US President Donald Trump has revived questions surrounding unidentified flying objects (UFOs) after revealing that American Air Force pilots told him they had encountered a mysterious, round object travelling at three times the speed of an F-22 Raptor fighter jet. Trump also pledged to investigate whether the United States operates a secret programme studying unidentified anomalous phenomena without the knowledge of the president.
Trump made the remarks during an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes, in which he discussed his views on UFOs, reports from military personnel and longstanding allegations that the US government has concealed information about unexplained aerial encounters.
Asked whether he had personally seen or heard anything that convinced him there might be more to UFO sightings than publicly acknowledged, Trump described himself as “not too much of a believer.” However, he pointed to conversations with American Air Force pilots who had reportedly shared unusual experiences during military operations.
Trump said the pilots were highly trained professionals rather than individuals inclined towards conspiracy theories.
“These are not people that you would say are conspiracy theorists – they don’t even know what it means – but they’re great, great pilots,” Trump said.
He then joked about their appearance, describing them as young, handsome and exceptionally well-groomed, comparing their appearance to Hollywood actor Tom Cruise.
Beyond the humour, Trump emphasised that he considered the pilots credible witnesses and said they had described encounters that were difficult to explain.
“They’re the real deal,” he said, adding that they had told him “things that are very strange.”
Trump then recounted one particularly unusual incident involving an F-22 Raptor, one of the US Air Force’s most advanced fifth-generation stealth fighter aircraft.
“They’re flying an F-22, which is the best there is, the fastest, the best plane that anyone’s ever seen,” Trump said. “And something goes by them at three times their speed. And it’s round. It’s not aerodynamic.”
He did not identify the pilots, specify when the encounter allegedly occurred or provide technical details about the object. Nor did he explain whether the reported observation had been independently investigated or supported by radar, infrared imagery or other sensor data.
The description nevertheless adds to a series of questions surrounding unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), the term increasingly used by the US government and military to describe observations that cannot immediately be identified.
Asked whether a secret government programme investigating UFOs could exist without the president’s knowledge, Trump initially dismissed the suggestion.
“No, and I haven’t heard that,” he said. “But if there is, I’m going to find out about it right after this interview.”
His comments come amid renewed public interest in the Pentagon’s investigations, congressional hearings and allegations from former intelligence and military personnel that the US government possesses classified information about unexplained aerial encounters.
The United States has investigated reports of unidentified flying objects for decades, but the issue received renewed institutional attention in July 2022, when the Pentagon established the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).
The office was created to coordinate the investigation of UAP reports across military and intelligence agencies, examine potential national security threats and improve the government’s ability to identify unexplained observations.
Under its first director, Sean Kirkpatrick, AARO reviewed historical government documents dating back to 1945 and interviewed current and former military personnel.
Its investigations uncovered an unexpected dimension of America’s UFO history: some conspiracy theories surrounding secret extraterrestrial programmes had been deliberately encouraged by elements of the US military to conceal classified weapons development.
A Wall Street Journal investigation previously reported that Pentagon investigators discovered evidence of disinformation efforts designed to mislead individuals who had inadvertently witnessed classified military testing.
One of the most prominent examples involved Area 51, the highly secretive US military installation in Nevada that became central to American UFO mythology.
During the Cold War, the facility was used to test advanced aircraft and surveillance technologies, including experimental platforms whose appearance and flight characteristics were unfamiliar to the public.
According to the investigation, an Air Force colonel visited a bar near Area 51 during the 1980s and provided its owner with fabricated photographs supposedly showing flying saucers near the secret installation.
The photographs helped generate speculation about extraterrestrial activity and were displayed inside the bar, attracting public attention.
The retired colonel subsequently told Pentagon investigators that he had acted under official instructions to create a “smokescreen” around classified testing of the F-117 Nighthawk, America’s first operational stealth attack aircraft.
Military officials reportedly believed that encouraging UFO speculation was an effective way to distract attention from advanced aircraft development and prevent the Soviet Union from discovering the true nature of American military technology.
The strategy demonstrated how government secrecy and deliberate misinformation could contribute to the UFO phenomenon, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish genuine unexplained observations from fabricated stories.
For decades, Area 51 remained one of the most closely guarded locations in the United States. Its association with UFO sightings became particularly strong during the development of advanced reconnaissance aircraft.
In 2013, the CIA declassified documents acknowledging the facility’s role in testing the U-2 spy plane and SR-71 Blackbird, among other aircraft.
The documents provided an explanation for numerous historical UFO reports. Aircraft flying at unusually high altitudes and speeds could appear unfamiliar to commercial pilots and people observing them from the ground.
The U-2 programme, in particular, contributed to a significant increase in UFO reports during the 1950s, when civilian aircraft were unable to operate at comparable altitudes.
