The Pentagon published 41 new UAP files from multiple agencies, spanning records from 1950 to this year. Six videos document an AC-130J gunship encounter in September 2021 in which crews reported about 25 cold-orb UAPs moving between 250 and 1,300 MPH and sometimes appearing to react to gunfire. Other notable items include a 2025 CENTCOM clip over a populated Middle East area, an infrared sighting in the western U.S. observed for 5–10 minutes, and an FBI interview in which a former pilot described repeated 2023 high-altitude lights and a silent, equilateral triangle over Bagram in 2002 estimated at about 500 feet. Several encounters remain unresolved and the Pentagon says more files will be released on a rolling basis.
Pentagon Releases 41 New UAP Files — Pilot Describes 500‑Foot Triangle That 'Blacked Out' Stars Over Afghanistan
An FBI rendering of the military pilot's recollection. / Credit: FBI
The Pentagon on Friday published 41 new documents, images and videos related to unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), also known as UFOs. The materials — drawn from the Pentagon, FBI, CIA, State Department and the Executive Office of the President — span records dated as early as 1950 through items from this year.
What Was Released
The new tranche is the fifth disclosure produced under an executive order directing agencies to turn over additional UAP-related records. The files include a mixture of sensor footage, cellphone recordings of onboard displays, intelligence reporting and eight partially redacted FBI Form 302 interview summaries accompanied in many cases by artist renderings.
Notable Incidents
AC-130J Gulf Of Oman Encounter (September 2021): Six cellphone clips from a gunship show sensor imagery of objects detected during a live-fire exercise. Accompanying reporting states that forces "observed approximately 25 instances of UAPs" described as cold orbs flying at lower altitudes and moving between 250 and 1,300 MPH in varying formations. The report says some UAPs appeared to maneuver aggressively and at times seemed to react when the aircraft fired its main cannon. That encounter remains unresolved by the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office.
CENTCOM Clip (Dated 2025): One submission from U.S. Central Command shows footage taken from a military aircraft over a populated area in the Middle East in 2025, depicting an object rapidly crossing the frame. The Pentagon lists the incident as unresolved.
Infrared Sighting In The Western U.S. (This Year): A "U.S. Government Special Agent" recorded two slow-moving, "black-hot" areas of contrast on an infrared device. A partially redacted FBI 302 recounts that the agent located a radio frequency, pointed a handheld infrared sensor toward it and observed two black objects moving together for roughly 5–10 minutes before they moved out of view.
Former Pilot Interview (2024): An FBI 302 summarizes a 2024 interview with a former military pilot who reported multiple sightings. He said pilots began seeing unusual white lights between midnight and 3 a.m. in 2023; one initial sighting occurred during a transatlantic flight in October 2023 where the lights appeared higher than the aircraft and cycled from dim to bright over 10 seconds to a minute.
Of particular note, the pilot described a 2002 event while serving near Bagram, Afghanistan: at about 4:30 a.m. he said the stars seemed to be "blacked out" as a silent, equilateral-triangle object passed overhead from west to east. He estimated the object at roughly 500 feet across, moving at about 150 knots without visible lights; a fellow pilot reportedly reacted, "Did you see that?"
The FBI supplied an artist's rendering based on that description as part of the release.
Context And Next Steps
Many of the released videos are grainy sensor clips similar to prior disclosures. Several of the incidents remain unresolved by the Pentagon's investigative office. Officials say the department will continue to release additional files on a rolling basis under the executive order.
Note: All descriptions and quotes above are drawn from documents and reporting published by the Pentagon and participating agencies in the released file batch.
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