US military personnel have described being left 'dumbfounded' by what they reported as a huge black triangular UFO with car-sized lights and a 'low humming' sound, according to newly released US government records documenting UAP sightings in locations including the Gulf of Oman, the Middle East and western regions of the United States.
The disclosure comes after the US Department of War released the fifth tranche of material under its Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters, or PURSUE, on 7 August, part of a wider push for transparency on unidentified anomalous phenomena initiated under US President Donald Trump. The latest tranche includes video clips, still images and written incident reports relating to unexplained sightings reported to US authorities.
Pentagon's New UFO Files Show 'Cold Orbs' and Low-Flying Craft
The files form part of an ongoing, staged release of declassified UAP-related government material that US officials say will continue as additional records are identified, reviewed and cleared for publication. In this instalment, some footage depicts small, dark or circular objects recorded by military sensors, although the images alone do not establish their size, distance or nature.
One of the most notable cases comes from the Gulf of Oman in September 2021, where an AC-130J crew reported observing multiple unidentified objects during a live-fire exercise. An accompanying intelligence report described some of the objects as 'cold orbs' approximately four feet in diameter.
The term appears in the intelligence reporting but should not be interpreted as confirmation that the objects possessed unusual technology. The released material remains classified by the government as unresolved, meaning officials have not reached a definitive explanation for what was observed.
The sighting that has drawn further attention, however, does not involve a mere orb. In one written account, two US military personnel reported watching what they described as a 'massive black isosceles triangle' moving across the sky. The object, they said, carried a light 'the size of a car' at each of its three corners and produced both a low mechanical hum and a pulsing sound.
The service members, whose names were redacted in the documents, said they were 'dumbfounded' by the encounter and could not match what they had seen to any known aircraft. Their account represents eyewitness testimony contained in the released records rather than an independently verified determination of the object's size, origin or capabilities.
US authorities have not offered definitive explanations for several sightings included in the latest release. The government continues to group unresolved incidents under the broader category of unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP, the updated term Washington now uses alongside the more familiar 'UFO.'
Trump's Push Fuels Wave of UFO Transparency
The renewed focus on UFO material stems directly from Trump's promise to release additional government records on the subject. Writing on Truth Social on 19 February, Trump told followers he would direct the 'Secretary of War, and other relevant Departments and Agencies, to begin the process of identifying and releasing Government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs).'
He framed the subjects as 'highly complex, but extremely interesting and important' and presented the document release as a response to what he called 'tremendous interest' among the public. His statement did not claim proof of alien life, nor did it say any of the newly released footage confirmed extraterrestrial activity. Trump had, in fact, said earlier that day that he did not know whether aliens were real.
Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of war, publicly aligned himself with that approach. 'The Department of War is in lockstep with President Trump to bring unprecedented transparency regarding our government's understanding of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena,' he said in an official statement.
Hegseth said files kept behind classifications had 'fuelled justified speculation,' arguing that the public should be allowed to examine the material itself. The department has described the publication effort as part of an 'unprecedented transparency' initiative, while acknowledging that unidentified does not mean extraterrestrial.
The PURSUE programme began publicly releasing records on 8 May, followed by additional tranches on 22 May, 12 June, 10 July and 7 August. The releases include material from different periods and government agencies, and some records had previously entered the public domain in other forms.
The Pentagon has not provided definitive answers about all of the UFO incidents described in this fifth batch. There is no confirmation that any of the objects were of non-human origin, and no evidence released through PURSUE has established the existence of extraterrestrial technology.
The Pentagon's previous historical review of UAP reports likewise found no verifiable evidence that the US government or private companies possessed extraterrestrial technology. That distinction remains important when interpreting eyewitness descriptions of unusual objects whose origins have not been determined.
What the new files do show is that military personnel and government agencies have documented sightings they were unable to identify with the information available at the time. Being classified as 'unresolved,' however, does not establish that an object has an extraordinary or extraterrestrial origin.
For now, the black triangle, the Gulf of Oman 'cold orbs' and other objects contained in the latest release remain unidentified, leaving their origins open to investigation rather than providing proof of alien technology.
