UFOs, or the notion of them, have been around a long time. Here鈥檚 a look at how the various iterations of the subject 鈥� from government investigations to sightings to movies and TV 鈥� have unfolded since World War II:
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1947: First widely reported UFO sighting in US
On June 24, private pilot Kenneth A. Arnold nine objects flying near Mount Rainier in Washington state. His was the first widely reported UFO sighting in this country and set off a wave of other reported sightings. On July 2, A ranch foreman checking on sheep finds strange debris spread over a prairie near . Authorities initially say the material is from a flying disc, but later say it is from a weather balloon.
1948: Official government investigation begins
U.S. Air Force launches Project Sign, an investigation into UFOs; renamed Project Blue Book in 1953. More than 12,600 reported sightings were investigated between 1948 and 1969.
1950: Hollywood jumps in
Release of the spy film 鈥淭he Flying Saucer.鈥�
1952: Unexplained objects above Washington
Radar operators, pilots and others pick up or see up to a dozen unexplained objects in the sky above Washington, D.C. in July.
1955: Area 51 construction starts
Construction begins for what would become the Area 51 site northwest of Las Vegas as an Air Force facility. becomes a hotspot for UFO conspiracy theories. In 2013, the CIA acknowledged the existence of the site.
1957: Widespread Texas sightings
In November, dozens of people in Levelland, Texas, west of Lubbock, report strange lights in the sky that interfered with their vehicles and lights.
1966: The final frontier
In September, 鈥淪tar Trek鈥� premieres on NBC, launching the most enduring space drama in history.
1969: Air Force says no ETs found
Dec. 17: Air Force says it found no evidence of any UFO that was extraterrestrial in nature or that threatened national security; terminates Project Blue Book.
1977: Spielberg gets in on it
Steven Spielberg鈥檚 鈥淐lose Encounters of the Third Kind鈥� released.
1980: Unexplained lights seen above London
U.S. Air Force personnel stationed in Great Britain report seeing strange lights above Rendlesham Forest, northeast of London, in December. Officers reportedly see a metallic object in the forest after investigating the lights.
1982: The iconic Gen-X alien emerges on film
Spielberg鈥檚 鈥淓.T. the Extraterrestrial鈥� is released.
1996: The epic cinematic 鈥榓lien invasion鈥�
Roland Emmerich鈥檚 鈥淚ndependence Day鈥� is released.
1997: UFO reported in Arizona
Residents report seeing lights from a large flying object in the sky over or near Phoenix in March.
2015: 鈥楿nidentified blob鈥�
which was dubbed 鈥淕ofast.鈥� In another video from that year, labeled 鈥淕imbal,鈥� an unexplained object is tracked as it soars high along the clouds, traveling against the wind. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a whole fleet of them,鈥� one naval aviator tells another, though only one indistinct object is shown. 鈥淚t鈥檚 rotating.鈥� The videos are leaked and later released by the Pentagon.
2019: Declassified footage deemed unidentified
Navy acknowledges the three clips of declassified military footage as unidentified aerial phenomena.
2020: UAP team assembled
Pentagon announces a .
2021: Big review of cases produces no definitive ET links
Investigators say in a U.S. government that they did not find extraterrestrial links in reviewing 144 sightings of aircraft or other devices apparently flying at mysterious speeds or trajectories. They highlighted the need for better data collection.
2022: Governmental action on multiple fronts
in 50 years on UFOs following reports of unexplained aerial phenomena by the military. Lawmakers from both parties say UFOs are a national security concern. that it is launching a study of UFOs as part of a new push toward high-risk, high-impact science. The space agency says it鈥檚 setting up an independent team to see how much information is publicly available on the matter and how much more is needed. The agency , saying the study of UFOs will require new scientific techniques, including advanced satellites as well as a shift in how unidentified flying objects are perceived. The All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) set up in the Pentagon to track reports of unidentified objects in the sky, under water and in space.
2023: Concealment alleged by former Air Force officer
Former Air Force intelligence officer David Grusch in July that the U.S. is concealing a longstanding program that retrieves and reverse-engineers unidentified flying objects. The Pentagon denies it鈥檚 concealing any such program.
2024: No evidence indicated
New Pentagon study that examined reported sightings of UFOs over nearly the last century of aliens or extraterrestrial intelligence. The study from the Defense Department鈥檚 All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office analyzed U.S. government investigations since 1945 of reported sightings of unidentified anomalous phenomena. It found no evidence that any of those claims were actually signs of alien life, or that the U.S. government and private companies had reverse-engineered extraterrestrial technology and were hiding it.
2026: A flurry of government developments
鈥擣eb. 14: Former U.S. President Barack Obama, answering a question about 鈥渁re aliens real鈥� on a podcast, says, 鈥淭hey鈥檙e real. But I haven鈥檛 seen them. And, they鈥檙e not being kept in Area 51.鈥� Obama later released this : 鈥淪tatistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there鈥檚 life out there. But the distances between solar systems are so great that the chances we鈥檝e been visited by aliens is low, and I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!鈥�
鈥擣eb. 19: President Donald Trump that he鈥檚 directing the Pentagon and other government agencies to identify and release files related to extraterrestrials and UFOs because of 鈥渢remendous interest.鈥� Trump accuses Obama of disclosing 鈥渃lassified information鈥� and tells reporters that he doesn鈥檛 know if UFOs are 鈥渞eal or not.鈥�
鈥擬arch 31: U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna requests to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that the government release about four dozen videos related to UAP sightings to an oversight committee task force. 鈥淭he presence of UAPs in and around the sensitive airspaces of U.S. military installations poses a threat to the security of the armed forces and their readiness,鈥� Luna writes.
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