The UFOs photographed by the U.S. military and the "mysterious flashes" seen by astronauts... On the 8th local time, the U.S. Department of Defense released a batch of documents related to UFOs, which quickly attracted widespread attention. US media pointed out that the first batch of 161 documents released recorded more than 400 incidents around the world, spanning several decades. However, the U.S. government has not yet concluded whether extraterrestrial life exists.
Documents related to UFOs released by the U.S. Department of Defense. Image source: Screenshot from the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense
The information is dense, what are the decrypted files?
On the 8th local time, the U.S. Department of Defense began to release documents related to UFOs, including videos, photos and original documents.
The National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) pointed out that these documents record more than 400 incidents around the world. Some of the most recent eyewitness accounts were collected in 2025, while other cases date back to the 1940s.
According to reports, many of the declassified videos are blurry images from US military infrared sensors. In addition, the files contain a large number of photos, but most of these photos are difficult to identify and only show some light or dark spots, as well as unusually shaped objects.
mysterious flash
According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the documents include conversation records between astronauts on the Apollo 11, 12 and 17 lunar landing missions in the 1960s and 1970s. These records have previously been classified as confidential.
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who flew the Apollo 11 mission, revealed in a publicly available interview in 1969 that he saw several unexplained phenomena on his way to the moon. "I saw what looked like a pretty bright light source and we tentatively thought it might be a laser," he said.
Image source: Screenshot of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) report Records show that Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean, who walked on the moon in 1969, said that he saw some particles and flashes of light "floating away in space" during the mission. The particles looked like they were "escaping from the moon," he said.
Two astronauts on the Apollo 17 mission in 1972 also reported seeing flashes of light during the flight. But they added that the light could be caused by reflections from ice fragments.
suspended objects
The batch of public documents also includes dozens of personal accounts of sightings of "unidentified anomalous phenomena" (UAP).
One of the documents shows that a man told the FBI in 1957 that he had seen a large circular craft rising from the ground. There are also interview records from September and October 2023. Some American people said that they saw metal objects suspended in the air and "appeared" from the strong light.
military witness
This batch of documents also includes videos shot by the US military in the Middle East, dating back to 2022.
One of the clips from 2022 was filmed at an undisclosed location in the Middle East. It captured an oval-shaped object passing by at high speed from left to right. The accompanying report labeled it a "possible missile."
The US Department of Defense released a 5-second video shot by a US military infrared sensor in 2022. When the video was played for the second second, an object with a clear contrast between light and dark appeared in the lower third of the field of view, moving from left to right. Image source: U.S. Department of Defense official website
"Top Secret" Documents
The National Public Radio (NPR) reported that the earliest of these documents dates back to November 1948. The report, filed by the U.S. Air Force Intelligence Agency and marked "Top Secret," documented repeated sightings of UFOs over Europe.
"These phenomena have been reported from so many sources and from such a wide range of locations that we are convinced that they cannot be ignored and must be explained on some basis that may be slightly beyond the scope of our current intelligence analysis capabilities," the report reads.
The report also mentioned that the United States had communicated with Sweden about these phenomena, and the other side stated: "These phenomena are clearly the result of a high level of technological capabilities that cannot be attributed to any known culture on Earth."
A U.S. Air Force intelligence report from November 1948. Image source: Screenshot from the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense
Public attention is heating up, can you make your own conclusions?
"In recent years, the American people's attention to extraterrestrial life has once again heated up." The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) said that in 2022, the U.S. Congress will hold a hearing on the issue of UFOs for the first time in more than 50 years, and the U.S. military has also promised to increase information transparency on this issue.
The release of UFO-related documents is in compliance with the request of US President Trump. Trump posted on social media that through the new documents and videos released this time, "people can judge for themselves what happened."
The Pentagon said that the document released this time was "new and unprecedented" and was an "unconclusive matter." The government is still unable to determine the true nature of the observed phenomena due to insufficient relevant data and information.
Trump said in February that relevant documents would be released "given the strong public interest". Prior to this, former U.S. President Obama said in an interview that alien creatures "are real, but I have never seen them." This statement further aroused concern.
However, Obama later clarified that from a statistical point of view, there is a possibility of life in the universe, but he "saw no evidence" during his term as president.
Outside of the document, there were mixed reactions from all parties
Faced with this batch of declassified documents, there are mixed opinions in the United States.
Rep. Tim Burchett, a Republican from Tennessee, has long advocated for the government to increase transparency about UFO sightings. He was happy to see the Pentagon release the documents and posted on social media that it was a "very good start."
Rep. Ana Paulina Luna, R-Fla., also supports more transparency. She called the release of the documents "a big first step in the right direction."
On the other hand, for many Americans, the vague attitude of the government in releasing documents with only descriptions and no conclusions is confusing.
Foreign media said that many experts believe that although the new material released this time contains some previously undisclosed videos, it does not provide any conclusive evidence that can confirm the existence of extraterrestrial life.