Pentagon Releases Previously Secret UFO Files Dating to 1940s

May 10, 2026

The Pentagon released more than 160 previously classified UFO files on May 8, 2026, some dating to the 1940s, following President Donald Trump's February 2026 directive to federal agencies to identify and release government files related to UFOs. War Secretary Pete Hegseth stated the files have long fueled justified speculation. The files include December 1947 reports on flying discs and a November 1948 top-secret Air Force intelligence report on unidentified aircraft.

Pentagon UFO file release

▪The Pentagon released a first batch of previously secret files documenting reported sightings of unidentified flying objects on May 8, 2026.
▪The War Department officially refers to UFOs as Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, or UAPs.
▪War Secretary Pete Hegseth stated the files have long fueled justified speculation and it is time the American people see them for themselves.
▪More than 160 files were released on May 8, 2026 on the website of the War Department.

Historical UFO reports

▪One file from December 1947 contains a series of reports on flying discs.
▪A file documents a 2023 incident in which three teams of federal law enforcement special agents independently described seeing orange orbs in the sky emit or launch smaller red orbs.
▪Area 51 is a top-secret US military facility in Nevada at the heart of many UFO conspiracy theories.
▪Some of the Pentagon UFO files released on May 8, 2026 date as far back as the 1940s.
▪An Air Force intelligence report marked top secret from November 1948 features information on reported sightings of unidentified aircraft and flying saucers.

Trump declassification directive

▪Donald Trump stated the UFO file release order was based on the tremendous interest shown.
▪Donald Trump stated in February 2026 that he does not know if UFOs are real or not.
▪President Donald Trump directed US federal agencies in February 2026 to begin identifying and releasing government files related to UFOs and aliens.

Obama extraterrestrial remarks

▪Donald Trump claimed in February 2026 that Barack Obama revealed classified information in viral podcast remarks about the existence of extraterrestrial life.
▪Barack Obama stated on a podcast that UFOs are real but that he has not seen them and they are not being kept in Area 51.
▪Donald Trump stated that Barack Obama gave classified information and is not supposed to be doing that.
▪Barack Obama made remarks about extraterrestrial life to podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen.

Government UAP investigations

▪Many suspicious UAP sightings turned out to be weather balloons, spy planes, satellites and other normal activity according to the Pentagon's March 2024 report.
▪The Pentagon released a report in March 2024 saying it had no proof that UAP were alien technology.
▪No evidence has been produced of intelligent life beyond Earth.
▪The US government probed numerous reports of seemingly supernatural aircraft amid worries that adversaries could be testing highly advanced technologies.

Perspective of Donald Trump

▪Donald Trump claimed in February 2026 that Barack Obama revealed classified information in viral podcast remarks about the existence of extraterrestrial life.
▪Donald Trump stated that Barack Obama gave classified information and is not supposed to be doing that.