The newly released files, part of a broader wave of UFO disclosures mandated by an executive order signed by former President Donald Trump in February, include a detailed CENTCOM after‑action report describing the sighting of "six small spherical objects, grouped together" that "frequently changed direction" while moving at about 480 mph.
The report is bolstered by a one‑minute video clip captured by a U.S. military platform, showing the orbs streaking across a barren landscape. Analysts have not yet offered a definitive explanation for the objects, but the footage has been added to the Pentagon’s growing repository of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) material.
The 2025 sighting follows a 2023 incident in which an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military asset recorded circular objects over the Yellow Sea. That same year, a Colorado law‑enforcement officer posted a 15‑minute cell‑phone video of a silent UFO flashing red, blue and green lights while hovering in the sky.
Historical records released alongside the new files reveal that the U.S. Air Force has been tracking similar reports for decades. Documents from the Air Force Director of Intelligence detail "flying disc" incidents recorded between September and December 1952, including a July 2, 1952, 16 mm Kodachrome film shot by Chief Warrant Officer Delbert Newhouse that showed bright airborne objects over Utah.
Investigations into the 1952 footage produced mixed conclusions. An Air Force Photo Reconnaissance Lab report in 1956 attributed the lights to seagulls soaring in thermal currents, while other analysts argued that the brightness of the objects exceeded that of any known natural reflector, such as birds.
The latest declassification underscores the Pentagon’s ongoing effort to catalog and analyze UAP encounters, a process that gained renewed momentum after the 2022 establishment of the All‑Domain Anomaly Resolution Office. While the CENTCOM report adds a modern, high‑speed example to the archive, officials have stopped short of labeling the objects as extraterrestrial or confirming any specific origin.