Federal agents in the western United States documented a large triangular aircraft that zoomed through the sky from a standstill while making no noise or giving off any exhaust, according to new documents released by the Pentagon.
Silent Maneuvers Over a National Security Site
The Defense Department published 28 new records on October 23, bringing its UAP archive to 478 files across seven releases. The triangular craft is detailed in two documents: a memo from the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office describing investigators’ debrief with the agents, and a signed statement the agents gave to the FBI.
The encounter occurred in June near an unspecified “national security site” in the western U.S. The agents told investigators that they were alerted to the object by a third agent stationed nearby. They quickly repositioned themselves to get a better look, and spotted the craft above a ridgeline a few miles to the west, against the glow of the sky after sunset.
“We initiated a visual survey of the western horizon and almost immediately observed a substantial, nonreflective, dark black triangular object most resembling a delta wing drone,” they said in their FBI statement. “We estimated the object’s wingspan at approximately nine to fifteen feet, its depth at six to nine feet, and its thickness at one to two feet.”
The FBI document included illustrations showing the scene and a representation of the craft. The AARO report notes that the “unidentified craft was executing a slow, controlled, perfectly vertical ascent directly over the ridge line. The craft climbed approximately two to three hundred feet while maintaining a completely static orientation without tilting, swaying, or wobbling. The non-reflective, matte black exterior presented a continuous, featureless profile.”
The Technical Reality of Thermal Anomalies
Investigators wrote that the “ascent occurred in absolute acoustic silence.” The agents told the FBI that when viewed through an infrared scope, the object “appeared hotter than ambient temperature with a completely consistent thermal signature across the entire airframe and no visible exhaust gases.”
However, another Defense Department memorandum stated that thermal equipment failed to register a heat signature. The object displayed no conventional aircraft lighting either, leaving the witnesses without an obvious explanation for what they observed.
When the craft was 200 to 300 feet above the ridgeline, it “instantaneously” stopped moving and began hovering, staying perfectly still for about 20 seconds, the AARO debrief said. The craft then sped off, reaching a velocity “compared to that [of] a military fighter jet.” The agents lost sight of it within a few seconds.
“Absolute acoustic silence persisted throughout the high-velocity phase,” the memo said. “No impact signature, smoke, dust, or physical disturbance was observed. A ground survey of the canyon drainage conducted the following morning located no wreckage, ground scarring, or vegetation damage.”
A Pattern in Historical Archives
The incident is similar to other encounters reported by federal agents in the western U.S. The account is not the only triangular-object report in the collection. Three separate reports describe black triangles observed above sensitive military sites.
The Pentagon included a rendering of the triangular craft in the release. However, officials have not identified the object or established what technology might explain its reported flight characteristics. The latest batch also includes records from earlier decades. A 1953 report describes a metallic, elliptical object spotted in Sweden.
Another document recounts an unusual sighting in Saudi Arabia in 1957. Other files cover reported flying saucer sightings around California’s Catalina Island. The collection also features declassified documents concerning alleged paranormal activity at Utah’s Skinwalker Ranch.
Executive Orders and Future Research
The release follows President Donald Trump’s directive to disclose government records concerning unidentified aerial phenomena, UFOs, and potential extraterrestrial life. These accounts span different locations, periods, and reported phenomena. Their inclusion in the archive does not establish a shared explanation.
The documents give researchers more historical material to examine when comparing witness accounts and identifying recurring descriptions. The recurring shape adds another detail for researchers examining reports of unexplained objects near restricted locations. Future research will likely focus on reconciling conflicting sensor data versus unverified claims in the records.
Sources
- New UFO files include details of strange triangular craft: "Absolute acoustic silence"
- New UFO files detail 1,800 mph black triangle near military sites
- New Pentagon UFO files reveal mystery ‘black triangle’ over sensitive US site
Photo: Matt Artz / Unsplash (Unsplash License)
