Trump Releases 80 Years of UAP Files
The War Department on Friday released more than 160 files tied to UFO and unexplained aerial phenomenon sightings stretching back nearly eight decades, triggering another surge of public fascination after President Donald Trump hinted earlier this week that some of the material would be “very interesting to people.”
The document dump follows Trump’s February executive order demanding broader transparency surrounding “alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs).”
In a statement posted to X, the Pentagon framed the release as a dramatic shift away from decades of government secrecy.
“The American people can now access the federal government’s declassified UAP files instantly,” the Pentagon said. “The latest UAP videos, photos, and original source documents from across the entire United States government are all in one place — no clearance required.”
The statement also took an unmistakable swipe at previous administrations.
“While past administrations sought to discredit or dissuade the American people, President Trump is focused on providing maximum transparency to the public.”
The newly released files include videos and images captured over Greece, Iraq, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States itself. Some clips show strange thermal signatures and oddly shaped airborne objects that remain officially unexplained, at least publicly.
Also included were decades of FBI reports, intelligence memos, eyewitness accounts, and newspaper clippings documenting alleged UFO sightings dating back to the 1950s. Some records appear heavily bureaucratic and mundane. Others are far stranger.
One of the most talked-about disclosures involves a transcript from the Apollo 17 mission in which astronauts described seeing unusual objects drifting outside their spacecraft.
“We’ve got very bright particles or fragments or something that go drifting by as we maneuver,” one astronaut says in the transcript. Another compared the scene to “the 4th of July” outside the spacecraft window.
An accompanying image shows three illuminated objects appearing in triangular formation above the lunar surface. The file itself stops short of claiming anything extraterrestrial, noting there is “no consensus about the nature of the anomaly,” though it references preliminary analysis suggesting the possibility of a “physical object.”
Naturally, that language alone was enough to send UFO enthusiasts into overdrive online within minutes of the release.
Still, government officials involved in prior investigations continue urging caution.
Sean Kirkpatrick, the former head of the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, said earlier this week that people expecting proof of alien contact are going to be disappointed.
“Readers should not get their hopes up that there’s going to be some document with photos interviewing the aliens when they came down,” Kirkpatrick told the Associated Press. “Because that just doesn’t exist.”
Kirkpatrick has consistently argued that many viral military UFO videos can be explained by camera distortions, infrared heat signatures, atmospheric effects, or misunderstood flight characteristics captured by advanced targeting systems.
That skepticism has done little to slow growing political interest in the issue.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna has publicly claimed she has seen evidence related to “interdimensional beings” and accused the Pentagon of withholding information. Vice President JD Vance has also leaned heavily into the topic, previously saying he is “obsessed” with the UFO files and intends to investigate Area 51 further during his term.
Vance even suggested earlier this year that some sightings people interpret as aliens may instead involve “demonic figures,” a comment that only intensified online speculation surrounding the releases.
The Pentagon’s own 2024 UAP report acknowledged hundreds of unexplained incidents but concluded there was no confirmed evidence of extraterrestrial technology. Another report covering newer sightings is expected soon.
For many Americans, though, the appeal of these disclosures has less to do with definitive proof and more to do with decades of mystery finally being opened to public view.
And while Friday’s release may not contain smoking-gun evidence of alien visitors, it does reinforce one thing: the federal government has spent generations quietly collecting reports, videos, and intelligence assessments about unexplained aerial events that officials once dismissed publicly while studying privately behind closed doors.