FBI Director Kash Patel Confirms First Tranche of UFO Files Delivered for Public Release

On Tuesday 6 May 2026, FBI Director Kash Patel told Sean Hannity on the Hannity podcast that the FBI had already delivered its 'first tranche of information' on UFOs to the interagency body coordinating the Trump administration's UAP records release, and that the public release of those files would come 'very soon'. Patel framed the FBI delivery as the opening move in a Department of War led process running across all intelligence agencies, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as point of contact. Patel did not name a release date, did not describe the volume or classification level of the delivered material, and did not indicate whether the FBI tranche overlaps with the 46 UAP video files Rep. Anna Paulina Luna formally requested by 14 April. The announcement is the first explicit public confirmation by a sitting cabinet-level official that material has physically moved from an originating agency into a release pipeline since President Trump's 20 February 2026 executive order. Trump himself reiterated the 'very soon' framing at the 3 May NASA astronauts event at the White House. No supporting public artefact, FOIA reading-room posting, or AARO records page update accompanied Patel's statement.