Pentagon Releases Never-Before-Seen UAP Files With Buzz Aldrin Apollo Record
Image: WIRED

Pentagon Releases Never-Before-Seen UAP Files With Buzz Aldrin Apollo Record

08 May, 2026.Technology and Science.16 sources

Key Takeaways

  • Pentagon released more than 160 declassified UAP files from FBI, DoD, NASA, and State Department.
  • The trove includes photos, videos, eyewitness reports spanning decades, including Apollo-era accounts.
  • Release is rolling; no government analysis; interpretation left to the public.

Pentagon’s UFO File Drop

The Pentagon began releasing “never-before-seen” files on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) on Friday, and the documents are being housed on a dedicated government site at https://www.war.gov/UFO/.

Pentagon releases declassified UFO files from various federal agencies The Pentagon said it will release more files "on a rolling basis

ABC NewsABC News

NBC News says the first batch includes more than 160 files detailing more than 400 incidents, with cases dating back to the 1940s and 1960s and with more recent reports concentrated in the Middle East.

Image from ABC News
ABC NewsABC News

In the Apollo record included in the release, NBC News reports that astronaut Buzz Aldrin described “what appeared to be a fairly bright light source which we tentatively ascribed to a possible laser.”

The Pentagon’s release also includes declassified materials from NASA and the FBI, and CBS News reports that Friday’s package contained 120 PDFs, 28 videos and 14 image files.

CBS News adds that the Pentagon said the Apollo 17 photo had been previously released but that “there is no consensus about the nature of the anomaly.”

What Officials and Lawmakers Say

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the release was meant for public viewing, telling the public, “These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation — and it’s time the American people see it for themselves.”

Axios reports that Hegseth framed the documents as a transparency step, quoting his statement that “These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation — and it's time the American people see it for themselves,” while noting that there are no clear photos of “little green men or flying saucers.”

Image from AP News
AP NewsAP News

ABC News reports that the Pentagon said it will release more files “on a rolling basis,” and that the “American people can now access the federal government's declassified UAP files instantly.”

ABC News also quotes Sean Kirkpatrick warning that “There’s nothing unexpected in the release, and without any analysis or context, will only serve to fuel more speculation, conspiracy and arm-chair pseudoscience.”

In the same release, ABC News says the Pentagon’s files include incidents clustered near active military operations, including around the Strait of Hormuz, Iraq and Syria.

Debate Over Evidence and Meaning

NBC News reports that the release includes a 1969 debrief where Aldrin saw “little flashes inside the cabin, spaced a couple of minutes apart,” and it also includes Apollo 12 and Apollo 17 accounts of “flashes of light” and “very bright particles.”

In a separate example from the files, NBC News describes a report from Sept. 5, 1948, over the Netherlands where the crew cited “sudden accelerations and then a climb,” and intelligence officials concluded it was a single propelled jet using “rocket assists with tremendous reserve power.”

Politico reports that the government gave no analysis of the files, and it quotes the Pentagon’s approach that “the people can decide for themselves, ‘WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?’”

ABC News says the Pentagon’s statement acknowledged that “many of the materials have not yet been analyzed for resolution of any anomalies,” leaving the public to interpret what the documents show.

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