Summary:
The United States Department of War released the third tranche of declassified Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) records on 12 June 2026 under the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE). The tranche comprises approximately 72 files from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), and other entities, including documents, videos, images, and analyses. Primary content centers on unresolved orb-like phenomena documented through credible civilian eyewitness accounts and iPhone videos from the north-eastern United States between 2021 and 2025, describing silent hovering, rotational motion, shape-changing plasma-like spheres, and merging orbs. The materials also incorporate intelligence analyses of a 2022 Colorado Springs incident, federal law enforcement witness statements from a 2023 event near a sensitive site in western United States, and historical records such as a 1949 U.S. Army flying saucer study, a 2008 CIA report on a sighting at Harare International Airport in Zimbabwe, and a 1962 audio excerpt of Walter Cronkite interviewing astronaut Gordon Cooper. All cases presented remain officially unresolved, with no confirmed evidence of extraterrestrial origins or advanced adversarial technology. This release follows tranches issued on 8 May and 22 May 2026 pursuant to President Donald J. Trump’s February 2026 directive for enhanced transparency.
Detailed Report
1. Release Overview and Program Context
The Department of War published the third tranche of PURSUE records on 12 June 2026, advancing the cumulative total of released files toward approximately 300. All materials are accessible via the public portal at war.gov/UFO. The program implements a February 2026 presidential directive mandating a government-wide review and declassification of UAP-related records spanning multiple decades, many originally in paper format. Department of War spokesperson Sean Parnell described the process as involving extensive archival review, with future tranches scheduled for rolling release every few weeks.
Agency contributions vary by focus, with FBI files emphasizing domestic eyewitness documentation and AARO supplying broader analytical context. Official statements consistently characterize the disclosed materials as unresolved cases, distinct from the larger set of UAP reports resolved through conventional explanations. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has underscored the administration’s commitment to reducing public speculation by increasing access to previously classified holdings.
2. North-eastern United States Orb Sightings
A substantial component of the tranche documents recurring orb-like luminous objects in a sparsely populated region of the north-eastern United States. FBI files FBI-UAP-D004 through FBI-UAP-D008, along with videos FBI-UAP-PR001 through FBI-UAP-PR003, address incidents from November 2021, March 2022, and October 2024. In November 2021 at approximately 0500 local time, an eyewitness reported a bright light source near the horizon at an estimated 2,000 feet that resolved into multiple lights exhibiting erratic rotational motion while moving laterally left to right. The event, recorded on an iPhone 12 Pro, prompted FBI assessment of the witness as highly credible.
The March 2022 sighting at approximately 1920 local time involved two bright red luminous objects hovering at an estimated 2,500 feet, with the lower object rotating slowly relative to the upper one and no audible sound detected, also captured on iPhone 12 Pro. In October 2024 at 1851 local time, a plasma-like sphere hovered above a pond at about 2,700 feet, intermittently changing shape and luminosity and separating into smaller luminous points, one of which hovered near the water surface without appearing as a reflection. The object remained stationary for roughly 45 minutes before disappearing silently. Government authentication followed iPhone capture, with cropping applied solely for privacy.
FD-302 forms accompanying these files detail witness statements, environmental factors, and credibility evaluations, noting consistency with other reports from the same general area. The videos present the phenomena without modifications beyond privacy measures.
3. July 2025 North-eastern Backyard Orb Sighting
FBI files FBI-UAP-D009 through FBI-UAP-D010 and video FBI-UAP-PR004 cover a July 2025 incident at approximately 2100 local time. Returning home, an eyewitness observed an intense bright light hovering approximately 25 feet off the ground in the backyard at an estimated 90 feet distance near a tree line. Retrieving an iPhone 14 Pro Max, the witness recorded as the spouse joined the observation. The spouse described a brilliant red sphere about one meter in diameter containing a white plasma-like center roughly the size of a basketball. A second identical orb appeared above the first. The pair rose and moved westward in silent, smooth tandem motion above the tree line before merging and disappearing from view at an estimated 75 yards. This event took place within 25 miles of prior regional sightings designated “Triangle Orbs,” “Red Orb Rotation,” and “Orbs Over the Pond.” The FBI also assessed the witnesses as credible.
4. Intelligence Analyses and Federal Law Enforcement Witness Statements
Analytical and personnel-derived materials feature prominently in the third tranche of files. An Intelligence Community Agency analysis (ICA-UAP-D001) and FBI FD-1057 address the 2022 Colorado Springs unresolved report, supported by digital rendering FBI-UAP-D003. These describe observations by five soldiers at Fort Carson of a white, potato-shaped object hovering near Cheyenne Mountain in daylight. The object appeared painted in a creamy/whitish opalescent colour, somewhat translucent with a slight shimmer, featuring distinct edges resembling articulating panels that cloaked and vanished without casting a shadow.
AARO materials contain a memorandum dated 5 June 2026 signed by Director Jon T. Kosloski. It references broader patterns, including an orange “mother” orb launching smaller red orbs in western U.S. Narratives from six federal law enforcement special agents (three teams of two) document observations over two days in October 2023 near a sensitive national security site. Accounts detail orb-like lights, such as a red orb stationary above a ridgeline for hours, along with morphing lights and floating material, with accompanying digital recreations released as FBI-UAP-PR005 and PR006.
5. Historical and Archival Records
The tranche incorporates documents spanning earlier eras to contextualize ongoing inquiries. DOW-UAP-D084 constitutes a 1949 U.S. Army “Flying Saucer Study,” originally classified Secret and prepared for the Plans and Operations Division of the General Staff. The evaluation assessed whether reported sightings traced to natural phenomena or activity by foreign powers amid early Cold War concerns. This study aligns temporally with initiatives such as Project Sign and the transition to Project Grudge, reflecting formal military analysis of anomalous aerial phenomena in the post-1947 period.
Associated FBI-UAP-D011, a 1949 D/FBI Correspondence Referral, includes an exchange between Director J. Edgar Hoover and Reverend Charles Barnes. In a letter dated 31 January 1949, Reverend Barnes recounted observing four beams of light converging in the Cascade Mountains at approximately 10,000 feet altitude, with small clouds forming along the beams and a great explosion effect visible at the convergence point for at least ten minutes, before rising to significant height.
The July 2008 CIA file CIA-UAP-017, titled “Placement on High Alert Due to Perceived Aggressive Foreign Posturing,” details a sighting on or around 2 July 2008 at Harare International Airport in Zimbabwe. Observers described a disc-like object with a hollow center and a series of rotating lights on the underside, from which beams emanated at one point. The object changed colours before ascending out of view. Intelligence personnel debated whether it represented advanced reconnaissance by a foreign government or an object of extraterrestrial origin. The report prompted placement of CIA assets in Zimbabwe on high alert.
An audio excerpt (NASA-UAP-D023) from the November 1962 interview by Walter Cronkite with astronaut Gordon Cooper addresses unidentified flying objects. Cooper observed that a large number of exceptionally well-qualified people had seen objects without logical explanation and speculated on the possibility of other planets supporting some type of human life. This material links contemporary releases to historical public figures’ perspectives.
Conclusion
The 12 June 2026 third tranche under PURSUE supplies detailed records of north-eastern United States orb phenomena via civilian accounts and videos, federal law enforcement witness statements, supporting analyses, and historical documentation from 1949 and 2008, all retained as unresolved. These disclosures advance the systematic transparency objectives of the program. Processing of additional records for subsequent releases continues.