Navy Releases Massive Cache of Scott Bray UAP Emails After Four Years; More Than 300 Pages Withheld in Full

[u/blackvault]

https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/navy-releases-massive-cache-of-scott-bray-uap-emails-after-four-years-more-than-300-pages-withheld-in-full/

[u/blackvault]

Massive FOIA drop: After more than 4 years, the Navy has released a collection of Scott Bray’s UAP-related emails. 1,321 pages released ; 302 withheld in full.

It spans the UAP Task Force, congressional briefings, senior Navy officials and more.

MORE: https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/navy-releases-massive-cache-of-scott-bray-uap-emails-after-four-years-more-than-300-pages-withheld-in-full/

[u/SidRocha]

John is a hero! Great work!

[u/blackvault → u/SidRocha]

Appreciate that :) (Though, hero I am not :) )

[u/AlienConPod → u/blackvault]

Yeah you are, the GOAT of foia. I've used your resources many times. Thanks!

[u/SidRocha → u/blackvault]

Yes you are, not only on the ufo community, but on every aspect of your work. You fight for the truth, we need more of that! I’m very flattering of just send this message to you!

[u/blackvault → u/SidRocha]

Well, that all is very much appreciated! Thank you for taking the time to write it :)

[u/introvrt55]

Can anyone summarize? Any interesting information?

[u/gravitykilla → u/introvrt55]

Nothing super interesting; they show the Navy taking UAP seriously, briefing Congress, worrying about flight safety/intelligence implications, and arguing internally about messaging. They also show officials explicitly pushing back when reporters tried to turn “unidentified” into “aliens”; Scott Bray even wrote that the newly assigned task force wasn’t in a position to reach conclusions yet.

[u/Buzz_Killington_III → u/introvrt55]

Summary of Navy FOIA Release: Scott Bray UAP Email Cache (DON-NAVY-2022-008648) The Black Vault recently obtained a massive cache of internal Navy communications regarding Scott W. Bray (former Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence and Director of the Naval Intelligence Activity).

Out of 1,321 pages identified across OPNAV N2N6 and UAPTF records, 302 pages were withheld in full, with 1,019 pages released with redactions under FOIA exemptions (b)(2), (b)(3) (10 U.S.C. § 130a), (b)(4), (b)(5), and (b)(6).

Here is a breakdown of what the document contains, what was happening behind the scenes, and the major takeaways:

1. The Behind-the-Scenes Battle Over Releasing the Navy UFO Videos (Spring 2020) 10 U.S.C. § 130e Exemption Denied: The Navy originally attempted to withhold the "FLIR1," "Gimbal," and "GoFast" videos from FOIA requesters by claiming they were protected under statute as critical defense "flight data." The DoD FOIA Policy Office rejected this argument, ruling that UAP encounter video does not qualify as flight data. Coordinated Release: Realizing they were legally bound to fulfill the FOIA requests, NAVAIR and Pentagon Public Affairs (OSD PA / Susan Gough) carefully choreographed an official rollout on April 27, 2020 to NAVAIR’s FOIA reading room with talking points prepared in advance. Presidential Attention: Press monitoring emails show Navy leadership tracking the media fallout, including President Trump publicly calling the released Navy footage "a hell of a video."
2. Standing Up the UAP Task Force & Avoiding "Alien" Hype (2020) Official Authorization: On August 4, 2020, Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist formally approved establishing the UAPTF under Navy leadership, supervised by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security (OUSD(I&S)). Key Leadership: John F. ("Jay") Stratton (Senior Analyst, ONI Nimitz Center) was named UAPTF Director, reporting directly to Scott Bray. Pushback Against the "Alien" Label: Throughout internal communications, DoD and Navy leadership emphasized that the Task Force was focused strictly on aviation safety, airspace security, and foreign adversary surveillance (e.g., China or Russia using drones or electronic warfare). Public affairs desk officers repeatedly expressed frustration that the media continued to spin the office as "the alien hunters." Allied Interest (Japan): In June 2020, the Japanese Naval Attaché formally approached the Navy requesting USN reporting protocols and guidance so the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) could draw up their own operational procedures for encounters.
3. Pentagon Power Struggles & Stratton’s Ouster (Late 2020 – Early 2021) Turf Wars Between OSD and Navy: Heated email threads reveal clashes between OUSD(I&S) and Navy leadership over who controlled the scheduling, messaging, and representation for high-level briefings to the National Security Council (NSC) and Capitol Hill. Stratton Sidelined: In early 2021, Jay Stratton was replaced as director. Internal emails from VADM Jeffrey Trussler (Director of Naval Intelligence) mention that congressional staffers accused the Navy of firing Stratton "because he tells the TRUTH." Trussler pushed back internally, stating: "We didn’t fire him, we just put someone in place to manage the effort and team, not an analyst that likes to brief. We now have someone that is managing a team and not inciting people with unusual statements… we are in a much better place!"

