a House Intelligence subcommittee.
37. July 2022AARO set upThe Pentagon creates the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, led first by Sean Kirkpatrick.
38. February 2023Objects shot downAfter a Chinese balloon is downed, US jets shoot down three more unidentified objects over North America.
39. July 26, 2023Grusch testifiesDavid Grusch tells Congress under oath the US has recovered non-human craft. David Fravor and Ryan Graves testify too.
40. September 2023NASA's UAP reportNASA's independent study calls for better data and less stigma, and NASA names a director of UAP research.
41. 2023The Western US eventTeams of federal agents report objects over a sensitive site, later briefed in the 2026 release.
42. March 2024AARO's historical reportVolume one says AARO found no evidence of extraterrestrial technology. Critics dispute it.
43. November 13, 2024Third hearingLuis Elizondo, Tim Gallaudet, Michael Gold and Michael Shellenberger testify.
44. November to December 2024The New Jersey dronesWeeks of drone reports across New Jersey and New York close Stewart Airport's runways for an hour. Federal agencies say they found nothing anomalous.
45. September 9, 2025Whistleblower hearingService members describe sightings, and a video shows a missile striking a glowing orb.
46. September to November 2025Drones close European airportsDrone sightings shut airports in Copenhagen, Oslo, Munich and Brussels. No operator is named.
47. October 2025Flashes on old sky platesBeatriz Villarroel's team links 1950s sky-survey flashes to nuclear tests and UAP reports.
48. May 8, 2026The first war.gov release158 records from the Pentagon, FBI, NASA, CIA and others. Six more releases follow through October.
49. October 23, 2026Seventh releaseIncludes an AARO memo on a triangular object seen by federal agents.

See also the agency chart, the roster and the glossary. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.