The Trump administration released a second batch of declassified documents on unidentified anomalous phenomena on Friday, May 22, 2026, revealing detailed accounts of unexplained aerial encounters by military personnel, intelligence officers, and NASA astronauts spanning decades. The files, which come mostly from the Defense Department along with seven from NASA and one from the CIA, include footage from military aircraft, audio recordings, and handwritten notes dating from the 1940s through late 2025.
The release includes a memo from the Office of the Directorate of National Intelligence and features accounts that left experienced observers unable to explain what they witnessed. The government stated that the documents should not be interpreted as analytical judgments or factual determinations about the origins of these phenomena, and no evidence of extraterrestrial contact was provided.
Intelligence Officer Describes Startling Helicopter Encounter
Among the most striking accounts in the declassified files is a report from a senior U.S. intelligence officer who encountered mysterious orange orbs during a helicopter mission late last year. According to the documents, the officer was aboard a helicopter when ground personnel suddenly alerted the crew to unusual activity.
“The ground team suddenly radioed that the object had risen from the ground, approached within ten feet of the helicopter, dropped below us and sped away,” the account states. The encounter did not end there. The orange orbs split in two and changed direction during the incident.
When fighter jets were called in to investigate, the orbs reportedly matched the jets’ speed and flight path. The intelligence officer described the profound impact of the experience: “We were virtually speechless after these observations.”
The files are redacted to protect witnesses, locations, and sensitive information, meaning the identity of the intelligence officer and the specific location of this encounter remain classified.
Historical Accounts Span Multiple Decades
The declassified documents reveal that unexplained aerial sightings have been recorded by government personnel for more than seven decades. A 1970 handwritten letter from a scientist at Los Alamos describes green lights observed between 1948 and 1951. According to the letter, these sightings occurred during the evening hours, between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m.
A separate account from 1972 details a CIA officer stationed in the USSR who reported seeing a green circle with concentric circles. This Cold War-era report adds to the international dimension of the phenomena documented in the files.
The videos included in the release show sightings from multiple locations around the world, including Kabul, Syria, Kazakhstan, Europe, and the United States. One video from November 2020 captures a circular object over the central United States, while a 2021 Syrian video was recorded using an infrared sensor. Another video was uploaded to a classified network in June 2024.
NASA Astronaut Audio Recordings Included
The release includes audio files from NASA pilots from the 1960s and 1970s, including recordings from the Apollo 12 crew in 1969. These historical recordings capture astronauts describing unusual observations during their missions.
One account from Scott Carpenter during his Project Mercury mission in 1962 describes particles observed during three revolutions of Earth in his spacecraft. Carpenter attempted to describe what he was witnessing: “Their motion is random. They look exactly like snowflakes to me.”
The astronaut continued his observations, reaffirming his initial assessment: “They definitely look like snowflakes.”
These audio recordings represent some of the earliest documented accounts from American astronauts encountering unexplained phenomena during space missions.
What We Know So Far
The second batch of declassified UAP documents released on May 22, 2026, includes materials from three government agencies. The Defense Department contributed the majority of files, while NASA provided seven files and the CIA contributed one file.
The documents span an extensive time period, from the 1940s through approximately six months ago. The collection includes various types of evidence: video footage, audio recordings, written accounts, and official memos.
One incident mentioned in the files involves an object that was downed over Lake Huron in 2023. The documents do not provide details about whether this object was recovered or what it was determined to be.
The government included a disclaimer with the release stating that the documents should not be interpreted as analytical judgments or factual determinations about what these phenomena represent or where they originate.
What Happens Next
The release of this second batch of documents indicates ongoing government efforts to declassify information related to unidentified anomalous phenomena. The files remain partially redacted to protect the identities of witnesses, specific locations where incidents occurred, and sensitive national security information.
The government has not announced whether additional batches of declassified documents will be released in the future. The current release does not draw any conclusions about the origins of the phenomena documented in the files.
Important Details About the Release
The declassified files cover incidents from multiple continents and environments, including aerial encounters, ground observations, and space missions. The variety of sources, from intelligence officers to NASA astronauts to military pilots, demonstrates that these phenomena have been observed and documented by trained observers across different branches of government service.
Key locations mentioned in the videos include military operational areas in Kabul and Syria, as well as sites in Kazakhstan, Europe, and various locations within the United States. The international scope of the sightings documented in these files suggests that unexplained aerial phenomena have been observed worldwide over many decades.
The redactions applied to the documents serve multiple purposes: protecting the identities of individuals who reported sightings, concealing specific military operational locations, and safeguarding classified methods and technologies used to record or investigate these incidents.
Frequently Asked Questions
What agencies contributed to the declassified UFO files?
The documents come mostly from the Defense Department, with seven files from NASA and one file from the CIA. The release also includes a memo from the Office of the Directorate of National Intelligence.
Did the government confirm that UFOs are extraterrestrial?
No. The government stated that the documents should not be interpreted as analytical judgments or factual determinations. No evidence of extraterrestrial contact was provided in the release.
What time period do the declassified UFO documents cover?
The files date from the 1940s through approximately six months ago, covering more than seven decades of reported sightings and encounters by government personnel.
What happened during the helicopter encounter with orange orbs?
According to a senior U.S. intelligence officer, orange orbs approached within ten feet of the helicopter, split in two, changed direction, and sped away. When fighter jets were called in, the orbs matched the jets’ speed and flight path.
The release of these declassified documents provides the public with access to decades of government records documenting unexplained aerial encounters. While the files contain detailed accounts from trained observers including military personnel and NASA astronauts, the government has not offered explanations for the phenomena described in the records.
