World
Buzz Aldrin observations among intriguing sightings in newly released UFO files
The Pentagon has begun releasing files on UFOs, tapping into public curiosity about unidentified phenomena.
The files feature intriguing sightings, such as a bright object making 90-degree turns over Kazakhstan and astronaut Buzz Aldrin observing a light source during Apollo 11.
The release comes as US President Donald Trump taps into the public’s long-held curiosities about “unidentified anomalous phenomena” (UAP) in the broader universe.
The object was visible for five to 10 seconds and then the light went out and the object vanished
Though the Pentagon has been working on declassifying documents on the matter for years, Mr Trump has put attention back on the topic by teasing about a major UFO document dump since February.
“Whereas previous Administrations have failed to be transparent on this subject, with these new Documents and Videos, the people can decide for themselves, ‘WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?’ Have Fun and Enjoy!” the president wrote in a Truth Social post on Friday.
Mr Trump’s Republican administration says the public can draw its own conclusions with the information in the files, which on Friday included old State Department cables, FBI documents and transcripts from Nasa of crewed flights into space.
A new Pentagon website housing the documents on UAPs has a decidedly retro feel, with black-and-white military imagery of flying objects displayed prominently on the page, with statements displayed in typewriter-like font.
The initial release is a trove of videos, other imagery and testimony that is sure to stir more speculation among those who believe we are not alone in the universe.
For instance, a State Department cable from the US embassy in Tajikistan in 1994 details how one Tajik pilot and three Americans saw a brightly lit UAP while flying a jet over Kazakhstan.
The object, according to the cable, was “making 90 degree turns, doing corkscrews and maneuvering in circles at great rates of speed”.
That is not the only instance of erratically moving objects cited in the document release.
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) May 8, 2026
A military report from the Aegean Sea in 2023 cited a UAP flying just above the surface of the ocean and making “multiple 90-degree turns at an estimated 80mph”.
One interview with a US intelligence official details an incident last year in which the official, doing a search on a helicopter, encountered a “super-hot” orb hovering over the ground, travelling about 20 miles at a speedy clip, then spotted four or five more orbs that flared up and down.
In a 1969 debriefing of Apollo 11 crew members, Mr Aldrin recalled spotting several unusual sights, such as a “sizeable” object close to the Moon and a “fairly bright light source” that the crew felt could be a laser.
One document details an FBI interview with someone identified as a drone pilot who, in September 2023, reported seeing a “linear object” with a light bright enough to “see bands within the light” in the sky.
“The object was visible for five to ten seconds and then the light went out and the object vanished,” according to the FBI interview.
Another file is a Nasa photograph from the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, showing three dots in a triangular formation.
The Pentagon says in an accompanying caption that “there is no consensus about the nature of the anomaly” but that a new, preliminary analysis indicated that it could be a “physical object”.
https://t.co/rzCVvUU3mu
— Department of War 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) May 8, 2026
The documents include more than 20 video files showing unidentified objects captured by military sensors in locations from Syria and Japan to North America.
The objects range from fast-moving specks captured in the distance to a football-shaped object spotted over the East China Sea in 2022.
The most recent video is from January 1 of this year and appears to show two circular lights flying against an inky black backdrop in an undisclosed location in North America.
Several files included military videos from the last several years that showed small ambiguous dots moving above the landscapes of Iraq, Syria and the United Arab Emirates.
The white objects sometimes streaked across the screen in less than a second, while others slowly glided through the air or were followed by the camera.
Other files included written reports from US military service members who were surveilling locations in the Middle East.
For example, one report described an object that was “shaped as a bouncy ball” and was travelling at 483mph consistently for at least seven minutes over Syria in 2023.
The object was later determined to be benign.
Mr Trump has previously released records related to the assassinations of President John F Kennedy, Senator Robert F Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr that revealed little beyond what was already known.
The Pentagon has been working on declassifying documents related to UFOs for years, and Congress created an office in 2022 to declassify material.
Its 2024 debut report revealed hundreds of new UAP incidents but found no evidence that the US government had ever confirmed a sighting of alien technology.
Congress ordered the Pentagon to begin releasing decades of files on UFO sightings in 2022 as some members of the military shared encounters with unexplained aircraft.
A small group of Republicans in Congress has pressed for further transparency, accusing the Pentagon of holding documents back.
A March letter from Representative Anna Paulina Luna demanded 46 UAP videos identified by whistleblowers.
The American people deserve transparency, accountability, and access to information regarding UAP’s and disclosure that the government has kept hidden from the public for decades.
This is a massive first step in the right direction. pic.twitter.com/0olErdvsKW
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) May 8, 2026
Ms Luna said on Friday that those videos will be released later by the Pentagon.
Representative Tim Burchett thanked Mr Trump for “keeping his word” on transparency and disclosure.
“I would like to remind people that transparency won’t all happen at once, it will take some time,” Mr Burchett said in a statement.
But experts have urged caution around the release of the new files, warning that UAP videos are often misinterpreted and mischaracterised by those unfamiliar with advanced military technology.
The Pentagon’s 2024 report rebutted claims that the US government has recovered alien technology or confirmed evidence of alien life.
Others used Friday’s release to urge further transparency into what the government knows about UAPs.
The Sol Foundation, a research group focused on UAPs, pushed for passage of legislation that would force a “thorough” review of classified UAP records “with the aim of providing Americans with the full truth about longstanding government knowledge and programmes concerning technologies and vehicles not of human origin”.
“While today’s new step toward a full disclosure of government knowledge concerning UAP is welcome, many more need to be taken to bring an end to the decades of secrecy by which the American people were kept in the dark,” said Peter Skafish, the foundation’s executive director, and retired Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet, a former acting administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency.
