The U.S. government launches its most sweeping declassification of unidentified anomalous phenomena records in history — and tells the public to make up its own mind.
By Idea Television News Desk 3 min read
For decades, reports of strange objects in the skies above military installations were dismissed, buried, or quietly shelved. On Friday, that changed. The Pentagon — alongside the White House, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, NASA, the Energy Department, and the FBI — began releasing a trove of declassified files on what the U.S. government formally calls “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena,” or UAP.
The release is part of President Donald Trump’s PURSUE programme — the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters — which he launched via a February directive ordering federal agencies to begin identifying and releasing government records related to UFOs and extraterrestrial phenomena. The Pentagon confirmed that additional documents will be released on a rolling basis and that all materials are accessible to the public at WAR.GOV/UFO — no security clearance required.
Among the first batch of never-before-seen materials are photographs of strangely shaped objects, Apollo mission-era photos and transcripts from Apollo 12 and Apollo 17, and a range of FBI records. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard described the effort as “a careful, comprehensive, and unprecedented review” of intelligence holdings, calling it the first in an ongoing joint declassification initiative.
The move follows years of pressure from both Congress and military whistleblowers. A small group of Republican lawmakers, including Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna — an Air Force veteran who chairs the House Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets — has long accused the Pentagon of withholding evidence. Luna had demanded 46 specific UAP videos identified by whistleblowers, covering incidents ranging from spherical objects over Afghanistan to encounters near U.S. nuclear submarines. Those videos were not part of Friday’s initial release, but Luna confirmed on social media that they are expected in a future tranche.
Not everyone is ready to read the files as proof of the extraordinary. Experts have urged caution, noting that UAP footage is frequently misinterpreted by those unfamiliar with advanced military technology. The Pentagon’s most recent comprehensive report, published in 2024, firmly rebutted claims that the U.S. government has ever recovered alien technology or confirmed evidence of alien life — while documenting hundreds of new, unexplained incidents. And NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, while welcoming the transparency push, struck a measured tone: “We will remain candid about what we know to be true, what we have yet to understand, and all that remains to be discovered.”
For now, the government’s message to the public is straightforward: here are the files — draw your own conclusions.