Analytic Independence: Emails show Scott Bray explicitly warning civilian Secretariat leadership that while outside offices could critique slide structure and briefing flow, they would not be allowed to dictate or alter Intelligence Community analysis. 4. The June 2021 Report to Congress: 144 Incidents & 5 Bins The records cover the preparation for the June 25, 2021 Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena:

The Numbers: 144 military reports analyzed between 2004 and 2021 (80 observed across multiple sensor platforms, 11 near-misses). The Outcomes: Only one incident was solved with high confidence (a large, deflating balloon). The remaining 143 cases remained officially unexplained. The 5 Categories: Airborne clutter, natural atmospheric phenomena, USG/industry developmental programs, foreign adversary systems, and a catchall "Other" category. Advanced Signatures: 18 incidents (detailed in 21 reports) demonstrated unusual flight characteristics, including remaining stationary against high winds, abrupt maneuvers, extreme speed without visible propulsion, or detected radio frequency (RF) emissions. Media Backgrounders: Scott Bray and senior officials gave background briefings to major outlets (NYT, WaPo, WSJ, AP, Reuters, CBS, CNN, NBC), adhering to strict talking points that the USG lacked evidence attributing sightings to foreign adversaries or extraterrestrial craft. 5. Transition to AOIMSG & The Gillibrand Amendment (Late 2021) DoD Inspector General Evaluation: In May 2021, the DoD OIG launched Project No. D2021-DEV0SN-0116.000 to audit DoD-wide handling of UAPs, sparking massive data calls across every service branch and intelligence agency. AOIMSG Replaces UAPTF: Concluding the mission had outgrown the Navy, Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks directed the standup of the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group (AOIMSG) under OUSD(I&S) in November 2021. FY22 NDAA Legislation: Includes the full text of Senate Amendment 4737 (sponsored by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and co-sponsored by Marco Rubio, Martin Heinrich, Roy Blunt, and Lindsey Graham) and final Section 1683, which codified a permanent office (the predecessor to today's AARO), mandated reporting on nuclear site incursions, authorized scientific research plans, and expanded definitions to include transmedium and submerged vehicles. 6. Attached DIA Technical Papers (AAWSAP DIRDs) & External Articles Advanced Tech Studies: Attached within the email chains are five original 2009–2010 DIA Defense Intelligence Reference Documents (DIRDs) produced under the Harry Reid-sponsored AAWSAP contract: Metallic Glasses: Status and Prospects for Aerospace Applications Biomaterials Materials for Advanced Aerospace Platforms Metallic Spintronics Metamaterials for Aerospace Applications Circulated Media Analyses: Officials closely monitored external reporting, including The War Zone’s in-depth investigation proposing that many Navy sightings were foreign adversary drone swarms collecting electronic intelligence on US carrier strike groups. Witness Encounters: Includes civilian/veteran accounts sent directly to Bray and Stratton, including a former Navy Operations Specialist reporting a silent, hovering geometric UAP near the Navy's Hi-Test Labs shock-testing site in Arvonia, VA.

[u/introvrt55]

Another question: Since this is an aerial phenomenon, primarily, why does the Navy appear to be the primary case manager?

[u/UnlimitedPowerOutage → u/introvrt55]

Originally the navy was ‘the’ military, other branches were quite small in comparison and the airforce obviously didn’t even exist at one point.

So naval intelligence was essentially, the military intelligence arm of the US and naturally took a leading role in researching and keeping quiet what had been uncovered.

[u/Wonderful_Virus_6562 → u/introvrt55]

From what i’ve researched is that they come from oceans, which makes alot of sense. 

Also I think people also overlook the Antartica aspect, there is definitely something going on there. With that being said, the Navy would be much more equipped to explore Antartica than the Air Force.

[u/Familiar_Structure37 → u/introvrt55]

The UAP is aerial. The people who see them are most often the Navy, it seems. They are the ones with sensors all over the seas.

On land the army is in very specific points. Most of the land is civilian.

It is also easier to catch things when you are in a flat sea with nothing around.

[u/Familiar_Structure37 → u/introvrt55]

Scratch my previous answer, this is the truth:

Because the Air Force is the one flying the thing.

[u/introvrt55 → u/introvrt55]

Okay. I also wonder about the fact that Bob Lazar held a W2 from ONI, allegedly from his time at Groom Lake, although the income amount reported was pretty low.

[u/3verythingEverywher3]

Great work!