Chronological Timeline
Timeline
176 events in order of their sort year. Incident dates and disclosure dates are separate events, so a 2004 encounter and its 2017 video release each appear in their own year.
1940s 13
- 1944-12 to 1945-01
- 1947-07
Roswell debris recovery and military announcements
Contemporary incident; interpretations contested
Historical case records
- 1947-07-26
Truman signs National Security Act establishing modern intelligence structures
Authenticated statute; no evidence Roswell caused enactment
- 1947-07
FBI agrees to assist the Army Air Forces in investigating flying-disc reports (July 1947 investigative bulletin)
Documented in FBI directives; see PRG-V99-01
- 1947-07-07/08
Muroc AAF: Wise statement (July 7) and three separate July 8 observations by military personnel
Witness reports; object identity unresolved; episodes not shown to involve one object
- 1947-07
William R. Presley takes two photographs at Oak Ridge later investigated by FBI and AEC
Explained by Wright-Patterson as film-emulsion artifact
- 1947-07-09
North Hollywood recovered metal 'disc' examined by FBI
Reported hoax; Army found it incapable of powered flight
- 1947-07-26
Illinois 'disc' of platter, spark plug and tubing reported by Springfield FBI office
Probable prank
- 1947-09/10
AAF division of duties (Sept 3), FBI objections (Sept 27) and FBI withdrawal to a referral-only policy (Oct 1947)
Documented; a Sept 25 counterintelligence hypothesis was considered, not established
- 1948
Robert Landry later recalls Truman requesting periodic UFO threat reports
Retrospective first-person recollection; not written presidential directive
- 1948-12
Green-fireball reports near New Mexico atomic sites begin; LaPaz's Starvation Peak observation
Documented reports; nature unresolved
- 1949-02-16
Los Alamos conference on green-fireball reports
Attendee list to verify against minutes
- 1949-10-14
Second Los Alamos conference recommends photographic triangulation and spectroscopy
Original minutes not yet located
1950s 15
- 1950s–1980s
Area 51 used for classified aircraft programs
Documented military aerospace testing
Historical government accounts
- 1950-03-16
USAF directive authorizes Project Twinkle photographic monitoring
Verify instrument counts; see PRG-V99-02
- 1950-05-25
AFOSI summary compiles 209 New Mexico sightings of mixed categories since Dec 1948
Reported count, not 209 verified anomalous objects
- 1950-10-12/13
Knoxville radar reports multiple returns over Oak Ridge; fighter finds nothing
Object not identified
- 1950-10-24
- 1951-09-24
Truman issues Executive Order 10290
General classification authority; no UAP-specific authorization shown
- 1951-11-27
Project Twinkle final report (L. Elterman) recommends against dedicated funding
Negative/inconclusive; incomplete coverage
- 1952-07
- 1952-07-19/20
- 1952-07-26/27
- 1952-07-29
- 1953-05
- 1957-09-20
Montauk and Benton radars report anomalous returns; F-102 scrambles without confirmation
Attributed by USAF to radar malfunction/interference and possible chaff/ECM
- 1957-09-21
Watch Committee judges Soviet involvement highly improbable
National-security review, not confirmation of a craft
- 1958-02-26
USAF technical summary finds Montauk-Benton data unrelated or contradictory
No single mechanism proven for every return
1960s 11
- 1964-04-24
- 1964-09
- 1964 (alleged)
Holloman AFB contact event reportedly relayed to Jay Stratton by multiple senior sources
Unverified retrospective account; date and source independence unconfirmed
- 1964-04-28
Hynek reportedly visits Socorro (28-29 April), interviews Zamora and examines the disturbed site
Dates reported; field notes not yet inspected
- 1965-08-03
Rex Heflin takes four Polaroid photographs near Santa Ana
Disputed; Air Force judged staged
- 1967-05-20
- 1967-10-04
- 1967-03-16
- 1967-03-24/25
- 1967-09
Horse Lady (“Snippy”) found dead near Alamosa, Colorado; widely publicized as an unusual death
No verified direct UAP connection; original forensic records require review
- 1969-12-17
Project Blue Book terminated (Air Force closure correspondence and fact sheet held in FBI file)
Documented administrative action; do not infer hidden continuation
1970s 7
- 1972
- 1972-12 (photograph); analysis date unknown
Apollo 17 Lunar Module photo reportedly examined by Travis Taylor; distant distinct lights appear arranged in a triangle
Attributed to Stratton; no original image ID or analysis independently reviewed
Stratton, Out of the Shadows (2026) · Source ↗
- 1973-06
SCANATE report records Pat Price's coordinate session on a West Virginia site
Session documented; accuracy not validated | V99 check 2026-11-12: the file cited for this (SRC-V99-054) is Swann's SCANATE training report and does not mention Pat Price or West Virginia; the record of Price's session is not yet located.
