By President Donald Trump said the Pentagon is preparing to release a new batch of previously undisclosed documents related to unidentified flying objects, raising expectations among enthusiasts while prompting caution from officials who say the material is unlikely to confirm extraterrestrial life.
Trump in February directed federal agencies to declassify records concerning alien life, unidentified aerial phenomena, and UFOs. He has since amplified expectations through a series of public remarks suggesting that new disclosures are imminent, explained PBS.
“We’re going to be releasing a lot of things that we haven’t,” Trump said Wednesday during a White House event honoring NASA astronauts. “I think some of it’s going to be very interesting to people.”
#WATCH | On releasing UFO Files, US President Donald J Trump says, "We're going to be releasing as much as we can in the near future… We will release a lot of things that we haven't… I've interviewed people, in my first term primarily, but I interviewed some pilots, and they… pic.twitter.com/NCsgkdtWmX
— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2026
The president has framed the effort as part of a broader push for transparency, echoing his earlier order to release files tied to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr.. Those disclosures largely reinforced existing public understanding. Trump has similarly argued that “the American people deserve transparency and truth” regarding unexplained aerial phenomena.
“The first releases will begin very, very soon,” he told supporters at a Turning Point USA event in Phoenix in April. “So you can go out and see if that phenomena is correct. You’ll figure it out.”
The anticipated release builds on ongoing Pentagon efforts that predate Trump’s directive. Congress established the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office in 2022 to investigate UAP incidents and declassify findings where possible, citing national security concerns. A 2024 report from the office cataloged hundreds of new cases but found no evidence of alien technology in U.S. possession. Another report covering more recent incidents is expected.
The office is working with the White House to release what the Pentagon described as “never-before-seen UAP information.”
There has been some skepticism from some of the higher ups who have researched UFOs. Sean Kirkpatrick, a physicist and former intelligence official who led the office until 2023, said expectations of major revelations are likely misplaced. He suggested the timing of Trump’s comments could serve as a distraction from other geopolitical issues, including tensions with Iran.
“Readers should not get their hopes up that there’s going to be some document with photos, interviewing the aliens when they came down,” Kirkpatrick said. “Because that just doesn’t exist.”
He added that many widely circulated videos of alleged UFOs have conventional explanations, such as thermal imaging distortions from aircraft engines that can appear as elongated or unusual objects.
On Capitol Hill, lawmakers have continued to press for greater transparency. A Republican-led task force on federal declassification has examined UAP sightings near military installations, treating them as potential national security concerns. Testimony last year included accounts from service members describing unusual encounters, including a Navy officer’s report of a glowing, “Tic Tac”-shaped object emerging from the ocean off California in 2023 before departing at high speed.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, an Air Force veteran and co-chair of the task force, has pushed the Pentagon to release additional materials. In a March letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, she requested specific UAP videos identified by whistleblowers, though the agency did not meet the deadline.
Luna welcomed Trump’s directive, writing on social media that the Pentagon “can’t hide from our docs request anymore!”
Now the DOW can’t hide from our docs request anymore! https://t.co/VD0CxDgS9u
— Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina) February 20, 2026
Presidential interest in UFOs spans decades. Bill Clinton reviewed the 1947 Roswell incident while in office, and Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan both reported personal sightings before their presidencies. More recently, Barack Obama noted the statistical likelihood of life beyond Earth, while saying he had seen no confirming evidence.
The Defense Department’s 2024 report concluded that decades of investigations, dating back to the 1940s, have focused on determining whether such phenomena reflect foreign advanced technology or other unexplained causes.
Historians who study the subject say public expectations often exceed what official disclosures ultimately provide.
Greg Eghigian, a professor at Pennsylvania State University, said past efforts have repeatedly fallen short of satisfying those convinced of extraterrestrial activity.
“There is almost no satisfaction that is possible for many of the really die-hard folks,” Eghigian told PBS. “So in a sense, I think disappointment can almost be guaranteed to be expected no matter what comes out of this.”
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