Pentagon Releases Classified UFO Files, Including a Triangular Object Spotted by FBI Agents

The United States Department of Defense unveiled its seventh installment of documents concerning Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) on Friday. This latest batch of 28 files covers incidents from the 1940s through 2026, bringing the total number of declassified records to 478 since May of this year.

Among the most intriguing cases in this release is an encounter involving two FBI special agents and a third official who reported seeing a matte black triangular object near a national security facility in the western United States in 2026.

According to the file labeled FBI-UAP-D043, one agent described "a substantial, non-reflective, dark black triangular object closely resembling a delta wing drone." When viewed through a thermal imager, it appeared hotter than the ambient temperature, exhibiting a uniform thermal signature and no visible exhaust.

The object's recorded dimensions were between 2.7 and 4.6 meters in wingspan, with a depth of 1.8 to 2.7 meters and a thickness of just 30 to 60 centimeters.

The object's behavior was equally bewildering to witnesses: it ascended vertically for about 10 seconds without tilting or swaying, hovered for approximately 20 seconds, then accelerated horizontally, covering around 2.5 kilometers in under three seconds before descending into a canyon, vanishing without any sound or smoke trace.

Witnesses noted an eerie silence: no engine noise, no turbulence, nor any sound connected to the object throughout the entire sequence.

The same incident is documented in a second file, memorandum DOW-UAP-D176 by the AARO office, which provides additional details on the shape, color, and lack of conventional propulsion features.

Historical Cases and Additional Documents

Among the historical files in this seventh release are four cases linked to Catalina Island in Los Angeles County, spanning from 1949 to 1955. One notable report from June 1952 involves three boy scouts at Camp Fox who claimed to have seen "silver flying saucers" moving faster than conventional jet aircraft, which "rapidly ascended before seemingly disintegrating."

The release also includes nine documents from the AAWSAP/BAASS research program, ten Air Force reports from the 1950s, a 1957 Saudi Arabian aerial intelligence report, and a 2010 file on investigations at Skinwalker Ranch in Utah, featuring testimonies from 25 witnesses about anomalous lights, orbs, and bipedal creatures.

Political Context and Criticism

The declassification initiative was driven by former President Donald Trump, who announced in February 2026 that he would direct the Secretary of Defense and other agencies to identify and release files on alien life and UFOs. The resulting program, dubbed PURSUE, was formalized on May 1, 2026, with support from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the initiative as "unprecedented transparency," although critics argue the material lacks evidence of extraterrestrial life and serves as a political distraction ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, amid ongoing conflict with Iran and unfavorable polls for Republicans.

The Department of Defense explicitly warns that the published materials pertain to "unresolved" cases, meaning investigators couldn't determine the phenomenon's nature due to insufficient data, not that there is any confirmed extraterrestrial origin.

Department of Defense spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed that agencies are already working on a new batch of files, though no release date was specified.