The most puzzling cases from Trump's released UFO files - from 'star craft' to Apollo 17 mystery

By OLIVIA ALLHUSEN, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 14:13, 16 August 2026 | Updated: 14:13, 16 August 2026 For decades, strange objects spotted hurtling through the skies have fuelled claims that the truth about UFOs is being hidden from the public. Now, a trove of files released under Donald Trump's administration has offered a glimpse inside some of the most baffling encounters investigated by the US government. Among them are eerie videos showing objects that appear to defy easy explanation, alongside extraordinary testimony from military pilots, astronauts and federal officers.  One mysterious craft resembles an eight-pointed star as it darts through the darkness, while another appears like a giant jellyfish drifting thousands of feet above the Atlantic Ocean. Elsewhere, witnesses describe enormous objects moving silently through the night sky, strange lights appearing and disappearing in an instant and unidentified craft detected near some of America's most sensitive military sites. The newly released material stretches across decades, from unexplained sightings during the Apollo missions to encounters captured by sophisticated military sensors in recent years. The records include dramatic witness accounts as well as infrared footage, radar tracks, surveillance images and graphics produced by government investigators attempting to make sense of what was seen. But despite the extraordinary nature of some of the encounters, officials have cautioned that unexplained does not mean extraterrestrial and that some sightings may ultimately have conventional explanations. The fourth tranche, published Friday on the Department of War's website features a video of an eight-pointed object spotted flying over the Yellow Sea in East Asia in 2025 Eerie infrared footage captured by US military personnel appears to show a bizarre eight-pointed object darting through the darkness with uneven, apparently shape-shifting arms. At one point, the military sensor zooms in as the mysterious object races through the frame, seemingly leaving a glowing trail behind it. The object appears to make abrupt movements, sharply changing direction and repeatedly vanishing from view before suddenly reappearing moments later. Officials who documented the footage cautioned that its description was provided for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as proof of the object's nature or origin. A government graphic, based on witness reports from 2023, depicts a massive ellipsoid-shaped object that witnesses claimed emerged from a bright light in the sky before vanishing  Another extraordinary case centres on sightings reported by seven federal officers assigned to different teams across the western US over two days in 2023. According to the report, several witnesses described seeing 'orbs launching other orbs' in the distance, as well as a large glowing sphere hovering in place and a semi-transparent object likened to a 'translucent kite'. An FBI Lab graphic based on the witness accounts depicts an apparent bronze, metallic ellipsoid-shaped object which they claimed materialised from a bright light in the sky. The enormous object was estimated to be between 130 and 195ft long before, according to the witnesses, disappearing instantaneously. Above is a still from a video taken in 2020 over the Atlantic Ocean. Witnesses described it as 'darker, maroonish colour, approximately 12-15 feet in height.' Some have likened it to the jellyfish UFO previously seen in Iraq Another newly released file contains 32 seconds of infrared footage captured by a US military platform in 2020, showing a dark, jellyfish-like object drifting through the sky. According to a debrief submitted by US Northern Command to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), witnesses described it as a dark maroon colour and estimated it was around 12 to 15ft tall. But the report also points towards a more conventional explanation, saying the object appeared to travel with the wind without changing direction or manoeuvring. It was described as resembling a 'large, somewhat deformed balloon', while the accompanying footage shows the military sensor repeatedly zooming and panning to keep it in frame. The latest release also includes nearly two minutes of infrared footage captured by a US military platform in 2024 after the US Indo-Pacific Command reported an unidentified aerial phenomenon to the AARO The video initially tracks a single area of contrast before zooming in, revealing what appears to be an elongated object The release also includes nearly two minutes of infrared footage captured by a US military platform in 2024 after US Indo-Pacific Command reported an unidentified aerial phenomenon to AARO. The footage initially tracks a single area of contrast before the sensor zooms in, revealing what appears to be an elongated object. As the image is magnified further, the object appears to split into a line of multiple bright points moving diagonally across the frame. The military sensor continues tracking the formation for around a minute before it gradually fades into the distance. Pictured is a page in the Department of Energy report, showing an enhanced view of the object spotted over the nuclear plan The release also includes a Department of Energy