Unidentified objects over Syria, Greece, and the UAE: What's the story?

On Friday, May 8, 2026, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOW) launched the Presidential Disclosure and Reporting System on UAP Encounters (PURSUE), releasing dozens of classified documents, videos, and images related to unidentified flying objects or the possibility of extraterrestrial life, after the relevant institutions failed to explain them.

This came in response to a directive from President Donald Trump to declassify government files relating to Unidentified Anomalies (UAP, formerly known as UFOs), extraterrestrial life, and related topics.

The effort involves coordination among several agencies, including the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Office of Multidomain Anomaly Resolution (AARO), NASA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Energy, and others, with a focus on unresolved cases that the government has been unable to definitively identify due to a lack of data, with additional batches to be released periodically every few weeks.

The total number of files is approximately 161, including about 120 PDF files, 28 videos, 14 image files, in addition to other miscellaneous materials.

The content includes historical records dating back to the 1940s, materials from NASA and Apollo missions, FBI files, and recent UAP military reports dating back to the 2020s.

Defense Minister Pete Hegseth stressed the importance of transparency, noting that these files “have long been the subject of justifiable speculation.”

The published archive contains a table of files that includes the agency, dates, locations, and various formats. Among the most notable publications are:

FBI files:
Multiple sections of old case files, such as series 65_HS1-834228961, include eyewitness accounts and general reports from the late 1940s through the 1960s, as well as Cold War-era memoirs about unidentified objects.

First: NASA/Apollo materials:

Images from Apollo 12 (1969) and Apollo 17 (1972) show unidentified objects or lights, such as points in a triangular formation or objects above the lunar horizon.

Texts and audio recordings from space missions, such as Gemini 7 in 1965, in which astronaut Frank Borman reported an unidentified object, as well as discussions of the Apollo 11 crew that included unusual observations.

Second: Old intelligence reports:
Reports from the 1940s and 1950s discuss rotating, saucer-shaped objects and phenomena that "exceed the scope of current intelligence thinking."

A collection of recent military videos, numbering around 22, with a total duration ranging between 35 and 41 minutes, was also published, most of which were captured via infrared sensors.

Among the most notable observations:

Greece (2023): An object near the ocean surface performs sharp turns at a 90-degree angle at a speed of approximately 80 miles per hour.

Syria (October 2024): Appearance of semi-transparent orange shapes or irregular lights.

United Arab Emirates (October 2023) and other locations such as Iraq and the Pacific Ocean: Objects appearing as spots, spheres, or spherical shapes in infrared images.

Other clips also showed variations in the shape of an eight-pointed star, flashes, and objects above the water or desert terrain.

Information indicates that most of the videos originated from the US Central Command and were submitted to the AARO office, while the cases remain “unresolved”.

This release is an extension of AARO’s previous efforts and congressional guidance regarding transparency on UAP, but it represents a more centralized and explicit push under the current administration.

Reactions vary between those who believe the published material contains unprecedented footage, those who call for independent analysis from the private sector, while others warn that many of the sightings may be the result of misinterpretations of drones, balloons, or natural phenomena.

The release does not include any conclusive evidence proving the existence of external origins for these phenomena, while researchers and the public are encouraged to review and analyze the materials.

Dr. Ammar Al-Sakaji
President of the Jordanian Astronomical Society