However, AARO’s historical investigation suggested that the government’s approach went beyond simply keeping aircraft development secret.
Investigators found examples in which military personnel were deliberately given misleading explanations about unusual incidents, leaving witnesses to believe they had encountered extraterrestrial technology.
One case involved retired Air Force Captain Robert Salas, who reported an unexplained incident at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana in 1967.
Salas said an unidentified object descended towards a missile launch-control facility, after which all 10 nuclear missiles associated with the installation became inoperable. Electrical equipment was also reportedly affected.
He maintained that the incident involved extraterrestrial visitors and said he had been instructed not to discuss what happened.
AARO’s investigation found that Salas had not been informed about a military test involving emerging electromagnetic pulse technology. The testing was intended to examine whether American nuclear missile facilities could withstand the electromagnetic effects of a nuclear explosion and retain their ability to respond to an attack.
According to the findings described in the investigation, Salas was allowed to interpret the incident as an encounter with extraterrestrial technology rather than being given an explanation of the military activity.
The Pentagon investigation also uncovered an unusual practice involving commanders of highly classified Air Force programmes.
According to the Wall Street Journal investigation, some incoming commanders were reportedly presented with photographs resembling flying saucers during their classified induction briefings.
They were told that they were joining a programme called “Yankee Blue”, supposedly established to reverse-engineer extraterrestrial technology recovered by the US government.
The officers were reportedly instructed to sign non-disclosure agreements, reinforcing the impression that they were being introduced to an extremely sensitive national security operation.
However, the supposed extraterrestrial programme was a fabrication. The practice reportedly continued for decades, creating confusion even among senior military personnel with access to classified information.
The Defense Department eventually issued a memorandum in 2023 directing that the practice be stopped immediately.
The revelations highlighted a significant problem for investigators: misinformation generated within the military itself had helped create the impression that the government possessed secret spacecraft and extraterrestrial materials.
In March 2024, AARO published an extensive historical review examining decades of American government investigations into UFO sightings.
Its central conclusion was that investigators had found no verifiable evidence that the US government had encountered extraterrestrial beings or recovered alien spacecraft.
Most reported sightings could be attributed to ordinary objects, misidentifications, atmospheric phenomena or classified military and space-related activities.
The report also identified the influence of popular culture, including television programmes, films, books and social media, in reinforcing public beliefs about extraterrestrial encounters.
Investigators highlighted a particularly persistent narrative claiming that the government had recovered extraterrestrial spacecraft and biological remains while secretly conducting reverse-engineering programmes.
These allegations received renewed attention in July 2023, when former US intelligence officer David Grusch testified before Congress.
Grusch alleged that the American government had operated a multidecade programme to recover and reverse-engineer objects of non-human origin. His testimony generated significant political and public interest, although the allegations have not been publicly substantiated with verifiable evidence.
Another controversy emerged in November 2024, when a whistleblower document submitted to the House Oversight Committee alleged the existence of an unacknowledged programme called Immaculate Constellation.
The document purportedly described a system for collecting and analysing military imagery of UAPs.
The allegation should be distinguished from an officially confirmed Pentagon programme. The existence of a submitted document or a witness’s account does not independently establish that the alleged operation exists as described.
The Pentagon’s latest findings have added another dimension to the continuing debate.
In its fiscal year 2025 consolidated annual report, released in July 2026, AARO recorded 319 new UAP reports. Of those, 114 were resolved, while 205 remained unexplained at the time of reporting.
The unexplained cases do not necessarily indicate extraterrestrial activity. Rather, they represent observations for which investigators did not have sufficient information to reach a definitive conclusion.
AARO said improvements in its analytical capabilities had helped resolve numerous earlier cases, including observations initially interpreted as unusual aerial objects but subsequently attributed to sunlight reflecting off satellites.
The distinction between unexplained and extraterrestrial is central to the Pentagon’s position. An observation may remain unidentified because of insufficient sensor data, incomplete reporting or the absence of reliable information about its location, speed and trajectory.
In June 2025, the Pentagon also indicated that a second volume of AARO’s historical investigation would address potential military pranks and fabricated materials associated with alleged secret UFO programmes. However, the second volume had not appeared on AARO’s publicly available reports list as of November 2026.
Trump’s latest comments have therefore reopened questions that American investigators have struggled to settle for generations. His promise to examine whether secret UFO research exists beyond presidential oversight could generate fresh attention to classified military records and the Pentagon’s historical investigations.
For now, however, the reported encounter involving an F-22 remains an account attributed to unnamed pilots rather than independently verified evidence of an extraordinary aircraft.
The central mystery surrounding America’s UFO history is consequently not limited to whether unidentified objects have visited American airspace. It also concerns how classified weapons programmes, military disinformation, incomplete investigations and decades of government secrecy have shaped public understanding of what people believe they have seen.
