5th batch of Pentagon UAP files: Orbs and triangles

The U.S. Pentagon released the 5th batchof its UAP files on August 7, 2026.
The release contains a mix of video, image and document files.There are 41 new files in all, and 16 are videos, 22 are documents and three are images.
The release is part of a continuing rolloutof formerly classified files, every couple or few weeks. So far, there’s been no “smoking gun” to show that alien craft are visiting Earth. But the files are interesting!

Pentagon UAP files: Part 5

The U.S. Pentagon released its 1st batch of declassified UAP/UFO materials on May 8, 2026. And now it has just made public batch 5. There are 41 new files in all in batch 5, including 16 videos, 22 documents and three images. There are no audio files this time around.

The records come from the Pentagon, FBI, CIA, State Department and Executive Office of the President.

And as usual, Sean Parnell, Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs and Chief Pentagon Spokesman, said in a statement:

Today, the Department of War is publishing the 5th release of declassified and historical Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) files as part of the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE). The collection continues to be housed on WAR.GOV/UFO, and the Department will release additional files on a rolling basis.

The Department of War and our agency partners are actively working on the next release of UAP files. The fifth release of UAP files is available now on WAR.GOV/UFO

For context, the Pentagon released a 2nd batch on May 22, a 3rd batch on June 12 and the 4th batch on July 10, all in 2026.

As has been the pattern for these releases, they are a mixed bag of old and previously known material, and newer material. Do the releases prove aliens exist, or that alien craft are visiting Earth? Not so far.

The @DeptofWar released more UAP case files, reinforcing our commitment under PURSUE to increase transparency by responsibly releasing information. We remain focused on rigorous analysis and keeping the public informed. To view Release 5: https://t.co/XtJxorypDV

— All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (@DoW_AARO) August 7, 2026

This video from the United States Central Command shows a small dark object making erratic movements over the Gulf of Oman on September 8, 2021. Video via DoD (Public Domain)

Erratic and hovering orbs in Gulf of Oman

The batch 5 videos are again mostly the grainy FLIR footage from military platforms including aircraft. And some others are cellphone videos of computer screens on a warship.

The cellphone videos come from a supposed “encounter” on September 8, 2021, over the Gulf of Oman by Special Operations forces on an AC-130J gunship. Six of the newly-released videos are from this incident. One of the videos shows a small dark object making erratic movements.

Plus, one of the documents is an intelligence report that accompanies the videos. It noted that the personnel onboard the ship:

… observed approximately 25 instances of UAPs while conducting a live fire exercise in the Gulf of Oman.

The report also stated:

The UAPs were observed as cold orbs flying at lower altitudes between 250 to 1,300 MPH in different formations as well as maneuvering aggressively. UAPs also appeared to react to the aircraft firing its main cannon.

The report also says the orbs were about 4 feet (1.2 meters) in diameter. After a mission aircraft dropped a water-activated flare, used as a target, two of the orbs were said to “hover” over it. When the aircraft fired its cannon at the flare, the two orbs reportedly flew away rapidly, without changing altitude.

And indeed, the Pentagon’s AARO office has said for the past few years now that “small metallic orbs” are the most common type of UAP currently being reported by military personnel. That’s still true in its latest annual report for 2025.

This video from somewhere in the Middle East shows a small orb object moving over a residential area on January 1, 2025. Video via DoD (Public Domain).

More orbs in the Middle East

Another video (in various camera modes) shows an orb moving over a residential area somewhere in the Middle East on January 1, 2025. Because of the changing camera modes, the object appears white in some of the footage and dark in other parts of the footage.

Montana and Utah orbs

One of the newly released documents is a memorandum of an analysis by the U.S. Naval Photographic Interpretation Center of two well-known cases from Montana and Tremonton, Utah in 1950 and 1952, respectively. The document itself is from 1953.

The videos are not included in this releases. But the Utah video can be seen here, and the Montana video is available here.

The Utah video shows a cluster of small objects flying in formation. Their description was of “bright, silvery reflective disks resembling two pie pans inverted together.” The U.S. Navy Photo Interpretation Center analyzed the film for over 1,000 hours. It concluded the objects were “self-luminous, intelligently controlled and not birds, balloons or standard aircraft.”

In the Montana video, two similar kinds of objects, either spherical or disk-shaped, are seen moving together and spinning or rotating. They move in a steady line behind a water tower.

The memorandum noted that:

The Center assessed, generally, that the objects depicted in the film demonstrated characteristics that were inconsistent with those of natural phenomena or commonly known aerospace technologies.

And it also said that as the brightness of the objects increased, so did their apparent size.

Colorado black triangle

Another interesting case was of a black triangular craft with a red light at each corner seen near a U.S. military base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in October 2023. See the image at the top of this article.

In fact, black triangles have been one of the most common types of objects described in UAP lore for several decades.

Crash with deceased occupant in Brazil?

One of the more interesting documents is a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) wire report from November 9, 1963. It reported a possible large metal sphere with a dead occupant wearing a “spacesuit” in Conde, Bahia, Brazil.

Another memo from this release, however, from the American Consulate in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, states that the report was unsubstantiated.

TIME magazine highlights UAP

TIME magazine also currently has a cover story on UAP. It’s titled ‘America Is Finally Taking Extraterrestrials Seriously.’ The cover itself says ‘The New Case for Aliens.’

Overall, it’s a good, balanced article, with coverage of many of the past and recent issues in the UAP topic, and input from witnesses, proponents and skeptics.

Bottom line: The 5th batch of the Pentagon UAP files was released on August 7, 2026. The videos, documents and images include reports of more orbs, triangles and more.