Pentagon Releases Third Batch of Declassified UAP Files, Detailing Orb Sightings and Historical Encounters

On June 12, 2026, the U.S. Department of War (Pentagon) published the third tranche of declassified Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) files under the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE), adding 72 documents, images, videos, and testimonies to prior releases on May 8 and May 22.[1][2] The files include FBI-interviewed accounts of glowing red and white orbs observed in the northeastern United States, with witnesses describing meter-diameter red spheres containing white plasma-like centers that moved silently in tandem before merging. Videos from these incidents, lasting around 50 seconds, were released alongside reports of similar phenomena at higher altitudes.[3]

Additional cases span international reports, such as a disc-like object in Zimbabwe and a "potato-shaped" craft over Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, witnessed by former U.S. Army intelligence personnel. The Colorado object was described as translucent with shifting, fish-scale-like panels that "cloaked" abruptly; low-confidence analysis suggested possible sunlight backscattering on clouds, yet the case remains unresolved.[1]

These releases build on a pattern of incremental government transparency initiated under presidential directive, hosted publicly at war.gov/UFO, and have drawn coverage from outlets including CBS, NBC, Reuters, and USA Today, highlighting both public fascination and the absence of definitive extraterrestrial conclusions. Connections to prior batches include Apollo-era lunar observations and Great Lakes incidents, underscoring ongoing institutional handling of anomalous data amid legacy media tendencies toward either dismissal or hype.[4]