A site photo with FBI lab-rendered graphic overlay depicting corroborating eyewitness reports from September 2023 of an apparent ellipsoid bronze metallic object materializing out of a bright light in the sky. This is one of several photos released Friday in an initial batch of 162 files being published through a new interagency effort called the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. (Department of Defense)
The Defense Department on Friday announced the release of previously classified documents on UFOs and other mysterious sightings, describing the move as part of a broader push to increase transparency around the issue.
An initial batch of 162 files is being published through a new interagency effort called the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters.
UAP is an abbreviation for unidentified anomalous phenomena, which includes unidentified objects or events in the air, at sea and on land. The documents can be found at www.war.gov/ufo.
Additional materials will be posted on a rolling basis, the Defense Department said in a statement.
The newly available records include videos, photos and original documents from across the federal government.
Among the files are videos submitted by U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Central Command and U.S. European Command described as “unresolved.”
A 2024 image capture of a U.S. Indo-Pacific Command reported UAP that resembles a football-shaped body near Japan. This is one of several photos released Friday in an initial batch of 162 files published through the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. (Department of Defense)
Several photographs of the 1969 Apollo 12 moon landing in which “unidentified phenomena are visible” are also included.
“These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation — and it’s time the American people see it for themselves,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in Friday’s statement.
In addition to the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, the White House, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Energy, NASA and the FBI are involved in the declassification efforts.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Friday’s release marks the beginning of a continuing process.
Agencies are working to provide “a careful, comprehensive and unprecedented review of our holdings,” she said.
The materials released are unresolved cases, meaning the government is unable to make a definitive determination on the nature of the observed phenomena, according to a description on the website. This can occur for a variety of reasons, including a lack of sufficient data.
NASA will contribute scientific expertise as more information is examined, agency Administrator Jared Isaacman said.
“We will remain candid about what we know to be true, what we have yet to understand and all that remains to be discovered,” Isaacman said.
