Defense Department publishes trove of records : NPR

Key Points:

• The Department of Defense released over 160 documents on Friday detailing unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), including reports from the Cold War era and recent sightings of metallic elliptical objects floating in mid-air, following President Trump's call for transparency.
• The records, accessible via the web portal war.gov/info, include notable accounts such as astronaut Buzz Aldrin's observations during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 and a 1948 Top Secret Air Force report describing recurring unidentified objects over Europe that defy current intelligence understanding.
• A recent 2023 report describes a metallic ovaloid object spotted by multiple witnesses in restricted airspace, with corroboration from several observers and a composite sketch included; the witness faced ridicule from colleagues, highlighting stigma around reporting such phenomena.
• Historical sightings include a 1955 incident involving then-Senator Richard Russell and military personnel observing "flying disc aircraft" in the Soviet Union, with the U.S. Air Attaché deeming the witnesses reliable, though parts of the related CIA documents remain redacted.
• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth emphasized the importance of public access to these previously classified files, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard noted that this release is the beginning of an ongoing declassification effort to shed light on unexplained encounters.