Pentagon planted UFO myths to hide secret weapons programs, report finds

UFO hearing recap, lawmaker exposes 'truth'

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) joins LiveNOW from FOX to talk about the new Pentagon report on UFOs. A report from the Pentagon includes hundreds of new incidents but no evidence of aliens, according to officials.

LOS ANGELES - In the shadow of the Cold War, while America raced to outpace the Soviet Union in military innovation, the Pentagon turned to an unexpected tactic: alien conspiracy theories.

A newly revealed Department of Defense review shows that the U.S. military deliberately spread UFO rumors—including staged photos and false briefings—to protect classified weapons programs. The practice wasn’t just passive denial or silence. In some cases, it was policy.

One such incident, first uncovered by the Wall Street Journal, involves an Air Force colonel who, in the 1980s, handed fake photos of flying saucers to a bar owner near the top-secret Area 51 base in Nevada. The colonel, now retired, later admitted to investigators that he was acting under official orders to deflect attention away from the then-classified F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter.

How the Pentagon used UFO myths to hide secret projects

The backstory:

The findings stem from a 2024 report by the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), a unit created in 2022 to sift through decades of military records and claims of unidentified aerial phenomena. 

While the office was originally intended to investigate possible extraterrestrial sightings, much of what it uncovered pointed back at the government itself.

According to the report, several UFO legends were intentionally stoked to mislead the public and foreign adversaries about advanced weapons programs. One example is the use of fabricated photos and stories placed in local communities near sensitive testing sites like Area 51.

What we know:

• The Air Force colonel’s fake UFO photos helped launch decades of speculation around Area 51
• The military saw the spread of alien rumors as a form of "camouflage," a Pentagon official said
• The disinformation helped obscure the testing of advanced technologies like stealth jets
• AARO found multiple examples of fabricated narratives designed to deflect attention from classified work

What we don't know:

• The full scope of disinformation programs remains classified
• Some events, including specific pranks and altered documents, were redacted from the report
• The Pentagon has not released names of individuals involved, beyond the now-retired colonel

The military’s fake alien unit: ‘Yankee Blue’

By the numbers:

• At least a dozen personnel were reportedly introduced to a fictional alien-investigation program called "Yankee Blue" as part of a hazing ritual
• The practice began in the 1980s and reportedly continued until 2023
• The Pentagon formally banned the practice after AARO flagged it during its review

What they're saying:

"These episodes reveal how secrecy and misinformation, even when well-intentioned, can spiral into myth," said Sean Kirkpatrick, AARO’s first director. He told the Wall Street Journal that many popular conspiracy theories can be traced to actual efforts by the U.S. military to conceal vulnerabilities or capabilities during tense periods of geopolitical rivalry.

A new office dedicated to studying UAP (UFO) sightings has finally secured full-funding in the upcoming 2024 defense budget. (Department of Defense)

Kirkpatrick added that not all findings from the review have been made public, but promised more details in a forthcoming report.

Big picture view:

The revelations come as public trust in government transparency around UFOs continues to grow. While recent years have seen serious Congressional inquiries into unidentified aerial phenomena, this new report adds a surprising twist: that many UFO legends were never about aliens at all—they were cover stories engineered by the military itself.

What's next:

The Pentagon says it will publish a follow-up to the Historical Record Report later in 2025, which will include more details on the disinformation programs, hazing rituals, and instances of "inauthentic materials" being used as deception tools.