U.S. releases third batch of UFO files, including new videos and reports

This November 2021 video of 'triangle orbs' was submitted to the FBI by a 'highly credible' witness. (U.S. Department of War)

The Pentagon released a third batch of UFO files on Friday, including previously unseen videos and reports of what are also known as “unidentified anomalous phenomena,” or “UAP” for short.

“As the bright orb-like light grew larger, it expelled three to four red lights from it,” a U.S. law enforcement agent recalled in a newly-released witness statement. “The red lights accelerated instantly and maneuvered with perfect, smooth co-ordination into a horizontal formation.”

In February, U.S. President Donald Trump directed federal departments and agencies to release government documents on extraterrestrial life and UFOs. The first two batches of previously classified records came on May 8 and 22, and featured decades of photos, videos and redacted reports of mysterious objects and lights from witnesses like NASA astronauts and U.S. military personnel.

“This is an unprecedented, historic undertaking that requires co-ordination between dozens of agencies and the review of tens of millions of records, many existing only on paper, spanning many decades,” the U.S. Department of War said in an online statement. “Given the scope of this task, the Department of War will be releasing new materials on a rolling basis as they are discovered and declassified, with tranches posted every few weeks.”

Astronauts, agents and orbs

The U.S. War Department says it is releasing material on “unresolved cases, meaning the government is unable to make a definitive determination on the nature of the observed phenomena.”

The latest document drop adds 72 UFO files to the 222 records that came out in May, including new videos, witness statements, audio clips and artistic renderings,

A handful of the new documents detail strange sightings in the Western U.S. that were made by several federal law enforcement special agents in October 2023, which included orange and red “orb-like” lights.

“Just as we thought we were at the closest point, the vehicle then seemingly floated off the road to the south, across rough terrain,” one of the law enforcement witnesses said in a written statement. “There were no roads and later we searched for tire tracks but didn’t find anything.”

The newest release also features four “orb” videos that witnessed submitted to the FBI between 2021 and 2025.

“The light source initially appeared as a single, intense luminous object before resolving into multiple lights exhibiting erratic rotational motion relative to one another,” reads the description of a 2021 video from the northeastern U.S. “The FBI assesses the individual who reported this event as highly credible.”

Older records in the release include several NASA debriefings from the 1960s. In one 1965 document, NASA astronaut James McDivitt describes seeing “parallel running lines of lights radiating from the earth up toward us” while orbiting our planet.

“This thing was in motion, too,” McDivitt stated, according to the previously confidential document. “It continued to move the way the lights on neon signs go. It was wiggling back and forth.”

You can peruse the files yourself at www.war.gov/UFO.

From science fiction to reality?

In recent years, the UFO topic has moved from the realm of science fiction to an officially acknowledged mystery. In the U.S., UFOs have been the subject of congressional hearings, government reports, a NASA study and even the creation of Pentagon research efforts like the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).

Despite claims and speculation to the contrary, AARO continues to state that it has not found evidence of extraterrestrial technology.

“These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation — and it’s time the American people see it for themselves,” U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said in an online statement. “This release of declassified documents demonstrates the Trump Administration’s earnest commitment to unprecedented transparency.”

While official UFO research efforts are not known to currently exist in Canada, the federal government’s top scientific adviser has called for the creation of a new federal body to standardize, collect and study reports, which have been filed by Canadian witnesses such as professional aviators, police officers, soldiers and civilians.

“The mystery of unidentified phenomena in the sky has long fascinated humanity, capturing the public imagination and arousing both skepticism and curiosity,” a July 2025 report from the Office of the Chief Science Advisor of Canada stated. “Together, the analysis presented in this report suggests that Canada would benefit from an improved process for reporting, collecting, and studying UAP sightings.”

CTVNews.ca journalist Daniel Otis has been investigating Canadian UFO cases and files since 2021. You can share your interesting documents or observation with him at [e-mail].