Archival imagery showing what the U.S. Defense Department says are unidentified objects (three dots inside a yellow box), captured during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, was released in the first batch of a series of documents of unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP) by the U.S. Defense Department on May 8, 2026. Photo: U.S. Department of Defense Handout via Reuters
The U.S. Defense Department on Friday (May 22, 2026) released a second batch of previously classified files on alleged UFO sightings, including references to people reporting unexplained green orbs, discs and fireballs.
At the order of President Donald Trump, the first batch was made public on May 8. He is the latest president to release U.S. government reports on unidentified flying objects, a disclosure process that began in the late 1970s.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the documents, photos and videos of what are officially known as “unidentified anomalous phenomena” had long fuelled speculation.
“It’s time the American people see it for themselves,” he said in a statement.
One of the 222 files released on Friday (May 22, 2026) contains 116 pages of documentation relating to a series of reported sightings and investigations in a top-secret facility in Sandia, New Mexico, from 1948 to 1950.
“This file contains 209 sightings of ‘green orbs’, ‘discs’, and ‘fireballs’ reported near the military base,” the Defence Department said.
Experts said the first batch contained new videos of known sightings but gave no conclusive evidence of alien technology or extraterrestrial life.
Published – May 22, 2026 10:27 pm IST
