The Defense Department (DOD) on May 22 released a second batch of declassified unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) files as part of the administration’s broader multi-agency effort to increase transparency surrounding government investigations into UAP, colloquially known as UFOs.
The release includes 51 video files and 13 documents and images spanning decades of reported encounters, including first-hand testimony from civilians and military personnel. While the materials provide dramatic visuals and detailed accounts, they offer few concrete answers about the existence of extraterrestrial life.
Descriptions accompanying the videos state that many of the materials were requested by House lawmakers in March and later identified by the DOD’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) during its review of historical records and military archives.
The disclosure follows an earlier release this month of 161 previously secret or rarely seen UAP-related files. According to the DOD, the government website established to house the materials, WAR.GOV/UFO, has received more than 1 billion hits worldwide since launching on May 8, 2026.
Under the Trump administration, the DOD was rebranded as the War Department.
DOD said it is actively preparing a third release of UAP files, which it plans to announce “in the near future.”
What’s in the files?
MeriTalk did a deep dive into the newly released files. Several videos and documents stand out for their unusual imagery and detailed eyewitness testimony.
One notable video appears to show the moment a fighter jet shot down an unidentified object over Lake Huron in 2023. The incident occurred shortly after a Chinese spy balloon crossed the United States, intensifying public concern over unidentified objects in American airspace.
Another video, recorded over the Persian Gulf in 2019 and described by the DOD as footage likely from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform operating within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, shows three UAP flying in formation over the Middle East.
Another account was a testimony from a currently serving senior intelligence officer describing an encounter aboard a military helicopter in late 2025.
According to the officer’s written statement, the crew experienced “a series of close UAP encounters lasting over an hour” while investigating prior sightings near mountainous terrain. The objects were described as oval-shaped, orange in color, with white or yellow centers that emitted light “in all directions.”
None of the newly released videos or documents is accompanied by official explanations. The AARO has repeatedly stated that it has found no evidence suggesting any of the thousands of reported sightings are extraterrestrial in origin.
“Many of these materials lack a substantiated chain-of-custody,” the Pentagon noted in descriptions accompanying the files.