Pentagon reveals plan to disclose all UFO files as Pete Hegseth insists he doesn't know if aliens exist

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has finally addressed the president's announcement to release all government files related to UFOs and aliens.

Speaking at an event for the Department of War’s 'Arsenal of Freedom' tour on Monday, Hegseth, 45, said he intends to find out if aliens really exist, and the American people will learn the truth at the same time.

Although he admitted he never envisioned being the person put in charge of potentially revealing alien life to the world, Hegseth declared that the Department of War would fully comply with the president's orders.

'I did not have that on my bingo card at all,' Hegseth said.

'We've got our people working on it right now. 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.'

Hegseth didn't have an estimate of how long it would take for the Pentagon and US intelligence agencies to release every piece of information on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), which have been widely reported throughout the US since the 1940s.

Asked if he believes aliens exist, Hegseth replied: 'We'll see. I get to do the review and find out along with all of you.'

Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, who was put in charge of the House Oversight Committee's task force on declassifying secret records on UAPs, revealed that all of the incoming documents will be housed on the US National Archives' website.

Until now, the Pentagon has maintained for decades that no physical evidence of extraterrestrial life has ever been found by the US, and videos capturing suspected UFOs have never been confirmed to be of a non-human origin. 

Hegseth's comments came after a whirlwind week of stunning UFO-related claims made by Trump and former President Barack Obama.

On February 14, a podcast interview between Obama and Brian Tyler Cohen sent shockwaves through the US after the 44th president declared aliens were real, but they weren't being kept at Area 51.

Obama tried to walk back the comments a day later, posting on social media that he gave a short and direct answer to Cohen's rapid-fire questions 'to stick with the spirit of the speed round.'

'Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’s life out there,' he wrote on February 15.

However, President Trump seized on the comments, declaring that Obama had actually committed a serious violation by speaking on the matter, calling the topic 'classified information.' 

'I don't know if they're real or not,' Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on February 19 when asked about alien life and his predecessor's comments.

'I can tell you he gave classified information. He made a big mistake,' the president added.

Just hours later, Trump became the first president in history to issue a broad executive directive ordering government agencies to make any information on unidentified spacecraft and non-human life public information.

The president has also reportedly granted a key US congressman access to the most famous military base - Area 51.

In a recent interview, Representative Eric Burlison of Missouri claimed his request to visit the top-secret Nevada facility and other locations allegedly connected to UFOs was approved by the White House.

Burlison is a member of the congressional oversight committee involved in the ongoing investigation into UAPs, more commonly known as UFOs.

Although the US government has continued to deny that crashed UFOs and alien bodies have been recovered, Congress has heard from multiple whistleblowers claiming secret programs have covered up the truth for 80 years.

Seeking physical evidence of these encounters, Burlison told the ALN Podcast that the Trump Administration has ordered Hegseth and the Department of War (formerly the Department of Defense) to 'make it happen.'

'The extent to which they've been involved is literally just saying to the Department of Defense that "we're backing his request. Do what you can to make it happen,"' Burlison explained during the January 30 interview.

Trump has previously said he didn't believe UFOs or aliens exist, but revealed that military pilots have personally told him about their mid-air encounters with unexplainable craft which defied the laws of gravity.

When asked if he would declassify the files about aliens on the Lex Fridman Podcast in September 2024, then-candidate Trump said: 'Sure, I’ll do that. I would do that. I’d love to do that. I have to do that.'

The president's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, has claimed he already has a written speech prepared, which discusses the topic of UFOs and alien life visiting Earth.

White House insiders and UFO researchers have claimed this speech is scheduled to be given this year, possibly coinciding with the Roswell UFO incident's 79th anniversary on July 8 or at the United Nations General Assembly in September.