A recently declassified collection of U.S. government files, released during the Trump administration, offers a detailed look into a series of unexplained aerial phenomena (UAP) encounters. These documents include video footage, witness testimony from military personnel, astronauts, and federal officers, as well as radar data and investigative graphics.
Officials have cautioned that while these phenomena remain unexplained, it does not automatically indicate an extraterrestrial origin, suggesting that conventional explanations may exist for some sightings.
Cases from Recent Years
Among the released documents is infrared footage captured in 2025 over the Yellow Sea, showing an object described as an eight-pointed craft with uneven, apparently shape-shifting arms. The object appeared to move erratically, change direction abruptly, and vanish and reappear. Officials noted that the description was for informational purposes and not proof of the object's nature.
In 2023, seven federal officers across the western U.S. reported sightings over two days. Their accounts included descriptions of "orbs launching other orbs," a hovering sphere, and a semi-transparent object resembling a "translucent kite." An FBI Lab graphic based on these reports depicted a metallic, ellipsoid-shaped object estimated to be between 130 and 195 feet long, which reportedly materialized from a bright light before vanishing instantaneously.
Infrared footage from 2020 over the Atlantic Ocean captured a dark, jellyfish-like object, approximately 12 to 15 feet in height. While described as potentially resembling a "large, somewhat deformed balloon" and appearing to drift with the wind, the object was also noted for its unusual characteristics by US Northern Command to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).
Nearly two minutes of infrared footage from 2024, reported by the US Indo-Pacific Command to AARO, initially tracked a single area of contrast. Upon zooming, an elongated object became visible, which then appeared to split into multiple bright points moving diagonally before fading.
Incidents Near Sensitive Sites and in Space
One of the more detailed files pertains to a September 2015 incident at the Pantex Plant in Texas, a nuclear weapons facility. Ground surveillance radar detected a silent, diamond-shaped object moving near the site. Security personnel tracked the object for several miles before it disappeared beyond the facility's perimeter. The report includes radar tracks and enhanced stills from Sandia National Laboratories.
A 1996 U.S. Navy video shows what appears to be a circular craft with wing-like structures traveling over mountainous terrain in the western U.S. This footage was captured by a U.S. military platform and is part of the material collected by the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Task Force.
In 2002, a military pilot reported observing a silent, approximately 500-foot triangular object over Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. The pilot described the object as moving steadily before abruptly rolling onto its side and then returning to level flight, movements inconsistent with conventional aircraft.
Historical Sightings
Even astronauts have reported encounters. Apollo 17 crew members in 1972 observed a bright, apparently rotating object that flashed rhythmically. The crew also reported seeing multiple bright objects and fragments near their spacecraft. While some fragments were described as jagged and angular, suggesting they could be debris, the initial observation of a flashing, rotating object remains unexplained.
Unresolved Cases
A newly released government video shows a mysterious orb speeding over a residential area in the Middle East. Investigators classified the case as "unresolved" because they could not determine if the object was a drone, balloon, aircraft, or another known aerial vehicle. Authorities emphasized that "unresolved does not mean extraterrestrial" and may reflect a lack of sufficient data.