US Pentagon declassifies batch of secret UAP files dating to 1940s
While Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth states the release addresses long-standing speculation, the Pentagon maintains there is no proof of extraterrestrial technology.
The US Department of Defence has released the first batch of more than 160 previously classified files documenting reported sightings of unidentified flying objects, with some accounts originating in the 1940s. Sourced from the FBI, the State Department, and NASA, the documents include descriptions of flying discs and glowing orbs, with one specific report noting an object resembling the "Eye of Sauron".
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that the disclosure was intended to allow the American public to examine files that had long fuelled speculation regarding unexplained aerial phenomena. The move follows a directive from President Donald Trump in February, who ordered federal agencies to identify and release government records related to UFOs and aliens amid significant public interest.
The released material includes a file from December 1947 containing a series of reports on "flying discs" from qualified observers, as well as a top-secret Air Force intelligence report from November 1948 expressing concern over recurring sightings. More recent documentation summarises statements from seven federal government employees who independently reported several unidentified anomalous phenomena in the United States in 2023.
Among the 2023 accounts, three teams of federal law enforcement special agents described seeing orange orbs in the sky emit or launch smaller red orbs. Another incident detailed two federal special agents witnessing a glowing orange orb perched close to a rock pinnacle, an observation supported by an artist rendering of a red-orange circle with a streak of yellow.
President Trump directed the release of these files in February, noting that the decision was based on the tremendous interest shown by the public. He previously claimed that former President Barack Obama had revealed classified information regarding extraterrestrial life in a viral podcast, though Obama has stated he had not seen such life and that it was not kept in Area 51.
Despite the renewed attention, the Pentagon maintains a stance that there is no proof of intelligent life beyond Earth. In March 2024, the Department of Defence released a report stating it had no evidence that UAPs were alien technology, with many suspicious sightings subsequently attributed to conventional objects such as weather balloons, spy planes, satellites, or other normal activity.
