By Al Root
The truth is out there -- maybe.
Under the direction of President Donald Trump, the Pentagon on Friday released dozens of files totaling thousands of pages about "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena."
Investors, however, may be thinking about them as unidentified flying objects, or UFOs. Combing through and understanding the files will take a long, indeterminate amount of time. Still, there are a few things that caught Barron's attention.
The first interesting tidbit was about an aircraft that in 2023 made "multiple 90-degree turns at an estimated 80 mph." That's indicative of potentially impressive technology in propulsion, control, and materials science that would interest investors looking at jet and jet engine makers, such as Lockheed Martin and GE Aerospace. The documents released included other reports of fast-traveling UAPs, as well.
A second story was about a football-sized object in the East China Sea that in 2022 hit the water at high speed, with no splash or change in velocity. That kind of performance in the water would likely impress investors of ship makers such as General Dynamics and Huntington-Ingalls Industries, as well as the privately-held shipbuilder Saronic and the defense company Anduril.
FBI reports about objects that couldn't be seen, but could be detected via radar, were among the documents the U.S. government released. Consider it akin to Star Trek-level optical cloaking technology -- and likely interesting to anyone investing in stealth companies such as Lockheed or Northrop Grumman.
In 2023, a pilot reported an incident in which their weapons systems were paralyzed as they approached a small UAP, the documents show. Advanced jamming and electronic warfare technology may gain the attention of RTX, BAE Systems, and L3Harris Technologies shareholders.
What investors can take away from this is as clear as some of the pictures released, many of which were blurry. However, they can get some indication about classified military technology programs from defense contractors.
Lockheed, for instance, reported a 1% year-over-year decrease in aeronautics revenues in the first quarter, which it said was "primarily attributable to lower sales of approximately $325 million on classified programs due to lower volume." Classified programs at Lockheed are expected to use $500 million to $700 million in 2026, according to BfoA Estimates.
To be sure, many of the images included in Friday's document release appeared to be black dots. Of course, investors can look for themselves at www.war.gov/UFO.
Don't expect the files to boost any defense stocks. The iShares Aerospace & Defense ETF is down 8% since the start of the fighting in Iran. Investors are focused more on spending trends and geopolitics than on UFOs and sci-fi level technologies.
Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 09, 2026 09:47 ET (13:47 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments