Eight decades of
the file.

Civilian pilot Kenneth Arnold reports nine crescent-shaped objects flying at 1,200 mph near Mount Rainier, Washington. A newspaper misquotes his description, and "flying saucer" enters the lexicon. The modern UFO era begins.

RAAF public affairs officer Walter Haut issues the press release heard round the world. Within hours, the Army retracts it. The cover-up that would define the next 75 years begins the same day it starts.

Multiple unidentified craft tracked on radar over Washington DC and Andrews AFB on two consecutive weekends. F-94 interceptors scrambled. Objects outrun jets and appear to respond to pursuit.

The first widely documented alien abduction case — missing time, hypnotic regression, and a star map that would later be identified as the Zeta Reticuli system.

Over 200 students and teachers watch a silver craft land, hover, and depart at speed. Officials arrive within hours and warn witnesses to stay silent.

Stefan Michalak's encounter with a landed craft leaves a precise grid-burn pattern across his chest. Physical evidence — radiation, melted materials, the burn pattern — survives decades of investigation intact.

The US Air Force closes its 22-year public UFO investigation program. The Condon Report concludes study is not worthwhile. Many researchers believe it was cover by design — not a genuine investigation.

Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker are taken aboard a craft by robotic beings while fishing. Both pass polygraph examinations. Dr. J. Allen Hynek interviews them and finds no deception.

Logger Travis Walton vanishes for 5 days after being struck by a beam from a hovering craft. Six eyewitnesses pass polygraph tests. His is the most corroborated abduction case in history.

A giant jellyfish-shaped object hovers over a Soviet city for 12 minutes. TASS — the official state news agency — reports it. Pitted glass and elevated readings remain unexplained.

UFOs fire beams of light at residents of Colares island for months, leaving burns, puncture wounds, and anemia. The Brazilian Air Force's classified Operation Saucer photographs dozens of craft.

US Air Force personnel encounter a landed craft over three nights in Suffolk, UK. Lt. Col. Halt files an official memo. Radiation confirmed at landing site. The most documented military UFO encounter outside the US.

Japanese Airlines pilot Capt. Terauchi tracks two craft and a massive mothership for over 31 minutes. FAA radar independently confirms unidentified traffic in proximity to the aircraft.

Physicist Bob Lazar tells investigative reporter George Knapp he worked on reverse-engineering alien craft at a classified facility south of Area 51. His technical descriptions are detailed, internally consistent, and partially corroborated by subsequent declassifications.

62 schoolchildren witness a craft land and beings emerge at their school in Ruwa. Harvard psychiatrist Dr. John Mack flies to investigate and concludes the children experienced something genuinely inexplicable.

Three women encounter a strange being in broad daylight. Military activity spikes across the region. Multiple witnesses describe a Brazilian Army operation to capture living non-human beings.

Thousands of Arizona residents — including the governor — watch a massive silent craft traverse 300 miles of sky. One of the largest mass UFO events in American history. Governor Symington later admits he saw it too.

Navy pilots encounter a white Tic-Tac shaped craft demonstrating performance impossible with known physics. FLIR footage captured. Pentagon would not acknowledge the encounter for 13 years.

Reporters Helene Cooper, Ralph Blumenthal, and Leslie Kean reveal the Pentagon's secret $22M Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program. Three FLIR videos released. The modern disclosure era begins.

The Department of Defense formally declassifies and releases the FLIR1 (Tic-Tac), GIMBAL, and GOFAST videos. The first time the US government has officially confirmed UAP footage is genuine.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence releases its unclassified UAP report. 144 incidents examined. 143 unexplained. One conclusion offered with confidence: they are real, structured craft.

The House Intelligence Subcommittee holds the first public congressional UAP hearing since 1969. Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence confirms ongoing encounters. Stigma in the military begins to crack.

Intelligence officer David Grusch testifies under oath that the US possesses non-human craft and biologics. 40+ corroborating witnesses. The most significant government disclosure moment in history.

The Pentagon's AARO office releases its Historical Record Report claiming no evidence of ET technology. Grusch and senators immediately dispute it, alleging AARO was denied access to the programs in question.

Donald Trump wins the presidency having promised UFO transparency on the campaign trail. Advisors confirm disclosure is a priority for the opening 100 days. The political window for forced disclosure opens.

Steven Spielberg's untitled UAP film premieres following reports he was given classified briefings during production. The most anticipated cultural moment of the disclosure era.