Scott Bray's UAP Emails Released After Four Years, but 302 Pages Withheld
In response to a 2022 FOIA request by The Black Vault, the Navy released more than a thousand pages of heavily redacted correspondence concerning the UAP-related work of former Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence Scott Bray. The records offer a glimpse into how officials handled congressional briefings, the press and the public release of UAP videos around the time the UAP Task Force was formed.
Under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), The Black Vault obtained more than 1,300 pages of emails and related records from the Department of the Navy. The records contain correspondence concerning UAP matters involving Scott W. Bray, former Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence. According to the Navy's response of September 23, 2026, the search located 1,321 pages of relevant documents. Of these, 302 pages were withheld in their entirety, while the remaining 1,019 pages were released with redactions under several FOIA exemptions.
The Black Vault filed the request on May 24, 2022, meaning the records took more than four years to arrive. The request covered emails that Bray received, sent, or was copied or blind-copied on. These contain terms including “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena,” “UAP,” “UAPTF,” “UFO,” “AATIP” or “AAWSAP.” The case number of the released package is DON-NAVY-2022-008648.
During much of the period covered, Scott Bray was Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence and Director of the Naval Intelligence Activity. According to The Black Vault, this position placed him among the Navy, Defense Department and Intelligence Community officials who dealt with UAP reporting, briefings and congressional interest. The same group also worked on setting up what later became the Navy-led UAP Task Force. According to one of the released emails, John “Jay” Stratton leads the Navy's UAP Task Force effort working directly under Bray.
Bray later became one of the government's best-known officials speaking publicly on UAP matters. On May 17, 2022, he appeared alongside Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security Ronald Moultrie at a public UAP hearing of a House Intelligence subcommittee, which was followed by a closed session. The newly released records show the background to this public role in much greater detail.
Who corresponded, and about what?
The correspondence spans several years. It includes Stratton; Neill Tipton, a Defense Intelligence official; as well as senior Navy officers, admirals and Pentagon public-affairs staff.
In a March 2020 email, Tipton tells Bray that he has a document related to a discussion they had the other day, and that he would prefer to deliver it in hard copy. At the time, Tipton was Director of Defense Intelligence, Collection and Special Programs in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence. Another exchange concerns a planned briefing for the Senate Intelligence Committee, involving Bray, Stratton, Tipton and Rear Adm. Kelly Aeschbach.
Other emails show Stratton discussing proposed public language about the UAP effort and whether it should be reviewed by Bray before being sent forward. The collection also includes correspondence from Vice Adm. Matthew Kohler and Rear Adms. Charles Brown and Paula Dunn concerning the April 2020 public release of the Navy UAP videos.
Other topics in the released material include:
- congressional and other high-level briefings,
- press strategy and media inquiries,
- the UAP Task Force itself and the development of the government's organizational response to UAP matters,
- the 2021 ODNI UAP report,
- earlier FOIA releases,
- classification questions.
It also contains attachments, forwarded news articles and discussions of public claims circulating about UAP. The Black Vault emphasizes that their presence in Bray's correspondence does not mean that he or the Navy endorsed them. In many cases, the records merely document what officials received, discussed or prepared to address.
What do we know, and what don't we?
It is certain that the Navy released the 1,019 redacted pages and withheld 302 pages in full. The released material is available in its entirety on The Black Vault. What is not known, however, is what the withheld pages and the redacted sections contain.
According to The Black Vault, the released material cannot be considered a complete history of either Bray's role in UAP matters or the UAP Task Force itself. There are three reasons for this: the request was built around specific search terms, 302 pages were withheld in full, and redactions appear throughout the released pages. According to The Black Vault, individual email chains and topics may warrant separate examination.
The sober take
The Black Vault itself cautions that, because of the search terms, the withheld pages and the redactions, the released emails do not give a complete picture, and that the mere presence of attached or forwarded claims does not mean they were endorsed. The correspondence documents administrative operations, and a detailed analysis of its contents has not yet been carried out.