The Pentagon on Friday released an initial group of previously secret files documenting reports of unidentified flying objects (UFOs), a move sought for decades by some. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the release in a statement on X, saying, 'These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation – and it’s time the American people see it for themselves.'
Highlights from the Released Files
Among the notable documents is a 1969 debrief of Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon. Aldrin reported seeing a 'sizeable' object close to the lunar surface and a 'fairly bright light source' that the crew felt could be a laser. The release also includes numerous written reports and a collection of video files from military cameras worldwide. One video shows a football-shaped object over the East China Sea in 2022, while other footage captures dots moving erratically over Iraq, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates in recent years.
Background and Context
The release follows a directive from former President Donald Trump in February, ordering federal agencies to identify, declassify, and release government files related to UFOs, now termed unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs). Trump stated the move was 'based on the tremendous interest shown' by the public. The push for transparency gained further momentum when NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman recently stated that the space agency plans missions partly due to the possible existence of extraterrestrial life. 'The odds that we will find something at some point to suggest that we are not alone are pretty high,' he told NBC's Meet the Press.
Contents of the Initial Release
The first batch of 162 files, incorporating hundreds of pages on a new Pentagon website, offers little new or conclusive evidence. The Pentagon statement said the public 'can ultimately make up their own minds about the information contained in these files.' The documents include old State Department cables, FBI documents, and transcripts from NASA crewed flights. Other pages feature eyewitness accounts of alleged UFO encounters. For instance, a 1947 report from Air Defense Command headquarters in New York recounts a Pan American World Airways pilot and navigator sighting a 'bright orange object' that disappeared behind a cloud. A more recent FBI interview describes a drone pilot in September 2023 seeing a 'linear object' with a bright light that vanished after five to ten seconds.
Astronaut Reports
Aldrin is not the only astronaut to report strange occurrences. A NASA photograph from the Apollo 17 mission in 1972 shows three dots in a triangular formation. The Pentagon noted that 'there is no consensus about the nature of the anomaly' but that a preliminary analysis suggests it could be a 'physical object.'
Pentagon's Stance and Future Releases
The Pentagon called Friday's publication an 'initial release,' in partnership with multiple federal entities including the White House, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Energy Department, 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 of the files have been reviewed for security purposes, many of the materials have not yet been analyzed for resolution of any anomalies.'
Despite the hype, the Pentagon's policy of 'drip feeding' information is not new. In 2024, a Pentagon report concluded there was no evidence of extraterrestrial activity, attributing most sightings to weather, balloons, birds, or satellites. Earlier that year, a separate report by the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office stated that the government was not secretly hiding alien technology or beings, and that a rumored facility in New Mexico was a hoax. This followed a claim by former intelligence official David Grusch that the US government conducted a secret UFO program involving 'non-human' beings.
