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The Pentagon has released a second wave of declassified files documenting unidentified aerial phenomena, including explosive footage of a U.S. fighter jet shooting down a mysterious object over Lake Huron in Michigan. The latest release, announced Friday (May 22), includes more than 50 videos and 222 documents that were previously classified, offering the public an unprecedented look at unexplained encounters spanning several decades.
According to the Department of Defense, the most striking footage shows an F-16 jet from the Air National Guard engaging an unidentified object over Lake Huron on Sunday, February 12, 2023. The 46-second infrared video captures what appears to be a weather balloon being shot down, followed by the sudden appearance of a bright white orb that floats around the frame before disappearing. At the 20-second mark, the footage depicts 'a kinetic interaction between two distinct areas of contrast, with the initial subject of the footage fragmenting in a radial displacement pattern that suggests a high-energy event,' according to the Pentagon's description.
The Lake Huron incident occurred during a period of heightened alert following the shoot-down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean in February 2023. Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, who commanded the United States Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command at the time, declined to rule out any possibilities when asked about the nature of the objects. 'I haven't ruled out anything,' VanHerck said when questioned whether the objects could be extraterrestrial.
This latest disclosure follows an initial release on May 8 that included 162 files and received more than one billion hits on the government website, according to the Department of War. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth emphasized the administration's commitment to transparency in a statement Friday. 'It's time the American people see it for themselves,' Hegseth said.
The new batch includes footage from diverse locations and time periods. One video from 2019 shows three unidentified objects flying in formation over the Persian Gulf, while another from August 2022 captures four objects in formation over waters near Iran. A clip from Syria in 2021 shows a mysterious object racing away at extraordinary speed, appearing to accelerate instantaneously. An October 2022 video shows a cigar-shaped entity moving rapidly over what appears to be a residential area.
The files also include declassified NASA recordings featuring astronaut descriptions of unusual sightings. In one clip, Wally Schirra, the sole astronaut on Mercury-Atlas 8 in October 1962, described seeing 'little white objects that seem to come from the capsule itself and drift off' during his mission. He also reported a burst of light in his window whose source he could not identify.
The Pentagon's All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office has stated it has found no evidence suggesting any of the thousands of documented objects are of extraterrestrial origin. However, the department acknowledges that many of the materials 'lack a substantiated chain-of-custody,' and the information comes from diverse sources including multiple military branches, the FBI, the State Department, and NASA.
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson cautioned against conflating NASA's unclassified astronaut observations with truly unexplained phenomena. 'In the history of science, the correct explanation has never been magic, or aliens, ever,' Tyson said on his YouTube channel StarTalk. 'I'm just sitting back waiting for you to walk out the alien—that's kind of what I need right now, and then we're good.'
President Trump directed the release of government files related to unidentified aerial phenomena in February, citing 'tremendous interest' in the topic, though he stated he did not know personally if aliens were real. Polling suggests most Americans believe aliens exist, with half thinking they have visited Earth.
The Pentagon announced Friday it is preparing a third release of declassified files, which it said would be announced 'in the near future.' The government website housing all released documents is available at war.gov/UFO.