Pentagon Releases 41 New UFO Files, Including “Cold Orbs” That Reacted to Cannon Fire
The Pentagon released a new batch of 41 declassified documents, images, and videos related to unidentified anomalous phenomena on Friday, August 7 — the fifth such disclosure since President Trump signed an executive order in January directing federal agencies to declassify and publicize UAP-related records.
What’s in the New Release
The records span more than seven decades, with the oldest document dating to 1950 and the most recent from this year, according to CBS News. The files originate from multiple federal agencies, including the Pentagon, FBI, CIA, State Department, and the Executive Office of the President, and were posted publicly on the Pentagon’s dedicated UFO disclosure website. Much of the release follows the pattern of prior disclosures: grainy videos of unidentified objects captured by military sensors and cameras, alongside witness accounts and FBI-created renderings based on firsthand descriptions.
The disclosure falls under a program called PURSUE — the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters — according to Unknown Country’s coverage of the release, and Pentagon officials indicated it won’t be the last. “The Department will release additional files on a rolling basis,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said, according to [your]NEWS, adding that the department and other federal agencies are already working on the next batch.
The Most Notable Unresolved Encounter
Among the incidents detailed in the release, one from September 2021 has drawn particular attention. According to CBS News, U.S. Special Operations personnel aboard an AC-130J gunship reported approximately 25 encounters with what an intelligence report described as “cold orbs” during an exercise over the Gulf of Oman. The objects were reported flying at altitudes between 250 and 1,300 miles per hour, moving in different formations and maneuvering aggressively.
What makes the incident particularly notable is a detail included in the official report itself: the objects “also appeared to react to the aircraft firing its main cannon,” according to the report cited by CBS News. The Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office — the government’s dedicated UAP investigative arm — has not resolved the incident.
Other Accounts in the Release
The release also includes a decades-old account from a former military pilot who described observing a massive object while serving in Afghanistan in 2002. According to CBS News, the pilot recalled a huge, strange triangle that blocked out the stars during the encounter.
A separate account involves a former Pentagon employee who reported observing a nearly translucent triangular object over his home in Colorado in October 2023, according to reporting from NEWS citing the New York Post. The witness described the object as completely silent, potentially passing as low as 300 feet above the ground.
The release also contains footage submitted by U.S. Central Command showing an object captured by a military aircraft over a populated area in the Middle East in 2025, according to CBS News — an incident that, like the others detailed in this release, remains officially unresolved. Additional footage in the batch was captured by a “U.S. Government Special Agent” in the western United States earlier this year, according to CBS News.
How This Fits the Broader Disclosure Effort
Friday’s release is the fifth in a series that began earlier this year under Trump’s January executive order. According to Wikipedia’s tracking of the disclosure program, the first release drew mixed public reaction, with the Pentagon describing the released materials as unresolved cases the government could not definitively explain based on available evidence — while some scientists and skeptics countered that many of the files were ambiguous, previously public, or potentially explainable through more mundane causes such as camera artifacts, balloons, debris, or unreliable eyewitness accounts. The second release followed on May 22, 2026.
The government’s continued use of the term “unidentified anomalous phenomena,” or UAP, rather than the older “UFO” terminology reflects an effort by federal agencies in recent years to move away from science-fiction connotations and toward a more neutral, investigative framing — one that officially encompasses any unexplained aerial, maritime, or even transmedium (crossing between air and water) object or phenomenon, regardless of its ultimate explanation.
FAQ
How many files were released in this latest batch? 41 new documents, images, and videos, spanning records from 1950 through 2026.
What is the most notable incident in this release? A September 2021 encounter in which U.S. Special Operations personnel aboard an AC-130J gunship reported roughly 25 sightings of “cold orbs” over the Gulf of Oman that appeared to react after the aircraft fired its cannon — an incident the Pentagon’s UAP investigative office has not resolved.
Which agencies contributed records to this release? The Pentagon, FBI, CIA, State Department, and the Executive Office of the President.
Why is the Pentagon releasing these files? Under an executive order signed by President Trump in January 2026, federal agencies were directed to declassify and make public government records related to unidentified anomalous phenomena. This is the fifth release under that directive.
Will there be more releases? Yes. A Pentagon spokesperson said additional disclosures are already being prepared and will continue on a rolling basis.
Conclusion
Friday’s release continues a pattern established over the past several months: a mix of genuinely unresolved military encounters, decades-old witness accounts, and grainy sensor footage, released under an official government transparency effort rather than through leaks or FOIA lawsuits. With Pentagon officials confirming more files are already in preparation, this latest batch is likely just one installment in an ongoing disclosure process — one that continues to leave many of its most striking incidents, including the Gulf of Oman “cold orbs” encounter, formally unexplained.
Sources: CBS News, CNN, [your]NEWS, Ground News, Unknown Country, KATV, KFOX14, Wikipedia (reporting dated August 7-8, 2026).