US President Donald Trump announced this week that he has formally directed the War Department and federal intelligence agencies to begin declassifying and releasing government records related to UFOs and extraterrestrial life.Speaking at a rally in Phoenix, the President of the United States stated that the process of identifying “very interesting documents” is currently underway. The first batch of those releases will begin “very, very soon,” he told the crowd, though the White House has not yet provided a specific calendar for the document’s release.
Guidance to federal agencies
In February 2026, Trump issued a formal directive to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and other agency heads. The order directs the government to locate any files related to:
Unidentified aerial phenomena (WAP)- Unidentified flying objects (UFOs)
- Information about “alien and extraterrestrial life”
Following this directive, the administration registered the domain Aliens.gov in March, intended to serve as a central clearinghouse for declassified materials.
Pressure from Congress
The move comes amid a growing standoff between the Pentagon and Capitol Hill. Rep. Ana Paulina Luna, chair of the House Task Force on Federal Secrets, recently called for the release of 46 specific secret videos. These videos reportedly show “tic-tac-shaped” objects performing maneuvers in restricted airspace and war zones.Actor Tim Burchett has also called for transparency, citing secret briefings about the UAP that he claims contain information that “would set the Earth on fire” if made public.
Both lawmakers criticized the Pentagon’s All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) for not meeting deadlines for submitting these records to Congress.
What is expected in the files?
While the exact contents remain secret, upcoming releases are expected to focus on:
- Military sensor data: Declassified radar tracks and infrared footage from naval and air force encounters.
- Historical Records: Old files from the National Archives that have been digitized for public viewing.
- Recent incursions: Reports of a 2023 incident in which an F-16 shot down an unidentified object over Lake Huron, as well as drone-like swarms reported over Langley Air Force Base.
Previous government results
Despite Trump’s enthusiasm, official military reports remained cautious. A 2024 report from AARO said no evidence had been found to confirm that any UAP sightings were related to extraterrestrial technology.
The military has historically attributed many sightings to balloons, drones, or sensor malfunctions. However, whistleblowers such as David Grosch, a former intelligence official, testified before Congress in 2023 that the United States maintained a “multi-decade” program to recover and reverse-engineer crashed vehicles. The government has previously denied the allegations, but the new executive order is designed to force a new search of agency records to settle the debate.The White House has indicated that “rapid dissemination” of this previously unseen material is now a priority for the administration’s second term.