- 1976-09-19
- 1977-10 to 1977-12
- 1977-04
Bob Pratt describes a wave of reports beginning in Maranhão and extending west across northern Brazil, later including Colares/Belém
Retrospective geographic synthesis; not every report was part of Operação Prato
- 1978
1980s 12
- 1980-12
Rendlesham Forest sightings near RAF Woodbridge
Witness testimony; later contested
Halt memorandum and audio
- 1980-08
Kirtland AFB / Manzano security reports and separate radar-system outage claim
AFOSI-related reports circulated; original records and any UAP causation need independent corroboration
- 1981-01-13
Charles Halt memo written after Rendlesham events
Contemporary memorandum
Halt memo
- 1981-01-08
- 1982-10-04
- 1983–1985
- 1984
- 1986
- 1986-11-17
- 1986-05-19/20
- 1989
Bob Lazar public S-4 allegations via George Knapp
Disputed allegations, not verified employment at S-4
Original broadcast reporting
- 1989–1990
1990s 8
- 1990–1995
- 1990s–present
ECETI Ranch near Trout Lake hosts skywatching and recurring reported lights near Mount Adams
Visitor testimony and video require independent identification and instrument review
- 1991-08-28 (reported)
Mangyshlak: retrospective accounts allege Soviet MiG fighters briefly lost aircraft systems during a UAP pursuit
Secondary accounts only; no authenticated contemporaneous military evidence identified
- 1994-07
- 1995-09
- 1996
NIDS investigation period at Skinwalker begins
Documented organization; individual phenomena unverified
NIDS research history
- 1996-01
Varginha Brazil witness reports
Multiple reported sightings; extraordinary claims disputed
Witness accounts
- 1998
2000s 10
- 2000
- 2001–2009 (date unknown)
Stratton reports Hal Puthoff participated in George W. Bush-era think tank on UAP disclosure; reportedly recommended against disclosure
Unverified retrospective account; date, sponsorship and direct presidential knowledge unresolved
Jay Stratton, Out of the Shadows (2026); user-provided account; exact page pending verification
- 2002-10-16
Date on the Wilson–Davis notes recording a purported Davis–Wilson meeting in Las Vegas
Authenticity disputed; Wilson denies the meeting
- 2003–2005
- 2003-10-14
- 2004-11
USS Nimitz / Tic Tac encounters
Military eyewitness and video record
Navy footage and testimony
- 2005 (reported)
- 2005-05-20
Brazilian Air Force officials meet civilian ufologists in Brasília and permit inspection of some UFO records
Reported by Pratt; official meeting record not located
- 2008
DIA-funded AAWSAP begins
Government program established; findings debated
DIA program records
- 2008-01
2010s 23
- 2011-03
- 2012
- 2012 summer
- 2013–2014
- 2013-04-25 local / 2013-04-26 UTC
- 2014
- 2014-11-11
Chilean Navy helicopter crew recorded distant thermal target and apparent plumes; CEFAA initially classified it unidentified
Public footage; later aircraft/contrail interpretation contested
- 2015-01
- 2015-01
- 2015-09-01
- 2015-01
Gallaudet later testifies he received safety-of-flight email with GOFAST footage; email subsequently unavailable
Firsthand retrospective account; email and deletion mechanism not independently verified
- 2017-12
Major public reporting on Navy UAP videos and AATIP
Documented media disclosure
DoD and news records
- 2017-12-16
New York Times publishes landmark Pentagon UAP program investigation
Documented publication; extraordinary claims require independent evidence
- 2017-08-22 to 2017-09-11
Elizondo and Neill Tipton (OUSD(I)) exchange emails on a portfolio and its proposed transfer to Tipton
Released in DoD FOIA 21-F-0938; DoD cannot validate attachments; emails do not name AATIP
- 2018–2019
Stratton reports Southern California surge; Bunker Hill and Cape St. George reportedly tracked 10–15 objects
Retrospective account; ship identities and counts awaiting independent confirmation
- 2018–2019 (date unverified)
Stratton says team member collected CSG-9 data and electronically sent it to NSWC Dahlgren
Retrospective memoir; transfer records and data content not independently reviewed
- 2019
- 2019-07-15
- 2019-07-17
- 2019-07
Multiple Navy ships document aerial-object encounters off Southern California
Contemporaneous ship reports; later UAS assessment applies to some cases
- 2018–2020 (date unverified)
Stratton says he personally briefed Michael Griffin and Lisa Porter on CSG-9 incidents
First-person retrospective account; no independent meeting documentation reviewed
- 2019
15-page Wilson–Davis notes circulate publicly
Circulation established; origin disputed
- 2019-10-21
Eric Davis reportedly briefs SASC staff on retrievals of unexplained objects; SSCI staff two days later
Reported by NYT; briefing records not inspected; not committee endorsement
2020s 75
- 2020-04
DoD publicly releases three Navy UAP videos
Video authenticity not proof of exotic origin
DoD release
- 2020-05
- 2020 (approximate; date not established)
- 2020-09-29
- 2020 or later; exact date unknown
Stratton recalls Rubio calling UAP a high priority during Stratton’s first congressional briefing