report detailing how security teams at the Pantex nuclear weapons plant in Texas scrambled after radar detected a silent, diamond-shaped object drifting over the highly secured facility in 2015 One of the most detailed files centres on a September 2015 incident at the Pantex Plant in Texas, the nation's primary facility for assembling and dismantling nuclear weapons. Security personnel were dispatched after ground surveillance radar detected an unidentified object moving near the highly secured site, according to the report. Officers tracked it for several miles, with witnesses describing a silent, diamond-shaped object with no visible means of propulsion before it disappeared beyond the facility's perimeter. The report includes radar tracks, surveillance images and enhanced stills produced by Sandia National Laboratories as investigators sought to determine what had crossed the skies near the nuclear complex. Between November 19 and December 7, 1996, astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Columbia captured a series of three images of an unidentified object in low-Earth orbit A nearly three-minute video from the US Navy's Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Task Force was also included in the newly released material. The task force was created to standardise the collection and reporting of military encounters with UFOs and investigate whether they posed potential threats to national security. The infrared footage appears to have been captured by a US military platform in 1996 over an undisclosed location in the western US. It shows what appears to be a circular craft with a wing-like structure on either side travelling over mountainous terrain as the military platform tracks it from behind. A military pilot claimed to have seen a silent, 500-foot triangular object that swept over Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, in 2002. Above is the artist impression released in Friday's UFO files Among the most extraordinary accounts is a military pilot's description of a silent, 500-foot triangular object sweeping over Bagram Airfield, a US-operated base in Afghanistan, in 2002. The pilot told agents he had been stargazing with a colleague at around 4.30am when the stars suddenly began disappearing above them. 'It appeared as if something huge went overhead,' the FBI interview summary states. The witness described an equilateral triangle moving silently across the sky at a steady speed and altitude with no visible lights. He claimed the object then abruptly rolled 90 degrees onto its left side while veering right, the opposite direction in which a conventional aircraft would normally bank, before quickly returning to level flight. A photo from the Apollo 17 moon landing that highlights three dots in the sky as seen from the moon's surface This archival photograph depicts the lunar surface as viewed from the landing site of Apollo 12. This image features a highlighted area of interest slightly to the right of the vertical axis of the frame, above the horizon, in which unidentified phenomena are visible This archival photograph depicts the lunar surface as viewed from the landing site of Apollo 12. This image features highlighted areas above the horizon in which unidentified phenomena are visible Even astronauts appear in the files, with Apollo 17 crew members Gene Cernan, Jack Schmitt and Ron Evans reporting a bright, apparently rotating object during their 1972 mission. Mr Cernan said the object was clearly some distance away and appeared to flash in a regular rhythm as the crew looked back towards Earth. 'It is a bright object, and it's obviously rotating because it's flashing,' he said, adding: 'There is something out there.' The crew also reported seeing multiple bright objects and fragments moving near their spacecraft during the mission. After firing their thrusters to change direction, Mr Evans reported seeing 'very bright particles or fragments' drifting past, while Mr Schmitt compared the spectacle outside the window to the 'Fourth of July'. Mr Evans later described some of the objects as 'very jagged, angular fragments that are tumbling', suggesting at least some of what the astronauts witnessed may have been debris associated with the spacecraft's manoeuvres. A screenshot of a video released on Friday showing an unresolved UFO report from last year. The footage shows a small orb-like object travelling across the screen A newly released government video appears to show a mysterious orb speeding over a residential area in the Middle East. The footage was included in a recently declassified batch of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena files released by US authorities. The short video reportedly shows a 'sphere-shaped object' moving rapidly above a populated area and displaying what officials described as 'unusual characteristics'. Investigators were unable to determine whether the object was a drone, balloon, aircraft or another known type of aerial vehicle based on the available data. The case was therefore classified as 'unresolved', meaning analysts have been unable to identify the object with confidence. However, authorities stressed that the classification should not be interpreted as evidence of alien life, noting that 'unresolved does not mean extraterrestrial' and may simply reflect a lack of information needed to reach a firm conclusion.