UFO files: Pentagon releases 162 declassified documents on unidentified flying objects

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• 🔥 Quick Facts
• Breaking News: America’s Biggest UFO Disclosure Yet
• Inside the Files: Astronauts, Pilots, and Strange Phenomena
• What’s Inside: Videos, Photos, and Government Records
• Expert Reaction: What These Files Actually Reveal
• Rolling Releases: What Comes Next
• Will These UFO Files Finally Answer Humanity’s Biggest Question?
  • Sources

Pentagon releases just made headlines. The U.S. Department of War today unveiled 162 declassified documents on UFOs, unidentified flying objects, and extraterrestrial phenomena. Available at war.gov/UFO, these never-before-seen files span decades of government investigation into mysterious aerial sightings and anomalies.

Breaking News: America’s Biggest UFO Disclosure Yet

Today marks a historic moment in government transparency. President Trump’s administration has taken an unprecedented step by directing multiple federal agencies, including military branches, NASA, the FBI, State Department, and Energy Department, to declassify and release unresolved UAP cases. The May 8, 2026 release represents the first wave of what officials promise will be an ongoing declassification effort. Secretary Hegseth stated the Pentagon is in lockstep with the Trump Administration to bring unprecedented transparency to files that have remained classified for decades.

The initiative, called PURSUE (Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters), coordinates all 18 U.S. intelligence agencies according to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. She emphasized this represents an unprecedented review of government holdings spanning tens of millions of records, many existing only on paper, across several decades.

Inside the Files: Astronauts, Pilots, and Strange Phenomena

The declassified collection includes striking accounts from Apollo astronauts and military pilots. Apollo 17 astronauts reported seeing flashing lights while on the lunar surface in 1972. Astronaut Ronald Evans observed very bright particles drifting nearby, while Harrison Schmitt described the phenomenon as looking like the Fourth of July. The Pentagon noted no consensus exists about the nature of these anomalies.

The files also document a 1947 sighting by Naval pilot Ray Virgil Hatfield near Myrtle Creek, Oregon, who reported a spherical, glistening object traveling at 1,000 miles per hour. A 1965 Gemini 7 transcript captures astronaut Frank Borman reporting a debris field with hundreds of particles, while fellow astronaut James Lovell described seeing a brilliant body with trillions of particles. Recent infrared imagery and military video footage from 2025 and 2026 show unidentified objects captured by U.S. military operators over domestic and international airspace.

What’s Inside: Videos, Photos, and Government Records

Document Type	Details
Video Footage	Military operator recordings from Middle East, Greece, Africa, and United States showing UAP movement
Infrared Images	Black-hot thermal imagery from December 2025, September 2025 over western U.S. showing unidentified objects
Historical Documents	FBI memos, Air Force reports from 1940s-1960s documenting civilian and pilot sightings
NASA Records	Apollo 17 photographs, Gemini 7 transcripts with astronaut observations and debriefs

Expert Reaction: What These Files Actually Reveal

Garrett M. Graff, author of UFO: The Inside Story, examined the newly released files and stated the documents appear consistent with prior releases. He cautioned that the files likely contain no smoking gun evidence of extraterrestrial contact or visits from other planets. Graff noted no immediate documents appeared inconsistent with decades of previously released UFO reports spanning tens of thousands of pages. However, he welcomed the increased transparency, stating it demonstrates government commitment to showing what U.S. intelligence cannot explain in the skies and low orbital space.

“I didn’t see immediately any documents that didn’t seem consistent with the tens of thousands of pages of similar reports that have been released in the past. What we need are actual smoking gun documents.”

— Garrett M. Graff, UFO Historian and Author

Rolling Releases: What Comes Next

The May 8, 2026 release represents just the beginning of what officials promise will be an ongoing effort. Director Gabbard announced this marks the first in what will be an ongoing joint declassification initiative. The Department of War plans to release new materials on a rolling basis every few weeks as researchers discover and declassify additional documents from tens of millions of records stored across federal agencies. Many files exist only in paper form, requiring manual review spanning decades of accumulated government investigation into unresolved aerial phenomena.

Will These UFO Files Finally Answer Humanity’s Biggest Question?

The timing of this historic disclosure comes after months of speculation about government transparency. Former President Barack Obama fueled interest in February when he stated aliens are real but he hasn’t seen them. Independent analysts now scrutinize infrared imagery and military video footage seeking clues about unidentified objects. 56 percent of Americans currently believe aliens exist, according to polling data. Whether these 162 declassified files provide new insights into genuine extraterrestrial contact or simply document natural phenomena remains the burning question as researchers, government officials, and curious citizens begin their unprecedented examination of America’s most secretive UFO archive.

Sources

• USA Today – Comprehensive analysis of 162 declassified Pentagon UFO files released on May 8, 2026
• U.S. Department of War – Official PURSUE initiative website at war.gov/UFO with declassified documents
• NBC News – Pentagon begins release of UFO files following Trump directive to Secretary Hegseth