India, May 8 -- The United States Department of Defence has officially opened public access to a massive new collection of declassified UFO-related records, offering people around the world a rare look into decades of mysterious sightings, unexplained aerial encounters and classified investigations once hidden from public view.

The release comes under a new transparency initiative called the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE), announced on May 8. Through the new online archive, citizens can now access hundreds of previously restricted documents, videos and images connected to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), more commonly known as UFOs.

According to officials, this is only the beginning, with ...