Declassified U.S. files describe strange airborne sightings, but offer no final answers
Newly released documents from the Trump administration’s transparency drive detail a series of unexplained sightings of anomalous objects across the United States, based on reports gathered by the Pentagon and the FBI. The files, published last Thursday, cover incidents from 2022 through mid-2025 and show how U.S. security agencies weigh witness accounts, including those from military personnel and law-enforcement officers, against radar data and visual observations.
The most recent cases came from the northeastern United States between October 2024 and July 2025. In one October 2024 incident, a witness filmed an “plasma-like orb” hovering above a pool at an estimated distance of about 2,700 feet. FBI officials who assessed the witness described the person as “highly credible.” In July 2025, witnesses reported a one-meter red sphere with a bright white “plasma sun” at its center, roughly the size of a basketball. They said a second orb appeared nearby, the two moved together, and then seemed to merge and vanish.
Another notable case dates to 2023 in the western United States near a sensitive security site. Six federal law-enforcement officers said they saw glowing orange “mother spheres” releasing smaller red objects into the night sky. Pentagon analysts noted that about 40% of reports still end without a definitive explanation.
Analysts speaking to Fox News said the activity might involve military illumination flares, but stressed that “no single explanation accounted for all the reported activity.” One tentative theory was “unfamiliar technology,” though officials said the conclusions rely mainly on witness testimony rather than physical proof. A February 2022 case near Colorado Springs involved five U.S. service members who saw a shimmering object above Cheyenne Mountain, described as an asymmetrical, potato-shaped craft with scale-like panels that changed shape while hovering. The Pentagon investigation suggested sunlight reflecting off snow and clouds, but rated that conclusion as low confidence. Despite the releases, neither the Department of War nor AARO has concluded the material proves extraterrestrial life, nonhuman intelligence, or alien technology.
