Trump administration releases first batch of 'never-before-seen' UFO files

Are aliens real, and has the government known about them all along? The answer to that question might be difficult, and the topic remains a contentious debate, but the Trump administration’s declassification of the UFO files may finally pave the way for rigorous scientific investigation. On Friday, the Defense Department released 162 files related to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), following a directive by President Donald Trump.

"As for my promise to you, the Department of War has released the first tranche of the UFO/UAP files to the Public for their review and study. In an effort for Complete and Maximum Transparency, it was my Honor to direct my Administration to identify and provide Government files related to Alien and Extraterrestrial Life, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, and Unidentified Flying Objects," President Donald Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, adding that the new documents and videos will help people to decide for themselves "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"

Processed through the Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office in coordination with the National Archives, this release is described by officials as the most substantial disclosure of military intelligence on aerial phenomena in over fifty years. The initial data set includes high-resolution sensor readings, cockpit transcripts, and internal correspondence that have been withheld from public view for decades.

What's in the files?

The 162 files, apart from providing additional insights into several previously reported UFO encounters and sightings, also include high-res images and videos that were previously withheld from the press, including one that sheds new light on a historic image from the Apollo 17 mission, taken in December 1972. 

The image shows three distinct "dots" arranged in a triangular pattern in the lower-right portion of the lunar sky, visible upon magnification. Although the photograph had previously been released and examined by observers, no consensus had been reached regarding the nature of the anomaly, the Department of War said. The Department revealed that a government analysis suggests that the image, previously thought by many to be a lens flare, is "potentially the result of a physical object in the scene."

The documents also contain several FBI case files, investigative records, eyewitness testimonies, public reports concerning Unidentified Flying Objects and flying discs, and photographic evidence documented between June 1947 and July 1968. 

The images and videos include several pictures from 1969, taken by the Apollo 12 mission, depicting areas of interest, an audio recording from the Gemini VII mission, where Astronaut Frank Borman reports to NASA mission control in Houston his sighting of an unidentified object, which he referred to as a "bogey," and several pieces of footage of UFO sightings reported by Defense Department personnel. 

How to view the files? 

After making the files public, the Department of War informed that the materials were "unresolved" cases and that it welcomes "the application of private-sector analysis, information and expertise." All 162 files can be found on the Department of Wars website, under the UFO tab. 

The Department of War informed that it will continue to conduct separate reporting on resolved UAP cases, as mandated by statute. More files are expected to be released on a rolling basis "as they are discovered and declassified, with tranches posted every few weeks," the Department informed.