U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated that the first tranche of government files on unidentified flying objects will be released shortly, following an internal review that he said uncovered “very interesting” material.
“We found many very interesting documents, I must say, and the first releases will begin very, very soon so you can go out and see if that phenomena is correct,” Reuters cited Trump telling supporters at an event organised by Turning Point USA.
The disclosure initiative stems from a directive issued by Trump in February ordering federal agencies to begin declassifying records related to UFOs, also referred to as unidentified aerial phenomena, as well as any material concerning possible extraterrestrial life. The move was framed as a response to sustained public curiosity surrounding the subject.
Trump had earlier accused former president Barack Obama of improperly sharing classified information after remarks made in a podcast interview in which Obama suggested aliens were “real”.
Obama subsequently clarified that he had encountered no evidence of extraterrestrial contact during his time in office, while noting that the probability of life existing elsewhere in the universe remains high.
Trump has similarly said he has not seen conclusive proof of alien life and remains uncertain about its existence, despite ordering the review.
Official findings to date have been more cautious.
The Pentagon has spent years examining reports of unexplained aerial sightings, with senior military officials stating in 2022 that there was no evidence to suggest extraterrestrial craft had visited or crashed on Earth.
A subsequent Pentagon report published in 2024 concluded that investigations stretching back to the end of World War Two had uncovered no proof of alien technology, attributing most sightings to misidentified conventional objects or natural phenomena.
While the forthcoming document releases may shed further light on previously classified incidents, they are unlikely to alter the prevailing official assessment that no verified evidence of extraterrestrial activity has been found. - April 18, 2026
