WASHINGTON — The Department of Defense has started making new UFO documents available to the public, allowing Americans to form their own opinions about what officials call “unidentified anomalous phenomena.”
The transparency initiative involves multiple federal agencies working together, including the White House, national intelligence director, Energy Department, NASA and FBI.
In a Friday social media post, the Pentagon stated that while previous administrations attempted to discredit or discourage 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.” Defense officials indicated more documents will be made available gradually.
The Republican president has been hinting at this announcement since February. Trump has previously made public records concerning the killings of President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., though those releases contained little new information beyond what was already public knowledge.
Defense Department officials have spent years working to declassify UFO-related documents, and lawmakers established a dedicated office in 2022 for declassifying this material. The office’s initial 2024 report documented hundreds of additional UAP incidents but discovered no proof that the U.S. government had ever verified a sighting of extraterrestrial technology.
Lawmakers directed the Pentagon to start making decades of UFO sighting files public in 2022 after military personnel began sharing encounters with unexplained aircraft.
A small group of Republican lawmakers has pushed for greater transparency, claiming the Pentagon has withheld documents. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna sent a March letter requesting 46 UAP videos that whistleblowers had identified. Luna announced on social media Friday that those videos are anticipated to be included in a future Pentagon release.
Rep. Tim Burchett expressed gratitude to 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.
Specialists have recommended caution regarding the new file releases, noting that UAP videos are frequently misunderstood and misrepresented by people unfamiliar with sophisticated military equipment. The Pentagon’s 2024 report disputed assertions that the U.S. government has obtained alien technology or verified evidence of extraterrestrial life.