Memoir account; date and direct quotation not independently verified
- 2020-06-17
- 2020-06-24
- Circa 2020 (unconfirmed)
Stratton reports requested meeting with Treasury Secretary Mnuchin; discussion of potential disclosure impacts and possible Trump consideration
Stratton retrospective account; no independent meeting record; presidential deliberation inferred rather than firsthand Trump testimony
Jay Stratton, Out of the Shadows (2026); user-provided account; exact page not independently checked
- 2020-08-14
DoD publicly announces establishment of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF)
Official announcement; creation dated 2020-08-04
U.S. Department of Defense, Establishment of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force · Source ↗
- 2020-08-19
Stratton and his supervisor reportedly brief Defense Secretary Mark Esper; Esper reportedly requests follow-up meetings with National Security Advisor and Chairman of Joint Chiefs
Stratton memoir; exact meeting records and follow-up outcomes unverified
Jay Stratton, Out of the Shadows
- 2020-06-03
Elizondo sends Request for Department Action to Susan Gough contesting DoD statements on his AATIP duties
Self-report; DoD statements quoted only by Elizondo
- 2020-07-23
NYT publishes Davis statements about alleged 'off-world vehicles not made on this earth'
Statement does not verify craft; Reid qualified his quoted view on 24 July
- 2021-04/05
- 2021-06
ODNI Preliminary Assessment of UAP
144 reports examined; origins unresolved in many
ODNI assessment · Source ↗
- 2021-07
- 2021-06-25
- 2021-03-19
Former DNI John Ratcliffe discusses additional UAP reports and multi-sensor observations in television interview
Public statement confirmed by contemporaneous reporting; underlying reports not individually verified
The Guardian (2021-03-22); DoD briefing card (2021-03-23) · Source ↗
- 2021-05-16
CBS 60 Minutes broadcasts Fravor and Dietrich discussing 2004 Nimitz Tic Tac encounter
Firsthand pilot interviews; underwater source not established
- 2021-07
- 2022-05-17
- 2022-02-15
- 2022-02-15
- 2022-10-21
- 2022-05-17
- 2022-07-15 to 2022-07-20
DoD directs and establishes AARO; Sean Kirkpatrick named inaugural director
Creation documented; Stratton criticism of motive is attributed opinion
DoD announcement · Source ↗
- 2022-12-23
- 2022-05-17
Wilson–Davis notes hosted on Congress.gov among the House Intelligence subcommittee UAP hearing documents
Inclusion is not authentication
- 2023-07-26
- 2023-02
- 2023-07-26
- 2023-02-15
- 2023-06-11
- 2023-09-14
- 2023-10-31
- 2023-12-22
- 2023-07-13
- 2023-12-13
- 2023-12-22
- 2023-07-26
- 2023-12
UAPDA conference compromise removes proposed independent review board and eminent-domain provisions
Legislative result confirmed; identities and motivations of specific negotiators contested
Congressional Record Dec. 13 2023 · Source ↗
- 2023-06-01
Ryan Graves launches Americans for Safe Aerospace to advance aviation safety and reduce UAP reporting stigma
Public organizational history; precise date should be checked against original launch notice
- 2023-07
- 2023-12
- 2024
AARO historical record review published
Review did not verify extraterrestrial technology
AARO historical report
- 2024-11-13
- 2024-01-19
- 2024-05-08
- 2024-10-10
- 2024-11-13
- 2024-11-13
Gallaudet testifies about Navy UAP reporting, AARO concerns and Mellon-reported 2017 satellite imagery
Firsthand and secondhand claims separated; testimony does not prove object origin
- 2024-08
Facebook comment attributed to Davis appears to acknowledge 'my interview notes'
Original post not authenticated; known through screenshots
- 2024-08-20
- 2025-02-06
- 2025-09-09
- 2025-09-09
- 2025-01
- 2025-09-02
- 2025-11-21
The Age of Disclosure released; Dan Farah directs and produces, featuring 34 participants
Film existence and release documented; extraordinary UAP assertions unverified
Official film site; The Numbers · Source ↗
- 2025-06
Wall Street Journal investigation cites AARO and Kirkpatrick in examination of UFO-related disinformation
Published after March documentary premiere and before November wider release; coordination allegation unverified
- 2026-08-01
- 2026-10-21
- 2026 (release)
- 2026-02-06
- 2026-05-12
- 2026-06-15
- 2026-06-17
- 2026-10-29
- 2026-11-07
- 2026-02-19
- 2026-05-08
- 2026-05-22
- 2026-06-12
- 2026-05-08
- 2026-07-08
Gallaudet publicly discusses ocean hiding-place hypothesis and possible transmedium UAP activity
Attributed expert interpretation; concealment premise unverified
- 2026
Gallaudet identifies 2015 attached footage as GOFAST; describes missing email and stigma
Direct memoir attribution; SAP-removal interpretation unverified
Undated 2
- 2014-12-13
Stratton memoir (reader-reported)
Reported event; independent corroboration pending
Exact passage/page, ranks, flight logs and relation to other near misses unresolved
- Date unknown
Edwards AFB test pilot and wingman reportedly circled stationary black cube; account later relayed to Stratton
Unverified retrospective account; incident date unknown
No events match.