Fresh UFO files released by the Trump administration have revealed a military pilot's account of a bizarre 500ft triangular object that he said swooped over a US base in Afghanistan.
Fifth Release Under Executive Order
The new batch of documents, images and videos related to UFOs - officially known as unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) - were released on the US Department of Defence's UFO website on Friday. The files mark the fifth release under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in January, directing the military and other agencies to declassify and release more records relating to UFOs.
Pilot's 2002 Sighting
Among the documents is a notable FBI report detailing a 2024 interview with a former military pilot, who described seeing a mysterious object while serving in Afghanistan in 2002. The pilot said he saw the large object moving "silently" over Bagram Airfield, once the largest US military base in the country, at a consistent speed of around 173mph.
"At approximately 4:30 AM local time, [redacted] noticed that the stars were getting blacked out over Bagram. It appeared as if something huge went overhead, from west to east, and was an equilateral triangle shape. The object was moving silently, at a consistent speed and altitude, possibly 150 knots, with no lights visible," an FBI agent wrote in the report.
The pilot "estimated it was 500 feet in size, but he could not fully see the shape of the object", according to the report. He claimed that the pilot he was with "also observed the triangle, and when it passed over stated, 'did you see that?'" The FBI produced an artist's rendering of the object described by the pilot.
2023 Lights Sighting
In the same report, the pilot told the FBI agent he saw strange lights in the sky during a flight from Massachusetts to Ireland in October 2023. "[Redacted] was at an elevation of 37,000 feet and believed the lights were higher than him, probably at 50,000 feet or higher. The lights were white in color, would start out as dim, and get brighter before they eventually faded out," the report stated. "The full cycle of the lights would range from 10 seconds to one minute." The pilot said he saw the lights around 10 times after that first experience.
Pentagon's Commitment
Following the latest disclosure, the Pentagon said the department would "release additional files on a rolling basis". Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday: "The Department of War is in lockstep with President Trump to bring unprecedented transparency regarding our government’s understanding of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation, and it’s time the American people see it for themselves. This release of declassified documents demonstrates the Trump Administration’s earnest commitment to unprecedented transparency."
