In a continued push for greater transparency around Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), the U.S. Department of Defense has released a new set of declassified files containing previously unseen footage, visual renderings, and official records detailing encounters with mysterious airborne and surface objects. This release marks the fifth batch of documents declassified under an executive order issued earlier this year by former President Donald Trump, which mandated full public disclosure of long-classified UAP-related records held by federal agencies.
Altogether, the latest drop includes 41 individual files: more than a dozen video recordings, three original images, and dozens of text-based PDF documents that span more than 70 years of U.S. military observation, with the oldest document dating back to 1953 and the most recent recorded just this year. This follows an initial release of 161 declassified UAP files uploaded to the Pentagon’s public website in May, when officials first pledged that additional batches would follow on a rolling schedule.
Among the most notable new recordings is a 2021 video captured over the Gulf of Oman, which captures a dark, roughly 4-foot diameter “cold orb” moving in erratic, irregular patterns that do not match known conventional aircraft or natural weather phenomena. At first glance, the object appears small enough to be a common housefly crossing the camera’s sensor, but official classification confirms it is cataloged as an unidentified anomalous phenomenon.
Another 2025 recording, captured by a U.S. military sensor camera at an undisclosed military location in the Middle East, shows a solid round sphere moving at consistent speed in a straight line over a developed urban residential area.
A 2019 recording taken over the Pacific Ocean offers another curious observation: a black sphere that appears to vanish from the sensor feed entirely for a short period before reappearing, visibly trembling as it drifts slowly across the frame. Pentagon notes accompanying the video clarify that while the original observation was captured by a military sensor, the footage itself was recorded by holding a handheld camera up to the display monitor, meaning some of the visible flickering may be a result of the secondary recording method rather than the object’s actual behavior.
Beyond video, a declassified 1953 memo from the U.S. Naval Photographic Interpretation Center analyzes two separate UAP videos captured in Montana in 1950 and Utah in 1952. The center’s assessment concluded that the objects captured in both videos showed unusual characteristics: their size visibly increased alongside increases in their luminosity, traits that the memo confirmed are “inconsistent with those of natural phenomena.”
A declassified FBI file included in the release also features a first-hand account from a former military pilot, who reported repeated sightings of unusual white lights during transatlantic flights between Boston and Dublin beginning in October 2023. The pilot reported that the lights start dim, grow progressively brighter before fading out, and exhibit unusual movement: some hold stationary position, while others travel in straight lines and occasionally change direction abruptly. He noted that he has observed the lights at least 10 times since his first sighting, and claimed that many other commercial and military pilots have reported similar sightings consistently between midnight and 3 a.m.
All three images included in this release are official renderings, created as artistic interpretations of first-hand witness descriptions of UAP encounters. One of the most striking renderings depicts a massive, dark triangular craft hovering in the sky, with a bright round light positioned at each of the three corners. The rendering is based on a 2011 encounter reported by two former U.S. military service members.
UAP is the official term adopted by the U.S. government and scientific community to replace the more popularized term “UFO” (unidentified flying object). Unlike the traditional framing of UFOs as only airborne potential alien spacecraft, UAP covers all unexplained observations, including those on land, in the air, and underwater.
Public curiosity and interest in UAP and the potential for extraterrestrial life has grown dramatically in the U.S. over the past decade. In 2022, the U.S. Congress held its first formal public hearings focused on UAP in more than 50 years, and the Department of Defense has committed to ongoing transparency around military observations of unexplained phenomena. In a statement accompanying this fifth file release, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed that the department will continue releasing additional declassified UAP documents to the public on an ongoing rolling basis.