New UAP videos dropped all year. Scientists just stress-tested what those clips can actually prove.
A preprint by Jacob Haqq-Misra (Blue Marble Space) and Ravi Kopparapu (NASA Goddard) looked at 112 sensor videos released under the Pentagon’s PURSUE program โ the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters. Coverage from The Debrief and related writeups walked through what the paper found.
Spoiler (the calm kind): the videos are interesting. They are not enough, by themselves, to prove alien-level speeds.
What is PURSUE?
Since May 8, 2026, the U.S. Department of War has been releasing unresolved UAP records in tranches (five batches through early August). The archive includes grainy targeting-pod / turret camera clips โ infrared and electro-optical โ from military platforms.
What the scientists actually did
They asked a basic physics question: can you turn “this blob moved across my screen” into a real-world velocity?
Short answer from their review of all 112 clips: not with the data that’s public right now.
Why a fast-looking video can still be boring
- Range is missing โ without distance, a nearby bird and a distant jet can look the same on a 2D screen
- Sensor metadata is redacted โ field of view, pointing angles, platform speed often blacked out
- Tracking pods cheat your eyes โ the camera rotates to keep a target centered, so “stationary on screen” can still mean fast in the sky
Kopparapu told The Debrief the single most useful missing number is usually range over time.
Remember GOFAST?
The famous Navy GOFAST clip looked insanely fast near the water โ until analysts with better telemetry showed parallax + wind could explain a balloon-like object. PURSUE clips often lack that extra data, so you can’t close the case either way.
What this does not mean
- It does not prove every object is mundane
- It does not prove exotic tech
- It does mean: don’t let a dramatic GIF do your science homework
The practical ask from researchers
Unredact range / flight-log style data where possible, or at least publish verified distances on an official sheet. Multi-sensor observatories (IR + visible + radar + radio) are the long-term path โ think Galileo Project-style setups.
Beginner bottom line
Transparency without telemetry is half a flashlight. The files are public. The physics still needs the missing numbers. Stay curious, stay skeptical, and wait for data that can actually be checked.
Based on The Debrief coverage of Haqq-Misra & Kopparapu’s arXiv preprint and PURSUE materials at war.gov/ufo. Educational only โ not a claim about extraterrestrial life.
