On Friday, the Trump administration unveiled a new website designed to host a compilation of “new, never-before-seen” documentation regarding UFOs, as stated by the Pentagon. (Indeed, it seems we’re comfortable once again using the term UFO, considering the URL of the new site is war.gov/ufo.)

In a public declaration by the Defense Department — which, during Trump’s administration, was rebranded as the Department of War — the initial set of documents available on the site will feature unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) videos, photographs, and original source papers from across the entire U.S. government. The materials have undergone security reviews, though many “have not yet been examined for anomaly resolution,” according to the Department’s statement.

The collection is also expected to expand progressively as more files are disseminated on a “rolling basis,” it noted.

The unveiling of these documents comes in the wake of the December 2017 reports by The New York Times, Politico, and others concerning a $22 million classified Pentagon initiative known as the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), which had been exploring military encounters with unidentified objects.

Since then, public interest in UAPs, the contemporary term for UFOs, has surged, increasing worries about what might be in our skies, exemplified by the sightings of U.S. drones in 2024. Determining what is genuinely unexplained has been made more complex by the changing appearance of our skies, influenced by events like SpaceX launches and satellite activity. This makes a collection of military intelligence-backed documents particularly intriguing.

The news regarding government support for the Pentagon initiative has also permeated pop culture in recent times, as seen in films like 2023’s “Jules,” which portrays a man’s bond with an extraterrestrial that landed in his yard; “Bugonia,” which explores conspiracy theories about aliens living among us; and Steven Spielberg’s forthcoming film “Disclosure Day,” which alludes to governmental cover-ups surrounding the subject.

Years back, such a release of UFO documentation would have dominated headlines, but nowadays many Americans are more focused on immediate concerns, such as the Iran war’s effects on gas prices, rising living costs, job losses attributed to AI, healthcare issues, climate change, and other pressing matters.

As per the Pentagon, the release of the UFO documentation results from an interagency collaboration, the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE). This initiative encompasses the White House, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Department of Energy (DOE), the DOD’s All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and segments of other U.S. intelligence organizations.

Prior to this, independent news outlet 404 Media discovered in March that the Executive Office of the President had registered the domain aliens.gov; however, that website is currently inactive.