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By Joe Edwards
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The Pentagon has issued an update after being criticized by Representative Anna Paulina Luna, who said the Department of Defense missed a deadline to deliver dozens of requested videos of alleged UFO sightings.
The Florida Republican had asked for 46 videos of encounters involving unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs) by April 14, a deadline she reported had passed without delivery.
"The Department of War's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) is working in close coordination with the White House and across federal agencies to consolidate existing UAP records collections and facilitate the expeditious release of never-before-seen UAP information,” the department said in an email to Newsweek.
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Why It Matters
The files 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.
Luna, who chairs the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, made the request in a March 31 letter addressed to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and came after Trump announced in February that he would direct his administration to start identifying and releasing government files concerning UFOs and extraterrestrial life.
What To Know
The Defense Department was rebranded the Department of War last year following an executive order by President Donald Trump, though congressional approval is required for the name change to become official. The AARO is responsible for receiving, processing, and adjudicating UAP reports.
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“Since the office was established, AARO has made progress to make UAP information available and transfer those records to the National Archives in accordance with federal law,” the department said.
“We welcome the president's initiative to supercharge these efforts and make more UAP information available to the public as soon as possible," it added.
In a Tuesday social media post, Luna said the Pentagon had not responded to her request “until we reached out,” and that it “appears that someone did not pass the letter to the appropriate authorities.”
Luna told NewsNation she plans to work with Hegseth directly to secure the videos’ release, indicating that she may exercise Oversight Committee subpoena authority if necessary.
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What Happens Next
Hegseth said in February he did not have a timeframe for the release of the files requested by Trump.
Speaking to reporters, he said: “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.”
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