The Pentagon has released a new batch of declassified records detailing reported encounters with unexplained aerial phenomena, including a sighting over Afghanistan and an incident involving a US military gunship.
The fifth tranche of documents, images and videos released through the Department of Defence’s UFO portal contains 41 new files from agencies including the Pentagon, FBI, CIA, State of Department and the Executive Office of US President Donald Trump.
The records span from 1950 to 2026 and include military sensor footage, FBI witness interview reports and historical intelligence documents.
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The release is the fifth tranche of material made public under an executive order signed my Mr Trump in January directing military and intelligence agencies to disclose additional records relating to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP).
Among the newly revealed documents is an FBI Form 302 interview report concerning a former military pilot who reported seeing an unidentified object over Bagram Airfield in northeast Afganistan in 2002.
The pilot told investigators he was on the ground about 4.30am local time when he notices the night sky suddenly becoming obscured.
“(Redacted) noticed that the stars were getting blacked out over Bagram,” the FBI agent stated in the report.
“It appeared as if something huge went overhead, from west to east, and was an equilateral triangle shape.
“The object was moving silently, at a consistent speed and altitude, possibly 150 knots, with no lights visible.”
The witness estimated the object was about 600 feet (152_ metres in size, although he said he was unable to see its full shape.
The FBI also produced an artist’s rendering based on the witness’s description, depicting a large, dark object blocking out the stars above Bagram.
Another set of records details an encounter reported during a Special Operations exercise in the Gulf of Oman in September 2021.
Personnel aboard an AC-130J gunship recorded unusual objects using infrared and thermal imaging systems while conducting a live-fire exercise.
An accompanying intelligence reports says the crew recorded multiple observations during the operation.
“The UAPs were observed as cold orbs flying at lower altitudes between 250 to 1300 MPH (around 402 to 2092 km/h) in different formations as well as manoeuvring aggressively,” the report noted.
“UAPs also appeared to react to the aircraft firing its main cannon.”
The Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office has classified the case as “unresolved.”
