In February 2026, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth was asked directly about a timeline for releasing government UAP records. His answer was cautious but revealing — and three months later, PURSUE went live.
“Expectations are gonna be high, right? I don’t wanna over-promise and under-deliver. We’re gonna take a little time to make sure we assess what this should look like and deliver for the President, for the American people.”
The statement came on February 24, 2026 — the same day the Navy’s Judge Advocate General denied the Black Vault’s FOIA appeal for 78 classified UAP photographs. Hegseth acknowledged the “significant public interest” and confirmed officials were working on it under his direction, but gave no timeline.
On May 8, 2026, the Department of War launched PURSUE and released 161 files. Hegseth’s accompanying statement: “These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation — and it’s time the American people see it for themselves.”
The Oracle Assessment
Hegseth’s February language was managed-expectations language. It was not evasion — it was a man who knew a release was coming and didn’t want the first tranche to disappoint. The gap between his February caution and his May boldness (“long fueled justified speculation”) suggests the first tranche was assembled and reviewed in the intervening period, and that Hegseth himself understood its significance.
The question now is what Hegseth knows about the tranches that follow. The DOE files. The contractor records. The material analysis programs. Whether the “over-promise” concern was about the first release — or about what comes next.
Source: The Debrief. Secretary Hegseth interview, February 24, 2026.