Pentagon launches new website featuring declassified UFO records

The Trump administration on Friday unveiled a new government website that will host a collection of what the Pentagon described as “new, never-before-seen” files related to UFOs and unidentified aerial incidents. The newly launched portal, available at war.gov/ufo, will contain videos, photographs, reports, and source documents connected to unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), the modern term often used in place of UFOs.

In a public announcement, the Department of War — the name adopted by the Defence Department under the Trump administration — said the initial batch of files includes material gathered from agencies across the U.S. government. According to the statement, the records have undergone security reviews before release, although many of the cases “have not yet been analysed for resolution of any anomalies.”

Officials said the collection will continue expanding over time, with additional records expected to be released gradually on a “rolling basis.”

The launch follows years of growing public interest in military encounters involving unexplained aerial objects, especially after a major 2017 investigation revealed the existence of a classified Pentagon program dedicated to studying such incidents.

That report, first published by The New York Times and Politico, revealed details about the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP). This secret Pentagon initiative reportedly received $22 million in government funding to investigate encounters between military personnel and unknown flying objects.

Since then, interest in UAPs has increased significantly, especially after several military videos showing unexplained objects were later confirmed as authentic by the Pentagon. Public concern over unusual activity in U.S. airspace also intensified during the 2024 drone sightings across parts of the country. At the same time, experts have noted that identifying unexplained aerial objects has become more complicated due to the growing number of satellites, commercial launches, drones, and spacecraft now operating in the skies, including those operated by companies such as SpaceX.

The topic has also increasingly influenced popular culture in recent years. Movies such as the 2023 film “Jules,” which follows a man who forms a friendship with an alien after a spacecraft crash, and “Bugonia,” centred on alien conspiracy theories, have explored similar themes. Steven Spielberg’s upcoming film “Disclosure Day” is also expected to focus on government secrecy surrounding UFO-related investigations.

Despite the renewed attention to UFO disclosures, public priorities today are often centred on more immediate economic and geopolitical concerns, including inflation, rising living costs, healthcare, climate issues, AI-related job losses, and the impact of international conflicts on fuel prices and financial stability.

According to the Pentagon, the release of the files is part of a broader interagency initiative called the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters, or PURSUE. The initiative involves multiple federal agencies and departments, including the White House, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Department of Energy (DOE), NASA, the FBI, and the Department of War’s All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), which was established to investigate unidentified objects across air, sea, and space domains.

Earlier this year, independent news outlet 404 Media also reported that the Executive Office of the President had registered the domain aliens.gov, although that website has not yet gone live.