The U.S. government released a trove of so-called "UFO files" on Wednesday, though the materials stop short of officially confirming the existence of unidentified flying objects and remain unresolved cases with no final determination.
The U.S. Department of Defense (Department of War) posted 161 files related to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) on its website. The materials include data collected from around the world, as well as from outer space and the moon, dating from the 1940s through last year.
"Strange Phenomena Witnessed on the Lunar Surface"
During the Apollo missions, America's manned lunar exploration program, astronauts reported witnessing strange phenomena on the moon's surface after returning to Earth. Buzz Aldrin, the Apollo 11 pilot who became part of the first crew to land on the moon, said he saw an object of "considerable size" as the spacecraft approached the moon and also observed flashes of light that "appeared at intervals of several minutes" on the lunar surface.
The Apollo 12 astronauts captured a vertical-shaped unidentified object hovering above the horizon at their landing site. Apollo 17 also photographed three luminous objects above the lunar surface.
The late Frank Borman, one of the first astronauts to explore space, reported seeing a "bogey" — an unidentified aircraft — while flying aboard Gemini 7, communicating with the Houston Space Center (now the Johnson Space Center). He described debris made up of hundreds of small particles about 4 miles (approximately 6.6 kilometers) away, with an object shining brightly in the sun against a dark background.
Sightings Reported in Former Soviet Union, France, Japan, and Germany
U.S. military reports of suspected UFOs spotted during reconnaissance or operations, along with civilian sightings from around the world, were also declassified. The materials include data obtained not only from the United States but also from the former Soviet Union, France, Japan, and Germany.
According to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) documents, multiple witnesses testified that in 2023 they saw an oval-shaped, bronze-colored metallic object measuring 130 to 195 feet (approximately 40 to 60 meters) long appear in the sky and vanish in an instant.
Investigation records from 1947 to 1968 contain accounts of flying saucer sightings in Tennessee.
The U.S. Air Force also reported that in 2024, it detected a diamond-shaped aircraft flying at "approximately 434 knots" and observed it for about two minutes using shortwave infrared sensors.
Trump: "The People Will Judge for Themselves"
The files were released in response to President Donald Trump's February directive and come from materials held by the Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the FBI. The Defense Department coordinated with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to review decades of accumulated records before declassifying them. Given the massive volume of files, additional materials will be released at intervals of several weeks.
"The archived materials are unresolved cases in which the government has been unable to make a final determination on the nature of the observed phenomena," the Defense Department said. "We welcome private-sector analysis and the application of expertise, and we will continue to separately report UAP cases in which the cause has been identified."
Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social that he was "honored to direct the identification and release of government files on extraterrestrial life, UAP, and UFOs as part of our effort to achieve full transparency." He added, "Previous administrations were not transparent on this subject, but with these newly released documents and videos, the American people will be able to judge for themselves exactly what is going on." He concluded, "Have fun."
