Are Aliens Real? Here's What We Know About Trump's Historic Release Of Secret UFO Files

Donald Trump's decision to unveil long‑classified UFO material has moved from teasing to reality, with the White House confirming that Trump's historic release of secret UFO files has begun in Washington and will continue in stages over the coming weeks.

Under his Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters programme, officials say the first 162 files on so‑called unidentified anomalous phenomena have quietly gone live on a government website.

Trump's UFO Files: What Has Been Released So Far

The White House says this first tranche includes never‑before‑seen Pentagon UAP records, Apollo mission images and transcripts, and FBI material.

Among the headline items are photographs and documents from the Apollo 12 and Apollo 17 lunar missions, including shots taken on the surface of the Moon.

One widely shared image appears to show three small bright dots hanging in the lunar sky. On its own, the picture proves very little. The accompanying Apollo 17 transcripts, however, are more arresting. During a manoeuvre, mission operators discuss unidentified objects drifting past their windows.

'Now we've got a few very bright particles or fragments that go drifting by as we manoeuvre,' one astronaut says.

Another voice replies that some of the objects are now visible in detail, describing 'very jagged, angular fragments that are tumbling.'

The Pentagon has framed the release as a corrective to decades of secrecy. In a post on X, it said that 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.'

Officials say more documents will be posted on a rolling basis.

Trump himself, posting to Truth Social, claimed the public enthusiasm had pushed him to go further.

He wrote that he was directing the Secretary of War and other departments to identify and release files related to 'alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters', before signing off with 'GOD BLESS AMERICA!'

Are Aliens Real? What The Trump UFO Files Can – And Cannot – Prove

The question trailing every announcement is simple enough: are aliens real, and will these files prove it. So far, the answer from the US government remains a cautious no.

The Pentagon's own 2024 report on UAP incidents catalogued hundreds of new sightings but said it had found no evidence that the US government has ever confirmed alien technology or recovered proof of extraterrestrial life.

The new declassifications sit within that framework. They document strange objects, unexplained manoeuvres and unusual sensor readings, but they do not, in themselves, confirm what those things are.

Scientists and defence analysts have urged people to slow down before leaping to conclusions. Experts point out that raw cockpit videos and grainy infrared footage are notoriously easy to misinterpret, especially by those unfamiliar with advanced military systems, sensor glitches or mundane phenomena that look uncanny on camera.

That warning has not dampened enthusiasm in parts of Washington. A small group of Republicans has pushed hard for fuller disclosure, accusing the Pentagon of hoarding material.

Representative Anna Paulina Luna has demanded 46 specific UAP videos identified by whistleblowers. She has been told that those clips will be included in later releases rather than the first batch.

Representative Tim Burchett, a member of the House Oversight Committee's taskforce on declassification, has gone further. He says he has personally seen footage that 'defies logic' and that cannot be explained as American, Russian or Chinese hardware.

Burchett has publicly thanked Trump for 'keeping his word' on transparency, while also stressing that the process will be gradual. 'Transparency won't all happen at once,' he said. 'It will take some time.'

Trump, Pilots And A New Wave Of UFO Politics

At a White House event celebrating NASA's Artemis crew, Trump told guests that 'a lot of things' about unidentified objects would be released and that 'some of it is going to be very interesting to people.' He added that he had 'interviewed people' who claimed to have seen things 'you wouldn't believe.'

Speaking to supporters at a Turning Point USA event in Phoenix, he said the files would begin to be released 'very, very soon' and suggested people would 'go out and see if that phenomena is correct' and 'figure it out' for themselves.

Behind the scenes, Burchett has told an independent journalist that the first public dump would contain pilot material and 'maybe one video', followed by weekly instalments.

According to reporting shared with the New York Post, the initial files relate to encounters between US pilots on active duty and unidentified aerial phenomena. The more coveted 46 videos requested by Luna are expected in later waves.

The Pentagon stresses that the declassification effort predates Trump's latest push. Congress forced the creation of a dedicated UAP office in 2022 and ordered the military to begin releasing decades of sighting data after serving personnel came forward with their own accounts. Trump's allies, however, are keen to brand him the 'president of transparency and disclosure.'

Obama's Sceptical Take On UFO Conspiracies

Not everyone in the presidential club is convinced the US state is sitting on crashed saucers. Former president Barack Obama has repeatedly said he believes alien life is statistically likely somewhere in the universe, but he has mocked the idea that the American government is secretly housing 'little green men.'

Appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Obama said one of the lessons of office was that 'the government is terrible at keeping secrets.' If aliens were being held underground, he joked, some guard would have 'taken a selfie with one of the aliens and sent it to his girlfriend to impress her.'

Trump has hinted, without evidence, that Obama may have let slip more than he intended. Supporters of the new file release see that tension as one more reason to demand original documents rather than rely on reassurances.

President Donald Trump first ordered the Defence Department and other agencies in February to start declassifying government material on UFOs, alien and extraterrestrial life and UAP encounters.

He had already used executive power to release further records linked to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr, although those papers added little to the public record.

The UFO push is different: it folds in fresh photos, videos and internal documents from the Pentagon, NASA, the FBI, the Energy Department and the intelligence community.