Pentagon begins releasing new files on UFOs and says the public can draw its own conclusions

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has begun releasing new files on UFOs, saying members of the public can draw their own conclusions on “unidentified anomalous phenomena” like an object that a drone pilot says shone a bright light in the sky and then vanished.

It said in a post on X on Friday that while past administrations sought to discredit or dissuade the American people, President Donald Trump “is focused on providing maximum transparency to the public, who can ultimately make up their own minds about the information contained in these files.” It said additional documents will be released on a rolling basis.

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Besides the Pentagon, the effort is led by the White House, the director of national intelligence, the Energy Department, NASA and the FBI.

A newly unveiled website housing the documents on unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs, has a decidedly retro feel, with black-and-white military imagery of flying objects displayed prominently on the page, with statements displayed in typewriter-like font. The first release includes 162 files, such as old State Department cables, FBI documents and transcripts from NASA of crewed flights into space.

One document details an FBI interview with someone identified as a drone pilot who, in September 2023, reported seeing a “linear object” with a light bright enough to “see bands within the light” in the sky.

“The object was visible for five to ten seconds and then the light went out and the object vanished,” according to the FBI interview.

Another file is a NASA photograph from the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, showing three dots in a triangular formation. The Pentagon says in an accompanying caption that “there is no consensus about the nature of the anomaly” but that a new, preliminary analysis indicated that it could be a “physical object.”

Trump, a Republican, has been teasing the announcement since February. He has previously released records related to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. that revealed little beyond what was already known.

The Pentagon has been working on declassifying documents related to UFOs for years, and Congress created an office in 2022 to declassify material. Its 2024 debut report revealed hundreds of new UAP incidents but found no evidence that the U.S. government had ever confirmed a sighting of alien technology.

Congress ordered the Pentagon to begin releasing decades of files on UFO sightings in 2022 as some members of the military shared encounters with unexplained aircraft.

A small group of Republicans in Congress has pressed for further transparency, accusing the Pentagon of holding documents back. A March letter from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna demanded 46 UAP videos identified by whistleblowers. On social media on Friday, Luna said those videos are expected to be released in a later Pentagon release.

Rep. Tim Burchett thanked Trump for “keeping his word” on transparency and disclosure.”

“I would like to remind people that transparency won’t all happen at once, it will take some time,” Burchett said in a statement.

But experts have urged caution around the release of the new files, warning that UAP videos are often misinterpreted and mischaracterized by those unfamiliar with advanced military technology. The Pentagon’s 2024 report rebutted claims that the U.S. government has recovered alien technology or confirmed evidence of alien life.