READ: Pentagon Releases New Batch of UFO Files Detailing Decades of Reported Sightings
The Pentagon has released a new set of UFO-related materials describing reported sightings of orbs, discs, fireballs and other unidentified objects across roughly 80 years. The files include documents, audio recordings and 51 videos. They are the second batch released following an order from President Trump, after an initial release of 161 files on May 8. The Pentagon has said additional materials will be released on a rolling basis.
One of the newly released documents is a 116-page Armed Forces Special Weapons Program report covering 1948 to 1950. It describes 209 reported sightings of unidentified objects, now commonly referred to by the U.S. government as unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP. Some of the accounts came from Sandia, New Mexico, where witnesses reported objects that appeared to maneuver, fly away, disappear and, in some cases, explode.
A more recent account came from an unnamed senior U.S. intelligence officer who said he observed “countless orange orbs” from a military helicopter in 2025 somewhere in the western United States. The officer reported seeing oval-shaped orange objects with white or yellow centers near a test range after loud thuds had been heard in the mountains. He said the objects were low to the ground, moving quickly and appeared to emit light in all directions. According to the account, the encounter lasted more than an hour. The officer said the objects flared up and down, seemed to gather into a triangle formation, and then vanished. He said he did not take photos because he was focused on determining whether the objects posed a threat.
Image from https://www.war.gov/UFO/.
Most of the newly released videos are grainy infrared footage captured by U.S. military cameras between 2018 and 2023. The Pentagon noted that many of the videos lacked a substantiated chain of custody, meaning their handling history could not be fully verified. One video reportedly shows a blurry object being shot down by a U.S. fighter jet over Lake Huron in February 2023, during the same period when U.S. officials were closely tracking aerial objects after a Chinese surveillance balloon crossed the country. Another video is described as showing a spherical UAP moving over the Yellow Sea in 2022.
The files do not offer definitive conclusions about extraterrestrial life or provide evidence of alien technology. Officials have said the public can review the materials and draw their own conclusions. After the first batch was released, President Trump wrote that the public could decide for themselves “what the hell is going on.” Congressman Tim Burchett of Tennessee, who has pushed for more transparency on UAP reports, thanked Trump and suggested the releases were only a small part of what may still be coming.
The files are available to browse and download through the government’s UFO archive at https://www.war.gov/UFO/.
