Key Points:
- The Pentagon released its third batch of declassified UFO/UAP records under the PURSUE transparency program.
- The latest tranche contains 53 documents, 10 digital images, six videos, and three NASA audio recordings.
- Newly released videos show silent, smooth-moving glowing orbs filmed on iPhones by credible witnesses.
- The official government database housing these files has already drawn over 1.7 billion hits since launching.
The United States military released a third batch of formerly classified documents, videos, and audio recordings detailing encounters with unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), more commonly known as UFOs. Published under the official transparency program, the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE), the release has reignited global interest in aerial mysteries. The ongoing transparency initiative continues to generate massive public engagement, with the official government database housing these files already drawing an astonishing 1.7 billion hits since its launch in May.
This unprecedented release represents the direct result of a policy directive that President Donald Trump signed in February to bring complete transparency to the government’s historical understanding of UFOs. Under Trump’s order, the Department of War, with assistance from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, began a massive, government-wide effort to identify, review, and declassify tens of millions of records. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that the military is working in complete lockstep with the White House to allow ordinary Americans to review the declassified files and draw their own conclusions.
The third tranche, uploaded to the public database on Friday, contains 53 newly declassified documents and 10 digital renderings and images compiled from multiple federal intelligence bodies, including the CIA, FBI, NASA, and the Pentagon. The release also includes six videos showing mysterious aerial objects and three official NASA audio recordings. This newest collection follows two previous disclosures published in May, establishing a rolling release schedule that military officials intend to maintain over the coming months.
One of the most intriguing documents in the new batch details an encounter that federal law enforcement officers reported in 2023. During a routine patrol, five active agents reported seeing strange, glowing orbs hovering silently on the horizon. According to the official interview transcripts, the luminous objects lit up the night sky, prompting one of the agents to turn to their partner and ask, “Are you seeing this?” This real-time account from trusted law enforcement personnel provides researchers with highly credible eyewitness testimony.
The six newly released videos offer a significant departure from previous tranches, which relied almost exclusively on high-tech military camera footage. This batch includes raw eyewitness videos captured on commercial smartphones, which federal investigators subsequently vetted for authenticity. A video titled “Northeastern Orb Sighting,” captured on an iPhone in July 2025, displays two bright lights moving silently and smoothly through the sky, seemingly flying in tandem or tethered together. A second video, titled “Orbs Over the Pond,” captured a similar shape-shifting, plasma-like sphere hovering above a body of water in October 2024, just 25 miles from the first sighting.
Beyond these recent sightings, the files also shed light on historical incidents that had remained under lock and key for decades. The collection includes a detailed July 2008 report documenting a baffling UFO sighting by air traffic controllers and pilots at Harare International Airport in Zimbabwe. The release also features a declassified cover of a secret file from the Department of the Army dating back to 1949, demonstrating that the federal government has systematically investigated and cataloged unexplained aerial phenomena since the dawn of the Cold War.
The immense public curiosity about these files has placed a major strain on government IT systems. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed that the public portal at WAR.GOV/UFO has processed more than 1.7 billion visits since its launch on May 8. Parnell noted that this unprecedented level of traffic shows a deep, enduring public desire to understand these anomalies. To manage the massive data demand, federal IT departments are actively upgrading their server capacities to ensure the database remains online as more files are released.
The release of this third tranche of declassified files marks a permanent turning of the page in how the United States government engages with the public on the subject of unexplained phenomena. No longer confined to the fringe of conspiracy forums, the study of UAPs has officially transitioned into a mainstream scientific and political discussion. While the newly released files leave the ultimate interpretation of these glowing spheres and shape-shifting orbs to the public, the unprecedented level of transparency has successfully dismantled decades of government secrecy, paving the way for a more open and cooperative exploration of our skies.
