Pentagon Drops 160 Pages of Declassified UFO Files — Including Footage of "Orbs Launching Orbs"
The largest official UFO document release in history hits a new Pentagon website, but what's inside may surprise you
On May 8, 2026, the Pentagon released approximately 160 previously classified documents about UFO sightings — now officially called Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) — on a newly launched website at war.gov/UFO. The release follows President Trump's February directive ordering federal agencies to declassify all records related to extraterrestrial life and unidentified aerial phenomena.
The files span decades, from Cold War-era reports of "mysterious rotating saucers" to infrared footage captured in the last few years. Among the most striking entries: video of "orbs launching orbs" observed by federal employees in the western US in 2023, a "misshapen and uneven ball of white light" over Syria in 2024, Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin's 1969 debrief describing a "sizeable object" near the lunar surface, and footage of an "amoeba-like shape" captured by US Indo-Pacific Command.
The Pentagon described the release as an "initial" batch, promising more on a rolling basis. But despite the hype — Trump teased "very interesting" revelations, while VP JD Vance proclaimed himself "obsessed" with UFO files — the documents offered little in the way of conclusive proof.
Key Evidence
- 160 documents released on war.gov/UFO, coordinated with White House, NASA, FBI, and Energy Department
- Video of orbs launching orbs from western US, 2023
- Buzz Aldrin's 1969 Apollo 11 debrief mentioning "sizeable object" near lunar surface
- Apollo 17 photo showing three dots in triangular formation; Pentagon says "no consensus" on nature
- Infrared footage of football-shaped UAP over East China Sea, 2022
- 2024 Pentagon report concluded no evidence of extraterrestrial activity; most sightings explained as weather, balloons, birds, or satellites
The Rational Explanation
The Pentagon's own 2024 AARO report concluded that most UAP sightings have mundane explanations — weather phenomena, misidentified aircraft, birds, or satellites. Modern military infrared cameras often capture jet exhaust and other hot objects in long thermal blooms, which can create the appearance of pill-shaped objects moving at impossible speeds. The newly released documents, while historically interesting, largely confirm what was already known: the government has investigated strange sightings for decades and found no proof of alien visitation.
What We Don't Know
Why, then, does this matter? Because amid the mundane explanations are genuinely unexplained cases — objects making 90-degree turns at high speed, orbs exhibiting controlled behaviour, and military personnel reporting encounters that defy conventional aircraft capabilities. The Pentagon's own admission that "many of the materials have not yet been analyzed for resolution of any anomalies" leaves the door open. The files may not contain proof of aliens, but they document something the US military considers worthy of sustained, multi-decade investigation.
The Rabbit Hole
This release comes amid a cultural shift: former President Obama stated on a podcast in February that "the odds are good there's life out there," while Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman joked that NASA would never hide alien life because "NASA would never have a budget issue for the rest of eternity." Meanwhile, the GOP's Task Force on Declassification of Federal Secrets continues pushing for more transparency. The question isn't just what's in these files — it's why the government has been collecting them so diligently for 80 years.