WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� One was a rotating disc that sent out beams of light. Another was a shining red orb of a hue the observer had never seen before. Then there was the one compared to a potato, and also a bean, but with a coat of shimmering, fish-like scales.
Those were some of the UFOs described in documents released Friday by the Pentagon, the third release since President Donald Trump to give the public full disclosure around what it knows about alien life and mysterious .
The 72 files released on Friday don鈥檛 include the kind of blockbuster revelation that Trump has teased. There鈥檚 no conclusive evidence of alien life or government . But the files reveal new details about some , along with the government’s efforts to explain what many find inexplicable.
Take, for instance, the potato.
It happened in 2022, on a brisk February morning in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Five U.S. Army members at Fort Carson walked out of an office building and saw something strange hovering over Cheyenne Mountain, a few miles to the west.
鈥淭he object was 鈥榩otato鈥� shaped with distinct edges and appeared to look painted in a creamy/whitish opalescent color,鈥� according to an account in an FBI document. It was made up of 鈥渁rticulating fish scales or panels that were non-symmetrical, non-overlapping and irregular shaped.鈥�
It stayed motionless, shimmering, for about two minutes, the men recounted to the FBI. Then it vanished in the blink of an eye. None of the men had phones on them. There’s no video, no photos.
Report says 鈥榩otato鈥� could have been a trick of light
Authorities tasked with investigating the episode said they couldn’t explain it easily. Their report found 鈥� with 鈥渓ow confidence” 鈥� that it may have been 鈥渂ackscattering of sunlight.” Low light from the rising sun could have reflected off the mountain’s snow and illuminated low clouds above, it said.
The men insisted it was a clear, cloudless day. No aircraft or balloons were believed to be in the area. The four-page report, heavily redacted and attributed only to an 鈥渋ntelligence community partner,鈥� said it didn’t appear to be technology from a foreign adversary. An FBI rendering looks just like one might imagine 鈥� like a scaly, pale potato above a low mountain.
The case remains unsolved.
A similarly inclusive report examined a series of sightings in October 2023, this time by six federal law enforcement agents. Multiple times, the agents said, they saw a bright orange orb appear above a ridgeline and spawn two to four smaller red orbs.
The orbs disappeared quickly most of the time, but in one instance, the agents said an orb hovered motionless in the sky for several hours. There’s no video or photo evidence of the sightings, the report said.
An analysis dated this month goes through a series of possible explanations. Military aircraft were conducting exercises in the area, and some deployed flares. There could have been other testing of developmental U.S. technology nearby, the report said. It listed those as 鈥減lausible鈥� but not conclusive explanations.
Yet it didn’t rule out the possibility that it was some 鈥渦nrecognized technology.” With relatively little evidence to work from, it called for more investigation into the case.
White House boosts video of red orb
The analysis was conducted by the Pentagon鈥檚 All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, which Congress in 2022 to investigate reports of unidentified anomalous phenomena, also known as UAP. Previous reports from the agency say it has not found any evidence of extraterrestrial life.
Among the most recent files is an FBI report from February detailing a sighting in an undisclosed part of the Northeast United States. A person whose name is blacked out reported coming home and seeing an intense light hovering below the trees in their backyard. It was described as a sphere of a 鈥渂rilliant and beautiful鈥� red, which the person had never seen.
鈥淚nside the red sphere, at the center, there appeared to be what (redacted) described as a 鈥榳hite plasma sun鈥� about the size of a basketball,鈥� according to the FBI file.
A second sphere appeared, and both silently flew out of sight, the file says. Cellphone footage shows two glowing red orbs floating across the sky. The White House shared the video on social media on Friday with no message beyond the file鈥檚 name: 鈥溾�楴ORTHEASTERN ORB SIGHTING,鈥� 2025.鈥�
Zimbabwe sighting included 鈥榖eams鈥� from a disc
So far, the Trump administration’s transparency campaign has led to the release of about 300 files dating to the 1940s, some brand-new to the public and some adding detail on previously known cases.
The newest batch includes a 2008 CIA report from Zimbabwe labeled as 鈥渘ever before released.鈥� On a July day above the country鈥檚 main airport, observers reportedly saw something straight out of a Hollywood movie: It was 鈥渄isc-like in shape with a hollow center, and had a series of rotating lights on the underside of the airframe.鈥�
鈥淎t one point during observation, 鈥榖eams鈥� were observed emanating from the object,鈥� the CIA report said.
The lights changed colors, and the aircraft ascended high out of view, the report says. There was debate about where it came from, according to the report, with some suggesting a foreign government and some positing 鈥渆xtraterrestrial origins.”
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