Article By Frank Bergman
A long-hidden tape recording of a 1952 UFO briefing involving top Air Force officials and scientists may soon be released to the public, according to Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO).
Burlison revealed the development during remarks to UFO transparency advocates at Disclosure Forum 2026.
The recording reportedly captures a conversation between U.S. Air Force officials and scientists about unidentified flying objects during one of the most dramatic UFO episodes in American history.
The tape is believed to be connected to the infamous 1952 Washington, D.C., sightings, when unexplained objects were reported in the skies above the nation’s capital.
Burlison told the room that the recording is now supposedly in the possession of MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory.
He said his push for disclosure means the public may soon hear the tape for itself.
UFO Advocates Say Tape Could Expose Long-Hidden Briefing
UFO transparency advocates praised Burlison for confirming the existence of the recording and said he has become a key ally in the fight to force the government to release hidden information about unidentified aerial phenomena.
“He’s stopped asking politely,” Disclosure Foundation Executive Director Jordan Flowers told News Nation.
“He knows where certain files are. He’s demanding answers.”
Flowers said he believes the recording may contain a long-rumored discussion about the July 1952 UFO sightings that triggered panic in Washington, D.C.
That episode, sometimes described by UFO researchers as the “Invasion of Washington,” involved multiple sightings of unidentified objects over and around the capital.
Eyewitnesses, including pilots, reported strange objects in the sky.
The reports quickly fueled speculation over what was flying above one of the most heavily protected cities in the world.
Some feared the objects could be advanced Soviet technology during the height of Cold War tensions.
Others suspected something even more extraordinary.
Air Force Blamed Weather for 1952 Sightings
The sightings became so serious that the U.S. Air Force was forced to address the public.
At the end of July 1952, officials held a press conference and dismissed the speculation.
The Air Force said weather conditions were responsible for the sightings.
However, UFO transparency advocates have long questioned whether the government told the full story.
The possible release of the tape could shed new light on what officials and scientists were saying privately at the time.
For disclosure advocates, that distinction is critical.
They argue that official public explanations have often failed to match what the government knew behind closed doors.
The 1952 Washington sightings remain one of the most famous UFO incidents in U.S. history because they unfolded directly over the nation’s capital and involved military attention at the highest levels.
‘The Gloves Are Coming Off’
Flowers said the effort to obtain hidden UFO records is becoming more aggressive.
“The gloves are coming off, in terms of pushing for transparency, and knowing where these things are and pulling them out of the right structures,” Flowers said.
The possible release comes amid growing pressure from lawmakers, whistleblowers, and transparency advocates to declassify government records related to UFOs and unidentified aerial phenomena.
Those calls intensified after former intelligence official David Grusch and lawmakers held a press conference about the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets.
Burlison’s disclosure adds another layer to the mounting pressure on government agencies and research institutions believed to be holding historical UFO records.
If the 1952 tape is released, it could give Americans rare access to the private discussions that followed one of the most alarming UFO scares ever reported over Washington, D.C.
For decades, the public has been told to accept official explanations and move on.
Now, transparency advocates say those old files and recordings may finally be dragged into the light.
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