For decades, stories of unidentified flying objects over Greece belonged largely to the realm of late-night radio shows, tabloid headlines and nostalgic references to the iconic US television series “The X-Files”. Now, newly declassified US government files are giving the subject an unexpected resurgence in public discourse — this time through official military documentation.

The first tranche of records released by the US Department of Defense (DoD) concerning so-called Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, or UAPs – better known as UFOs – includes three reports linked to sightings over the Aegean Sea between October 2023 and January 2024. The material, which has drawn renewed attention around the world over the past month amid broader congressional scrutiny of UAP investigations, appears to originate from US military personnel operating at NATO facilities in Greece.

The reports do not offer proof of extraterrestrial activity, of course. What they do reveal, however, is how seriously such incidents are now catalogued within the US military — a notable shift from the Cold War era, when most sightings were routinely dismissed or classified.

According to the released mission reports, US pilots observed fast-moving aerial objects flying low above the Aegean, in some cases executing abrupt 90-degree turns. One object, described as “diamond-shaped,” was estimated to be traveling at roughly 800 kilometers per hour — close to the cruising speed of a commercial jet.

Yet the unusual element was not merely the speed. In at least two incidents, the objects were reportedly visible only through short-wave infrared (SWIR) sensors embedded in military aircraft systems. Pilots said the targets repeatedly disappeared when sensor focus changed, complicating attempts at visual identification.

Another 2024 report described an object resembling “an inverted teardrop with a vertically linear mass hanging below.” Observers noted that, to the naked eye, the shape could almost resemble a kite, were it not for its altitude, velocity and infrared-only visibility.

The US Pentagon documents form part of a broader release of 162 declassified files involving agencies including the FBI, NASA and the State Department. The archive spans incidents from the Apollo space exploration era to 2025 and includes references to cigar-shaped or diamond-like objects exhibiting unconventional flight behavior.

The renewed American interest in UAPs has accelerated since a series of congressional hearings and military disclosures in recent years, especially after former intelligence officials alleged that unexplained aerial encounters had been systematically underreported for decades.

Major U.S. networks and newspapers have increasingly treated the issue less as science fiction and more as a national-security and aerospace-monitoring question.

In Greece, however, the files have also revived memories of the country’s own enduring UFO folklore.

The most famous case remains the so-called “Greek Roswell” of Atalanti, along the eastern seaboard of south-central Greece, in September 1990, when hundreds of witnesses reported seeing 13 luminous objects crossing the sky. One appeared to be on fire before allegedly descending near the town. Greek authorities later announced that debris recovered from the area was of terrestrial origin, reportedly linked to a Soviet satellite component.

Earlier incidents have long occupied a peculiar place in Greek popular culture.

The late comedic actor Thanasis Veggos once recounted witnessing a glowing object over the sea near the eastern Peloponnese resort town of Tolo alongside numerous holidaymakers. In 1978, passengers and crew aboard an Olympic Airways flight reported being followed by an illuminated circular object, while radar operators at a military base described lights performing “non-conventional maneuvers” on the evening of Christmas day of the same year.

For now, the latest Pentagon UFO files offer no definitive answers. The incidents remain officially unresolved. But their publication signals something perhaps equally significant: unidentified aerial phenomena have moved from the margins of conspiracy culture into the center of institutional scrutiny.