After decades of secrecy, the White House has released 162 UFO files, reigniting one of the most politically explosive mysteries in modern history.
Trump administration to release long-awaited UFO and extraterrestrial files
Trump administration to release long-awaited UFO and extraterrestrial files
The Trump administration is set to begin releasing long-awaited government files on UFOs and extraterrestrial life. The first batch of…
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After decades of conspiracy theories, classified hearings and grainy cockpit footage, the White House has released a number of long-awaited UFO files held under lock and key by the US government — revealing shocking details of mysterious four-foot-tall crewmen exiting a UFO in the 1960s.
The first tranche of material was released by the US Defence Department (DOD) on Friday morning, local time, after US President Donald Trump earlier ordered officials to begin declassifying federal secrets linked to unidentified aerial phenomena, or “UAPs”.
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Pentagon releases UFO files on extraterrestrial encounters
Pentagon releases new…
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Footage includes an “eight-pointed star with arms of alternating length” streaking through the sky and a Rugby football shaped object which was also airborne.
One of the most startling sections involved testimonies of encounters with apparent occupants of the craft.
“A few witnesses have reported seeing crewmen who had landed from the objects,” the document stated, describing the beings as “three and a half to four feet tall, wearing what appear to be space suits and helmets.”
Newly released FBI files have revealed shocking details of mysterious four-foot-tall crewmen exiting a UFO in the 1960s.
But those wanting confirmation of aliens, or direct contact between humans and aliens, will be disappointed. The Defence Department has also made no Judgement of what’s in the mostly grainy and vague images and clips.
One prominent Republican dismissed the release of the file as merely “shiny object propaganda” to distract from the Iran war.
An archival image from the Apollo 17 mission to the Moon in 1972 with the upper-right inset showing three visible lights above the lunar terrain. Picture: US Department of War
On Friday, The Pentagon said: “The latest UAP videos, photos, and original source documents from across the entire United States government are all in one place – no clearance required,”
“While past administrations sought to discredit or dissuade the American people, President Trump is focused on providing maximum transparency to the public, who can ultimately make up their own minds about the information contained in these files.”
US Indo-Pacific Command reported a UAP that resembles a football-shaped body near Japan in 2024. Picture: US Department of Defence
A US military operator reported UAP while operating within African airspace in 2025. Picture: US Department of Defence
US military operator also reported UAP near Greece flying straight above the ocean towards land in October 2023. Picture: US Department of Defence
Still from a video captured near the United Arab Emirates featuring reported UAP in October 2023. Picture: US Department of Defence.
But The Pentagon was circumspect on what the released files contained and steered clear of declaring UFOs were proved.
“(These) are unresolved cases, meaning the government is unable to make a definitive determination on the nature of the observed phenomena”.
Among the 162 files published Friday were a trove of intelligence reports and FBI case files that included apparent eyewitness testimony and public reports about possible sightings over the years.
Many of the FBI files come with a note stating that some of the information had already been “partially” been made public.
Transcripts from NASA astronauts reporting unidentified objects on missions were also included in the initial batch of documents.
In 2020, the Pentagon officially released three videos taken by US Navy pilots showing mid-air encounters with what appear to be UFOs. The grainy black-and-white footage had previously been leaked, and the Navy had acknowledged they were Navy videos.
This video grab image obtained April 28, 2020 courtesy of the US Department of Defence shows part of an unclassified video taken by Navy pilots that have circulated for years showing interactions with ‘unidentified aerial phenomena’.(Photo by Handout / DoD / AFP)
‘Shiny propaganda’
Former Republican Congresswoman Marjories Taylor Greene – who has dabbled with conspiracy theories – dismissed the UFO files.
The now noted Trump critic slammed it as: “‘look at the shiny object’ propaganda” while the US “wages foreign wars”.
“Unless they roll out live aliens and test demo UFOs or actually admit what we know this really is then I have way better things to do on this Friday,” she wrote.
The timing of this latest release was revealed during a meeting at the White House attended by Republican congressman Tim Burchett, one of the leading political figures pushing for UFO transparency in Washington.
“It’s going to start tomorrow. It’s going to have some stuff in there from pilots, and maybe one video,” Mr Burchett told independent journalist Jeremy Corbell on Thursday.
The move marks the latest chapter in a topic once treated as fringe paranoia but now openly discussed at the highest levels of the US government.
The internet age has allowed several theories, whether accurate or not, to proliferate across the globe.
A UFO spotted at Rothwell. Picture: Yassy Gold
In recent years, Pentagon footage showing unidentified craft performing unusual aerial manoeuvres has fuelled renewed public fascination, while congressional hearings have heard claims from former military personnel alleging the US possesses recovered non-human technology — assertions the government has repeatedly denied finding evidence for.
The modern UFO movement has also been shaped heavily by controversial figures like Bob Lazar, who famously claimed in the late 1980s that he worked on reverse-engineering alien spacecraft at a secret facility near Area 51.
Mr Lazar’s allegations were long dismissed by sceptics, but documentaries including Bob Lazar: Area 51 & Flying Saucers helped cement him as a cult figure in UFO culture, particularly online.
The White House and Pentagon have steadily shifted from outright ridicule towards an acknowledgment that unexplained aerial incidents do occur. (Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP)
In 2020, the Pentagon formally released Navy videos showing encounters with unidentified objects recorded by fighter pilots, while former president Barack Obama later admitted there was footage and records of objects “we can’t explain”.
US intelligence agencies still insist there is no verified evidence that extraterrestrial life has visited Earth.
Mr Burchett claims resistance inside the government remains, and warns the public they will have to wait until the entire cat is out of the bag.
“I would like to remind people that transparency won’t all happen at once; it will take some time.”