The US Department of Defense has released the first portion of a previously classified file on unidentified flying objects (UFOs) following an order from President Donald Trump in February.
Friday’s release included 162 files dating back decades, including documents from the FBI, the State Department and the US space agency NASA. With that came the launch of a new, highly stylized website with a white, typewriter-like font on a black background to house documents.
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The Pentagon said in a statement that it had not made any decisions about the photos or files released, saying many were only examined for security purposes and “no analysis has yet been conducted to resolve the anomalies.”
“While past administrations have sought to undermine or dissuade the American public, President Trump is committed to providing maximum transparency to the public so that they can ultimately make their own decisions about the information contained in these files,” the statement said.
Multiple government agencies were involved in the disclosure, including the Department of Energy, NASA, the FBI, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Trump is positioning the effort as part of his efforts to increase transparency, in line with previous orders to release records related to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. These files revealed few new details beyond what was already known.
“In a commitment to full and maximum transparency, it is my honor to direct my administration to identify and provide government files related to aliens, extraterrestrials, unidentified aerial phenomena, and unidentified flying objects,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday.
“Enjoy and enjoy!” he said.
President Trump’s February order to release files on UFOs and unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) came amid heightened attention after former US President Barack Obama said in a podcast interview that aliens were “real” but that he had never seen them or held them in government facilities.
President Obama later declared, “During my presidency, we have seen no evidence that extraterrestrial life has come into contact with us.”
Critics have accused President Trump of using the release of files related to hot-button subjects to distract from his political woes, particularly the Justice Department’s handling of investigative files on financier Jeffrey Epstein.
In January, the Justice Department announced it had completed the legally required release of files related to Epstein, whose influential social circle once included Trump. Lawmakers have repeatedly said that disclosure does not appear to be complete.
In February, U.S. Representative Thomas Massie, a leading Republican critic of Trump, denounced UFO releases as “the ultimate weapon of public distraction.”
Sighting information and abnormal situations
It remains to be seen how much of an impact the new document will have. They contained no clear direct revelation.
For example, one file details an FBI interview with an alleged drone pilot who reported seeing a “linear object” in the sky in September 2023 with light so bright that “you could see bands in the light.”
“The object was visible for 5 to 10 seconds, then the light went out and the object disappeared,” according to an FBI interview.
Another file is a NASA photo taken during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972 that shows three dots in the shape of a triangle.
The Pentagon said in an accompanying caption that “there is no consensus on the nature of the anomaly,” but new preliminary analysis indicates it may be a “physical object.”
Interest in UFOs and UAPs has persisted for decades and has continued across presidential administrations. In 2022, Congress established a Department of Defense office to examine and declassify related materials. That year, a House committee held the first hearing on the issue in more than 50 years.
The agency’s first report, released in 2024, revealed hundreds of new UAP incidents.
However, no evidence was found that the U.S. government had confirmed sightings of alien technology. He also refuted claims that the U.S. government has recovered alien technology or seen evidence of alien life.
