Rendlesham Forest incident files - what actually got released?

Right, so with all the recent government disclosure stuff happening (particularly the US releases), I've been digging back through the Rendlesham Forest incident to see what the UK government has actually released versus what's still classified.

For context: December 1980, RAF Bentwaters, Suffolk. American servicemen claimed they encountered a UFO in the forest over multiple nights. There are supposed to be witness statements, military logs, all sorts of documentation.

I've found bits and pieces through FOIA requests and official releases, but the narrative seems deliberately fragmented. Like specific details are redacted or withheld even from the released documents. The memo from the MoD is particularly vague - it essentially just says "yeah something happened but we're not looking into it further."

My question: does anyone know what the actual full story is, or have access to any documentation that provides better clarity? Are we still waiting for releases, or has everything that's going to be released already been released?

I'm trying to put together a proper timeline and I keep hitting blank spots where information should be.

Most of what was available has been released, but there's definitely still classified material. The US side released more through their recent transparency initiatives, but the UK government's holding back. Typical bureaucratic stonewalling. They don't want to admit they can't protect airspace or investigate incidents properly.

The Rendlesham files are public now, but they've been heavily redacted in places. Names, specific military procedures, some technical details. You can get them from the National Archives online, but the redactions are suspicious. If it was just a misidentification or weather balloon (as official explanation goes), why redact anything?

The memo from the MoD is particularly vague - it essentially just says "yeah something happened but we're not looking into it further."

That's the MoD's standard approach to anything classified. They know something happened, they know it was significant, but officially they're not investigating. It's plausible deniability. Allows them to maintain the official line that "there's no evidence of extraterrestrial activity" while simultaneously not looking for evidence. Clever, really.

The best account of Rendlesham is still probably the witness testimonies from the American personnel directly involved. Their statements are actually pretty credible - military officers with no reason to lie, detailed descriptions, multiple independent corroboration. The fact that nobody's ever convincingly debunked the core claims is telling.

You might try making a specific FOIA request to the MoD asking for any additional Rendlesham-related documents released since 2010. Sometimes they've released stuff quietly without making a big announcement. Long shot, but worth trying. Also check if any researchers have compiled the full released documents into one accessible database.