US President Trump ordered the release in February amid renewed public interest; critics claim distraction.

The United States Department of Defense has released its first tranche of previously classified files on unidentified flying objects (UFOs), following an order from US President Donald Trump in February.

The release on Friday contained 162 files dating back decades, including documents from the FBI, the Department of State, and the US space agency, NASA. It was accompanied by the launch of a new, heavily stylised website to house the documents, using white typewriter-style font against a black background.

In a statement, the Pentagon did not draw any determinations on the photos and files released, saying many had been only screened for security purposes and “have not yet been analysed for resolution of any anomalies”.

“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,” the statement said.

Several government agencies, including the Energy Department, NASA, the FBI, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, were involved in the release.

Trump has framed the initiative as part of an effort to create more transparency, in line with his previous orders to release records related to the assassinations of President John F Kennedy, his brother, Senator Robert F Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Those files offered few new details beyond what was already known.

His February order to release files on UFOs and unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) came amid a surge in attention after former US President Barack Obama said during a podcast interview that aliens were “real”, although he had not seen one and none were being held in government facilities.

Obama later clarified that he “saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us”.

Critics have accused Trump of using the release of files connected to high-interest subjects to divert attention from his political woes, notably the Department of Justice’s handling of investigative files related to financier Jeffrey Epstein.

In January, the Department of Justice said it had completed its legally mandated release of files related to Epstein, whose influential social circle once included Trump. Lawmakers have repeatedly said the disclosures do not appear complete.

In February, US Representative Thomas Massie, a leading Republican critic of Trump, decried the UFO release as the “ultimate weapon of mass distraction”.

Sightings and anomalies

It remained to be seen how impactful the new documents would be. They contained no clear, immediate revelations.

For example, one file details an FBI interview with an individual identified as a drone pilot who, in September 2023, reported seeing a “linear object” with a light bright enough to “see bands within the light” in the sky.

“The object was visible for five to 10 seconds and then the light went out and the object vanished,” according to the FBI interview.

Another file is a NASA photograph from the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, showing three dots in a triangular formation.

In an accompanying caption, the Pentagon said that “there is no consensus about the nature of the anomaly” but that a new, preliminary analysis indicated that it could be a “physical object”.

Interest in UFOs and UAPs has persisted for decades and has spanned presidential administrations. In 2022, Congress created a Pentagon office to investigate and declassify related material. That year, a House panel held the first public hearing on the subject in more than 50 years.

The office’s first report, released in 2024, revealed hundreds of new UAP incidents.

However, it found no evidence that the US government had ever confirmed a sighting of alien technology. It further rebutted claims that the US government had recovered alien technology or confirmed evidence of alien life.