Share to ClassroomInside the Pentagon's Newly Released UFO Files
The U.S. Department of Defense released more than 160 previously classified files on Friday relating to UFOs (unidentified flying objects) , which the military officially calls unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs. Posted to a dedicated portal at war.gov/UFO, the trove spans decades, from Cold War-era memos to recent civilian sightings. The release was ordered by President Donald Trump, who called for unprecedented transparency on extraterrestrial and unexplained encounters. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard described it as the first in an ongoing joint declassification effort, with additional documents promised on a rolling basis.
The files include vivid accounts from astronauts and civilians alike. Transcripts from the Apollo 11, 12, and 17 missions show crew members describing inexplicable lights— Buzz Aldrin recalled a fairly bright light source the team tentatively identified as a laser, while Apollo 17's Jack Schmitt exclaimed it was like the Fourth of July out there. A 1948 Top Secret memo from the U.S. Air Force Directorate of Intelligence cited recurring sightings over Europe, noting Swedish intelligence officers believed they showed a high technical skill which can not be credited to any presently known culture on earth. More recent entries describe metallic ovoid objects hovering above treelines in 2023 and military video clips of unresolved phenomena recorded over Iraq, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates in 2022.
Reactions to the release have been mixed. Congressman Tim Burchett, a long-time advocate of UFO transparency, called the move a great start in a post on X. However, veteran UFO researcher Dennis Anderson told the New York Post that the government is selectively sharing only the most innocuous material, arguing that authorities know something exists but will never publicly admit they can not defend against it. Anderson also warned that the rolling release strategy may rely on the public's short attention span to obscure further withholding. Several recently disclosed files remain partially redacted, including the 2023 sighting near restricted airspace, and the Pentagon has not indicated when, or whether, the full archive will become available.
