Pentagon releases initial batch of declassified files detailing UFOs
By Kaanita Iyer, Michael Williams, Marshall Cohen, CNN
(CNN) — The Pentagon on Friday released what it says are “never-before-seen files” on UFOs after President Donald Trump directed the agency to do so earlier this year.
The batch of files outlines various investigations of reported sightings of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena that span decades.
“The American people can now access the federal government’s declassified UAP files instantly,” the department wrote on X, referring to unidentified anomalous phenomena, the modern term for UFOs. “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 Defense Department said it will be “releasing new materials on a rolling basis as they are discovered and declassified, with tranches posted every few weeks.”
The Pentagon said some of the materials were previously released by the FBI, but the versions made public Friday had fewer redactions. This was the case with a large FBI file containing hundreds of pages describing “eyewitness testimonies and public reports” about UFOs between 1947 and 1968.
Other files made public Friday contained much more recent observances.
The files include internal military memos describing “one possible small UAP” in Iraq in 2022, as well as “multiple glares or light from an unknown origin” observed in Syria in 2024. US troops were stationed in Iraq and Syria during that time as part of ongoing operations against ISIS.
There are also recent reports from US troops in the United Arab Emirates and Greece.
The Pentagon website where the new documents were posted contains a disclaimer saying that the “descriptive and estimative language” in these military memos reflect the “subjective interpretation” of the person who wrote the report — and therefore “should not be interpreted as a conclusive indication” of what actually happened.
The files also include reports from astronauts aboard the Apollo 12 mission in 1969 to more recent reports from various law enforcement or government officials.
During the Apollo 12 mission, the second crewed moon landing, one of the astronauts, Alan L. Bean, reported to mission control seeing “flashes of light” that are just “sailing off in space.”
“It looks like some of those things are escaping the Moon,” the astronaut says. “They really haul out of here and just press off at the stars.”
Three years later, during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, two astronauts reported seeing “very bright” particles of light.
“It’s like the Fourth of July out there!” one of them, Lunar Module Pilot Harrison “Jack” Schmitt, said.
The astronauts theorized the lights might have come from chunks of ice.
Interest and speculation about extraterrestrials reignited in February after former President Barack Obama said in a podcast that aliens are “real but I haven’t seen them.” He later clarified his comments, saying, “I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us.”
Trump, shortly after, in a Truth Social post, directed the Pentagon and other relevant agencies to “begin the process of identifying and releasing Government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs).”
On Friday, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman applauded Trump for the “effort to bring greater transparency to the American people on unidentified anomalous phenomena.”
“We will remain candid about what we know to be true, what we have yet to understand, and all that remains to be discovered,” Isaacman said in a post on X. “Exploration and the pursuit of knowledge are core to NASA’s mission as we endeavor to unlock the secrets of the universe.”
Trump said on Truth Social Friday that these documents allow people to “decide for themselves, ‘WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?’”
“Have Fun and Enjoy!” the president said.
This story has been updated with additional details.
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CNN’s Danya Gainor and Lianne Kolirin contributed to this report.
