Pentagon releases third batch of UFO files, including civilian videos
The Pentagon released its third batch of files related to unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs) or UFOs on Friday, some of which included video footage taken by civilians.
The Department of War published the third release of declassified and historical Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) files as part of the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE)," Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement, adding that additional files will be released "on a rolling basis" amid "unprecedented" public interest.
The third release, which has been uploaded to the Pentagon's UFO website, follows two previous releases last month and contains about 70 files, including 53 documents, 10 images, six videos and three NASA audio recordings.
The material, which focuses on unresolved cases, spans from the 1940s to recent incidents and was drawn from the CIA, FBI, NASA, the Department of War and other agencies.
Unlike previous footage from military sensor data, the videos in the newest release feature material taken by civilian eyewitnesses, including some testimony. Four of the videos show orb-like objects, and some are artistic interpretations or recreations of what witnesses reportedly saw.
In one July 2025 video taken with an iPhone and titled "Northeastern Orb Sighting," two bright lights or orbs can be seen moving in apparent synchronicity.
"The witnesses described the orbs' motion as silent and smooth, and as moving in tandem as though they were flying in formation or tethered together," the description of the video said, which cited FBI interviews with the witnesses.
In another video from October 2024 titled "Orbs Over the Pond," which was also taken in the northeastern U.S. about 25 miles from the July 2025 video, a witness filmed a luminous, plasma-like sphere hovering silently about 2,700 feet above a pond.
"At times, the primary light source appeared to separate into smaller luminous points. A luminous point below the primary source hovered just above the water and did not appear consistent with a surface reflection. The object remained generally stationary for approximately 45 minutes before disappearing," the Pentagon's video description said.
Other videos and FBI renderings depict similar orb phenomena and recreate eyewitness reports from federal agents, five of whom reportedly saw strange orbs of light in the sky in the western U.S. in October 2023. The agents described lights in coordinated groups of weird lights, instantly accelerating red lights in formation and smaller orbs emerging from a larger orange light.
There were historical documents in the release, including a 1952–1953 CIA panel report on "flying saucers," which found no physical threat but recommended a "policy of debunking" to reduce public concern and potential exploitation by adversaries during the Cold War.
Another was a 2008 CIA report on a disc-like object with a hollow center and rotating lights over Harare International Airport in Zimbabwe, which raised questions about foreign reconnaissance or potentially extraterrestrial origins.
An incident from 2022 near Colorado Springs, Colorado, describes a translucent and opalescent object shaped like a potato that was seen hovering over the Cheyenne Mountains by five U.S. Army intelligence officers before suddenly vanishing after two minutes.
The release is the latest in the Pentagon's continued transparency on unresolved UAP cases, which comes in response to an executive order President Donald Trump signed earlier this year ordering the disclosure of material related to UFOs.
