A monochrome image of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP) submitted to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. The image shows a dark, circular object at the center of a lightly textured background and black bars denoting redacted information. Credit: U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation
The U.S. Department of Defense released new batches of never-before-seen UFO files, including photos and video, on May 8 and 22. Greg Eghigian, professor of history and bioethics at Penn State and author of "After the Flying Saucers Came: A Global History of the UFO Phenomenon," has unpacked the releases and what historians and UFO enthusiasts can take away from the recently declassified information in the following Q&A.
What is in these UFO (unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP) reports that the Pentagon released?
The Pentagon has released more than 100 new files, and we expect more to come out. The files include newly declassified video footage, photographic images, and documentation involving multiple agencies, such as the FBI and the Air Force, from 1947 to 2025.
These files give us insights into what was reported by civilians and members of the military, and how the agencies received this information. Some of these images and film come without any context. So, we don't know quite what we're looking at or what we're expected to surmise from this information. Some of it has to be filled in for us. But the documents are along the lines of what we've seen before.
