Pentagon releases UFO files on new website

The first StrictlyVC of 2026 hits SF on April 30. Tickets are going fast. Register now. Buy one Disrupt pass, and get the second at 50% off. Ends May 8. Register now. TechCrunch Desktop Logo TechCrunch Mobile Logo LatestStartupsVentureAppleSecurityAIApps EventsPodcastsNewsletters SearchSubmit Site Search Toggle Mega Menu Toggle Topics Latest Pentagon releases UFO files on new website Sarah Perez 8:56 AM PDT · May 8, 2026 The Trump Administration on Friday launched a new website that will house a collection of “new, never-before-seen” files about UFOs, according to the Pentagon. (And yes, we’re apparently okay with calling them UFOs again, as the URL to the new website is war.gov/ufo.) In a public announcement by the Defense Department — which, under Trump, rebranded as the Department of War — the initial set of files housed on the site will include those containing Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) videos, photos, and original source documents from across the entire U.S. government. The materials have been reviewed for security purposes, but many have “not yet been analyzed for resolution of any anomalies,” the Department’s statement read. The collection will also grow over time as additional files are released on a “rolling basis,” it noted. The release of the documents follows the December 2017 news story, broken by The New York Times, Politico, and others, about a $22 million classified Pentagon program called the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), which had been investigating military encounters with unknown objects. Since then, interest in UAPs, now the modern term for UFOs, has grown among the public, fueling increased concerns about what’s in our skies, as was the case with the 2024 U.S. drone sightings. Figuring out what’s truly unexplained has been complicated by the fact that our skies look much different from in years past, thanks to things like SpaceX launches and satellites. That’s why a collection of military intelligence-backed files is interesting. The news of the government’s funding of the Pentagon program has also influenced pop culture in recent years, as reflected in films like 2023’s “Jules” about a man’s kinship with an alien who crashed in his backyard, “Bugonia,” which deals with conspiracy theories around aliens among us, and in Steven Spielberg’s upcoming film “Disclosure Day,” which references government coverups around the topic. Years ago, such a release of UFO files would have been major news, but today many Americans are more concerned about daily pressures, like the Iran war and its impact on gas prices, the ever-growing cost of living, job losses blamed on AI, healthcare, climate change, and other more pertinent issues. According to the Pentagon, the release of the UFO files is the result of an interagency effort, the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE). This initiative includes the White House, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Department of Energy (DOE), the DOW’s All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and components of other U.S. intelligence agencies. Ahead of this, independent news site 404Media also spotted in March that the Executive Office of the President had registered the domain aliens.gov; however, that site is not active at this time. When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence. Sarah Perez Consumer News Editor May 27 Athens, Greece StrictlyVC Athens is up next. Hear unfiltered insights straight from Europe’s tech leaders and connect with the people shaping what’s ahead. Lock in your spot before it’s gone. Most Popular Hackers deface school login pages after claiming another Instructure hack Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai Zack Whittaker Hackers steal students’ data during breach at education tech giant Instructure Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai As workers worry about AI, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang says AI is ‘creating an enormous number of jobs’ Lucas Ropek Anthropic and OpenAI are both launching joint ventures for enterprise AI services Russell Brandom Ouster’s new color lidar is coming to replace cameras Sean O'Kane This tiny, magnetic e-reader could stop you from doomscrolling Amanda Silberling Uber wants to turn its millions of drivers into a sensor grid for self-driving companies Connie Loizos X LinkedIn Facebook Instagram youTube Mastodon Threads Bluesky TechCrunchStaffContact UsAdvertiseCrunchboard JobsSite Map Terms of ServicePrivacy PolicyRSS Terms of UseCode of Conduct AnthropicSAPSamsungMarc LoreTechCrunch DisruptTech LayoffsChatGPT © 2026 TechCrunch Media LLC.