The U.S. Navy has formally denied access to 78 “documents” containing photos marked as “unidentified aerial [anomalous] phenomena” (UAP). The denial, issued yesterday in response to a FOIA request filed by The Black Vault in 2022 and given case number DON-NAVY-2022-012661, highlights the Navy’s continued use of national defense and intelligence exemptions to keep UAP data classified. The response arrived less than an hour before a highly anticipated UAP hearing on Capitol Hill, where members of Congress heard testimony about the government’s lack of transparency on the issue.
The hearing, titled “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth,” was led yesterday by Chairwoman Nancy Mace and Congressman Glenn Grothman, heads of various Congressional subcommittees on cybersecurity, government innovation, and national security. This marked the second time Congress has convened specifically on UAP matters, with the hearing aimed at addressing the classified veil surrounding government-held UAP data. The witness panel included Navy Rear Admiral Dr. Tim Gallaudet, former Department of Defense official Luis Elizondo, NASA Associate Administrator Michael Gold, and journalist Michael Shellenberger. Each expressed concerns about the DoD’s ongoing reluctance to disclose UAP information.
The Navy’s response to the FOIA request, ironically timed alongside the Capitol Hill session, raises significant questions about the scope and depth of information kept from public scrutiny.
According to the response letter, 78 “documents” were located following a search conducted by the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare (OPNAV N2/N6). “After the completion of the search,” reads the letter, “it was determined that these documents are exempt in their entirety from disclosure under FOIA 5 U.S.C. § 552,” specifically under Exemption (b)(1) and in accordance with the UAP Security Classification Guide #04-030.
The use of Exemption (b)(1) and the UAP Classification Guide signals the Navy’s position that these photos, or photo-bearing documents, represent materials that could impact national defense or foreign policy if disclosed. Exemption (b)(1) covers “information properly and currently classified in the interest of national defense or foreign policy,” as specified by Executive Order 13526, which protects military operations, intelligence methods, and national security infrastructure.
According to the Navy, the 78 denied “documents” align with Executive Order criteria such as “(a) operations and military plans, weapons systems, and operations set forth by the command; (c) intelligence activities, intelligence sources or methods, or cryptology; and (g) vulnerabilities or capabilities of systems, installations, infrastructures, projects, plans, or protection services related to national security.” As such, none of the responsive records are being released, and the public, along with the media, will remain in the dark on the true nature and specifics of this imagery.
The Black Vault’s recent request for Navy-held UAP photographs stemmed from a small array of previous FOIA requests, which began in April 2020. Those requests, filed to different offices in the Navy, sought videos of UAP incidents. The case ultimately wound up at the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (N2/N6), and in 2022, they issued a complete denial declaring that all requested UAP videos were classified and therefore “exempt from release.” This disclosure represented a landmark confirmation at the time: the U.S. Navy not only holds an untold number of unreleased UAP videos (the Navy would not confirm how many) but acknowledges that the material is so sensitive it must be shielded entirely from public view. The secrecy surrounding the UAP issue has strengthened ever since, and this newest denial is yet another testament to that reality.
The current FOIA request, filed in September 2022, expanded on that string of FOIA cases, to specifically cover UAP-related photographs. The Navy’s latest response suggests that UAP photos, like their video counterparts, remain tightly controlled to this day.
The UAP Security Classification Guide, also cited in the denial, was first obtained in redacted form by The Black Vault in December 2021. It serves as the Department of Defense’s blueprint for classifying UAP information, and has since April 2020 when it was first signed by former Director of Naval Intelligence Activity (NIA) Scott Bray.
As described in the guide, these data categories are intended to limit access to information that could expose military vulnerabilities or reveal intelligence sources and methods. The guide has been a central component in the Navy’s consistent denials under FOIA, effectively preventing any direct visual evidence from reaching the public. With the denial of the, at least, 78 photos, the guide remains at the heart of ongoing transparency concerns—a fact underlined during yesterday’s UAP hearing itself, where the witnesses repeatedly pointed to excessive classification as a barrier to public understanding.
The withheld photos, whether representing simple stills or part of broader compilations like presentations, constitute a minimum of 78 visuals. However, each “document” could theoretically contain multiple images, possibly escalating the volume of UAP evidence the Navy possesses but withholds.
This release—or lack thereof—highlights the tension between government agencies and a growing demand for openness from Congress, the media, and the American public. For those invested in transparency, this denial underscores a critical issue: as long as the Navy adheres to “national security” exemptions in FOIA cases, and cites the UAP Classification Guide in justifying these refusals, a complete understanding of the UAP phenomena will remain hidden.
The timing of this denial reinforces that, despite Congressional efforts to expose the truth, the Navy’s commitment to secrecy around UAP data is far from waning.
An appeal has been filed by The Black Vault.
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FOIA Response Letter
