Release follows Trump directive for agencies to declassify government files related to unidentified flying objects
The Pentagon on Friday released an initial group of previously secret files documenting reports of UFOs – a move sought for decades by some.
“These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation – and it’s time the American people see it for themselves,” Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, said in a statement posted on X.
The release follows a directive from Donald Trump in February for federal agencies to begin identifying, declassifying and releasing government files related to unidentified flying objects, now known as unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), and the possibility of alien life beyond Earth.
The move, the US president said at the time, was “based on the tremendous interest shown” by the public, and reflected renewed appetite for information about the government’s knowledge of, and perceived involvement in, programs tracking and even housing supposed aliens and their spacecraft.
