The Pentagon on Friday released its second tranche of files related to unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs, fulfilling a promise by President Trump to declassify certain government records. The release includes more than 40 videos specifically requested by members of Congress, along with audio recordings from NASA missions and documents spanning the Cold War.
The files are being published on a rolling basis at war.gov/UFO, following an initial drop that contained never-before-seen material tied to previously public incidents. The first batch included photos and reports dating back decades, archival military footage, and documents from NASA's Apollo 12, Apollo 17, and Gemini 7 missions, during which astronauts reported unusual sightings.
What's in the New Files?
The latest release includes written statements about an unidentified object incident reported by the Department of Energy, a firsthand witness account from a U.S. intelligence official, and a CIA information report about a sighting in the Soviet Union in 1973. One file contains 116 pages of documentation from the Armed Forces Special Weapons Program and the U.S. Air Force, covering sightings and investigations in Sandia, New Mexico, from 1948 to 1950. The AFSWP is the direct post-World War II successor to the Manhattan Project.
Audio files include a recording from the Apollo 12 mission, where the commander and two pilots describe observing light flashes while trying to sleep. That medical debriefing tape was recorded on Dec. 31, 1969, in Texas. Another audio file from Mercury-Atlas missions captures astronauts describing small particles they could not identify as "light shavings."
Videos Requested by Lawmakers
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) confirmed that the second release includes more than 40 videos that lawmakers had formally requested. Among them is footage that Luna and former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) personally went to Eglin Air Force Base to request in 2023. That video shows infrared sensor footage of a strange object, which the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office previously assessed as a commercial lighting balloon.
Another video depicts a UAP that was shot down near Lake Huron on the Canadian border, an incident that followed the tracking of a Chinese spy balloon over the United States. The release also includes videos with unusually sharp images and a new shape of UAP not seen in previously released footage. One clip shows the U.S. tracking a foreign submarine that surfaces as a UAP becomes visible in the frame.
A video appears to show three objects cruising in the water, with a fourth quickly entering and exiting the frame. Another tracks a white object that moves rapidly in a straight line before veering left, then making a sudden change of direction and leaving the field of view.
The release comes amid broader tensions over transparency and defense priorities. The Pentagon has also suspended the joint defense board with Canada as Trump-Carney tensions escalate, and has tapped acting Pentagon budget chief Jules Hurst for a permanent role. Meanwhile, the DNC chair has been releasing a flawed 2024 election autopsy under pressure.
NewsNation is reviewing the files and will provide analysis.
