The Pentagon released a batch of much-anticipated files about unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) on Friday, including newly declassified documents that have never been seen by the public before.
The release of roughly 160 documents was rolled out on a new website. Among the trove is video footage and images of tantalizing UAP sightings captured around the world. The files also contain scanned historical material about government UAP and unidentified flying object (UFO) programs dating back to the 1940s and the Apollo program.
While it will take days to comb through the finer details, initial highlights include sightings of “orbs launching orbs” by federal employees in the western US in 2023, a “misshapen and uneven ball of white light” reported by the US military in Syria in 2024, and a compendium of UAP reports from the public during the late 1940s, handwritten or produced by typewriter. The files contain accounts of UAP from the Apollo crews, including a light flash on the lunar surface during Apollo 17.
Some of the visuals include an amoeba-like shape captured by the US Indo-Pacific Command in 2024, a bright round shape filmed by the US Central Command in 2024, and unidentified lights in a picture taken by the Apollo 17 crew from the surface of the Moon.
Courtesy of the US Department of Defense
The mysterious nature of UAP has fueled the popular belief that these sightings could be aliens visiting Earth. The US government has never claimed that it has detected or encountered extraterrestrial life in any of these disclosures, including in the newly released files.
In a statement, the Pentagon said that 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.”
“These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation—and it’s time the American people see it for themselves,” said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in the same statement.
Courtesy of the US Department of Defense
