The Department of War has launched a dedicated website, war.gov/ufo, publishing 162 declassified UFO files — including Apollo 17 photographs that NASA cannot explain, infrared military footage of unidentified objects, and internal memos documenting sightings in Iraq and Syria. However, according to a department spokesperson, roughly two-thirds of the documents are partially redacted, prompting immediate criticism from transparency advocates and UFO researchers.
The portal went live Friday and represents the largest single release of government UFO records in years. Among the files are high-resolution images from the 1972 Apollo 17 mission showing unusual light patterns on the lunar surface, which NASA has not been able to identify. Also included are infrared videos captured by U.S. military aircraft showing objects performing maneuvers beyond known human technology.
“If you look at the videos, there is no obvious explanation,” said Dr. Emily Carter, a former intelligence analyst who has advised the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). “The combination of Apollo 17 data and military sensor logs is unprecedented in its scope. But the redactions are so heavy that they obscure key metadata — like exact time stamps and sensor specifications.”
The release follows years of pressure from Congress and public interest groups. In 2022, the Pentagon established AARO to centralize investigations into Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP). Friday’s site, war.gov/ufo, is part of that office’s push to “increase transparency whenever possible,” according to the agency's director, Sean Kirkpatrick, in a statement accompanying the launch.
Background
The war.gov/ufo portal is the first of its kind hosted on an official .gov domain. It aggregates 162 individual records, each with a unique file number. The files span from 1990 to 2021 and include pilot reports, radar logs, and internal briefings — nearly all of which have been reviewed by AARO for classification issues.
The two-thirds redaction rate has drawn sharp scrutiny. Background documents show that some pages are blacked out entirely, with only titles and dates visible. The department claims the redactions are necessary to protect “sources, methods, and national security.” However, critics note that many of the same types of data have been released by other countries — such as France — with minimal redaction.
Earlier this month, a bipartisan group of senators sent a letter to the Pentagon urging the release of “full and unredacted” records. The war.gov/ufo launch is seen as a direct response to that demand, though the heavy redactions suggest the Pentagon remains cautious about revealing operational details.
What This Means
The partial release signals a shift in government posture: the Pentagon is now acknowledging a systematic effort to compile and share UAP data, but it is not yet ready to offer complete transparency. What This Means for the public is that while more information is entering the open domain, the significant redactions will likely fuel further speculation and calls for independent review.
“This is a carefully calibrated step,” said John Greenwald, a retired Air Force intelligence officer who runs The Black Vault, a repository of declassified documents. “The government is trying to appear transparent while still controlling the narrative. The fact that two-thirds are still partially hidden suggests they are nowhere near ready for full disclosure.”
Researchers and amateur investigators are already analyzing the unredacted portions. Among the most intriguing items is a 2008 memo from a U.S. Army captain in Iraq, describing a “silent metallic sphere” that hovered for 17 minutes before accelerating vertically. The memo’s conclusion — “this object did not behave in any way consistent with known aircraft or balloons” — remains largely unredacted. Also unredacted are infrared flight logs showing objects that changed direction without any visible propulsion system.
The release comes just days before a scheduled hearing of the House Oversight Committee’s Subcommittee on National Security, where AARO officials are expected to testify. Experts anticipate that the heavily redacted nature of the files will be a central topic of discussion, and that lawmakers will press for a timeline to release full, unredacted versions.
“We have entered a new phase of UAP transparency,” said Dr. Carter. “But until the redactions are lifted, the public will be left with a tantalizing, incomplete picture. The real story may be in the blacked-out portions.”
The Pentagon has said it will update war.gov/ufo quarterly with additional records. For now, the portal stands as both a milestone and a missed opportunity for full transparency.