What Will the UFO Files Reveal? 3 Possibilities
With the U.S. government poised to release a tranche of UFO‑related files, experts are weighing what the documents might reveal.
What's Been Said About the File Release?
Interest in otherworldly phenomena skyrocketed earlier this year following remarks made by both President Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama.
Trump announced in February that he would be directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other relevant departments and agencies to start identifying and releasing UFO-related government files. The announcement came after Obama told political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen, "they're real, but I haven’t seen them," when asked about the existence of alien life during a rapid-fire portion of an interview.
Obama soon after clarified his comments, however, writing on social media: "Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there's life out there. But the distances between solar systems are so great that the chances we've been visited by aliens is low, and I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us."
“President Trump directed the Department of War to begin the process of identifying and releasing government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena, and unidentified flying objects because he is the most transparent President in history. Stay tuned,” White House press secretary Anna Kelly told Newsweek.
Hegseth told reporters in February he did not have a timeline for the file release requested by Trump.
"I don’t want to oversell how much time it will take, right? We’re digging in. We’re going to be in full compliance with that executive order, eager to provide that for the president. So, there’ll be more coming on that as far as the process of what we’ll do," he said.
Florida Republican Anna Paulina Luna hit out at the Pentagon on Tuesday after a deadline for handing over dozens of videos documenting apparent encounters with UFOs, also referred to as Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs), passed.
A letter signed by Luna and dated March 31, had requested over 45 video files that reportedly include spherical, cigar-shaped and “Tic Tac”-like objects recorded by U.S. military platforms over war zones, oceans and restricted airspace, with incidents said to include activity near Iran, Syria, U.S. bases and airports and a 2023 incident over Lake Huron.
"No one from the Pentagon had responded until we reached out, and it appears that someone did not pass the letter to the appropriate authorities. How convenient," Luna wrote on X on Tuesday. "Nonetheless, we will be getting the requested list. We are not waiting for a briefing at some unspecified future date."
Satellite Imagery and Alleged Crash Site Materials
Harvard physicist Avi Loeb told Newsweek that the most anomalous data has thus far remained obscured to the public, "and may include high-resolution satellite imagery or materials from alleged crash sites."
"Determining the nature of that evidence is extremely important for national security. It could indicate technological developments by adversarial nations. Even if that turns out not to be the case, studying the evidence is never a waste of time. It strengthens our ability to protect our nation."
Loeb said he hopes lawmakers will have an opportunity to review evidence previously held in secrecy.
"The images and videos released publicly so far are not of high scientific quality. Without precise distance measurements, it is difficult to determine velocities or accelerations. However, the underlying data may contain clues that scientists can analyze rigorously,” he said.
"For example, if materials were recovered from a crash site, it would be straightforward to test whether they originated beyond the solar system. Even a gram of material is sufficient for isotope analysis using a mass spectrometer. All materials in our solar system formed from the same reservoir. Material from another star would likely exhibit isotopic signatures shaped by a different stellar environment," Loeb said.
"Science can help the government and Congress determine whether any evidence collected over the past century may be of interstellar origin."
Clues to Other Life in the Universe
Janna Levin, a professor of physics and astronomy at Barnard College of Columbia University, told CBS News that astronomers are "very excited" at the possibility that the released documents could contain clues about life in the universe, which "still seems rare."
Levin clarified that astronomers are interested in microbes-organisms responsible for the origin of life on Earth.
“If there is anything in them, it would be really thrilling,” Levin said, but added, “If there are claims of actual technologies from other civilizations-I don’t think anyone is actually expecting that, scientifically. I think if you’re expecting that, you’re going to be disappointed.”
Sighting Reports…but a Lot of Administrative Files
Like Levin, other experts have also indicated that those hoping for more shocking revelations may be in for disappointment.
Greg Eghigian, a historian of science and medicine and professor at Penn State University, told CNN that while the release may include military or civilian sighting reports, as well as information on how extensively agencies investigated reported sightings, it will likely include many documents considered "unbelievably boring" to most.
"It's going to be a lot of administrative files: Who does what? How much did we spend on paper clips?" he said.
Former director of the Department of Defense’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), which investigates UFOs, Sean Kirkpatrick told CBS News that anyone hoping for evidence of alien life on Earth could be frustrated.
"There are going to be unsatisfied people,” he said. "You’re going to have a bunch of people who are going to continue to cry conspiracy, they’re going to say there’s a cover-up."
Kirkpatrick said that during his tenure leading AARO, investigators found no evidence of extraterrestrial life or alien technology on Earth. While he indicated he would have welcomed discovering alien technology, Kirkpatrick concluded that the likelihood of intelligent extraterrestrials on Earth is "little to none," though he believes life likely exists elsewhere in the universe.
Newsweek's reporters and editors used Martyn, our Al assistant, to help produce this story. Learn more about Martyn.
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This story was originally published April 15, 2026 at 10:06 AM.