The Pentagon on Friday released an initial group of previously secret files documenting reports of UFOs, a move sought for decades by some. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the release on X, stating, "These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation – and it’s time the American people see it for themselves."
Highlights from the Release
Among the highlights is Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, telling a 1969 debrief of seeing a "sizeable" object close to the lunar surface and a "fairly bright light source" the crew felt could be a laser. The release includes numerous written reports and a collection of video files from military cameras around the globe. Objects include a football-shaped object spotted over the East China Sea in 2022 and footage of dots moving erratically over Iraq, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates.
Background and Context
The release follows a directive from Donald Trump in February for federal agencies to begin identifying, declassifying, and releasing government files related to unidentified flying objects, now known as unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs). Trump said the move was "based on the tremendous interest shown" by the public. Last month, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman stated the agency plans missions to space partly because of the possible existence of extraterrestrial life, saying "the odds that we will find something at some point to suggest that we are not alone are pretty high."
Content of the Files
The first batch of 162 files, incorporating hundreds of pages on a new defense department website, offers little new or conclusive evidence. They include old state department cables, FBI documents, and transcripts from NASA's crewed flights. Other pages feature ambiguous eyewitness accounts of encounters with UFOs. For example, a 1947 report from Air Defense Command headquarters in New York includes an account by a Pan Am jetliner pilot who sighted a "bright orange object" for seconds before it disappeared behind a cloud. A more recent document details an FBI interview with a drone pilot who reported seeing a "linear object" with a bright light in September 2023.
Astronaut Reports
Aldrin was not the only astronaut to report a strange occurrence. A NASA photograph from the Apollo 17 mission in 1972 shows three dots in a triangular formation. The Pentagon said "there is no consensus about the nature of the anomaly" but a preliminary analysis indicated it could be a "physical object." Numerous other pages recount similar unproven accounts of sudden phenomena in the sky.
Pentagon's Stance
The Pentagon called Friday's publication an "initial release" in partnership with multiple federal entities, including the White House, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Energy Department, the FBI, and NASA. "Additional files will be released by the Department of War on a rolling basis," the Pentagon said, using the unofficial name for the defense department. However, it conceded that while all files have been reviewed for security, many materials have not yet been analyzed for resolution of any anomalies.
Previous Reports
In 2024, a Pentagon report concluded there was no evidence of extraterrestrial activity, and most sightings were weather-related or misidentified balloons, birds, or satellites. Earlier that year, a separate report by the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office said the government was not secretly hiding alien technology or beings, and a rumored facility in New Mexico housing alien beings was a hoax. This followed a claim by former US intelligence official David Grusch that the US government conducted a secret UFO program that found "non-human" beings.
