The United States Department of Defense has published more than 160 previously classified files documenting reported sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs), following a directive issued by President Donald Trump in February. Released on Friday through a newly launched Pentagon website, the documents span decades — with some dating to the 1940s — and draw on records from the FBI, NASA, the Department of State, and other federal agencies. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the release as long overdue, saying the files had been "hidden behind classifications" and had "long fueled justified speculation."
The documents cover a wide range of reported encounters. Declassified transcripts from the Apollo 11, 12, and 17 Moon missions include accounts from astronauts describing unexplained flashes of light and particles. Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin described seeing "a fairly bright light source" that could not be fully explained, while Apollo 12's Alan Bean reported particles appearing to escape the Moon's surface. Military footage from Iraq, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates, filmed in 2022, shows aerial objects the Pentagon describes as "unresolved unidentified anomalous phenomena." Among the older records, a December 1947 file details reports of "flying discs," and a 1948 document — notably mentioning the Dutch coast near the mouth of the Haringvliet — describes three American crew members who observed an unknown jet aircraft accelerating at extreme speed, possibly using rocket propulsion, off the western coast of the Netherlands. A 2023 file recounts three separate teams of federal agents independently reporting orange orbs in the sky launching smaller red orbs.
The Pentagon was careful not to draw conclusions from the material. Many files, it said, had only been screened for security purposes and "have not yet been analysed for resolution of any anomalies." Trump framed the disclosure on his Truth Social platform as an exercise in openness, writing: "Have Fun and Enjoy!" The move follows similar releases of long-classified records related to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. — files that ultimately offered limited new information.
The release has generated a mixed political response. Republican lawmakers Tim Burchett of Tennessee and Anna Paulina Luna of Florida welcomed the disclosure as a positive step toward government transparency. However, critics — including former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene — dismissed it as a distraction from issues such as the cost of living. Republican congressman Thomas Massie had earlier called the UFO release the "ultimate weapon of mass distraction," linking it to ongoing scrutiny of the Justice Department's handling of files related to financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The release comes amid sustained institutional interest in the subject. In 2022, Congress held its first public hearings on UFOs in more than 50 years, and a dedicated Pentagon office was established to investigate and declassify relevant material. A Pentagon report from March 2024 concluded there was no proof that unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) represented alien technology, with many sightings attributed to weather balloons, spy planes, and satellites. Renewed public attention was partly sparked by former President Barack Obama, who said in a February podcast interview that aliens are "real" — comments he later clarified by saying he saw "no evidence" of extraterrestrial contact during his presidency. No evidence of intelligent life beyond Earth has been produced.