Two senior military officials claim to have witnessed mysterious black triangle objects earlier in 2026 speeding over sensitive military sites in ways that appeared to defy explanation.
That revelation, accompanied by artistic renderings of what the witnesses believe they saw, was included in the latest batch of government files on UFOs released Friday, Oct. 23. The strange objects, which also appeared to have vanished suddenly and silently over an undisclosed location in the western U.S., sparked national security concerns and still remain unexplained, according to declassified information released by the Pentagon.
The documents were included in the seventh and latest batch the U.S. government has released since May on the orders of President
Donald Trump. The files all either show or detail reports of “unidentified anomalous phenomenon” (UAP), a term that has largely replaced "UFO" in government and military parlance.
The release also marks the latest chapter amid a resurgent public interest in UFOs, which has been spurred by a number of high-profile Congressional hearings in recent years on the topic.
Here's what we know about the "black triangular" objects detailed in the latest batch of so-called UFO files.
Pentagon's latest released UFO files show black triangles in US
The strange UFO that appeared to be a black triangle was witnessed for two days in June 2026 over a "sensitive national security site," according to the Department of Defense.
The account is detailed in two newly released documents: a memo from the Pentagon describing an interview with the two federal agents who witnessed the object as well as a signed statement the agents gave to the FBI.
According to the witnesses, the "black triangular" object with a wingspan of about 15 feet rose about 300 feet into the air, remained stationary for about 20 seconds, and then descended into the canyon without a sound, leaving no vapor trails or any other trace.
The @DeptofWar has released the seventh tranche of records, reinforcing our commitment under PURSUE to increase transparency by responsibly releasing information. To view Release 7: https://t.co/XtJxoryXtt
— All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (@DoW_AARO) October 23, 2026
Many previous accounts have included purported photographs or video footage of apparent sightings. But the report on the black triangles instead is accompanied by nine images that include an artistic rendering of what the witnesses believe they saw added to a photo of the unidentified canyon.
Many other details about the incident are heavily redacted, including the precise location where the sighting occurred.
See photos of mysterious 'black triangular' UFOs
Trump, Pentagon release UFO disclosure files
The files were included in the latest batch of declassified files the Pentagon released Oct. 23 on its new website, war.gov/UFO.
The release comes after President Donald Trump has previously signaled that he had tasked Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and other government officials to disclose to the public more information about what the government knows about UFOs and the potential existence of extraterrestrial life.
Aliens, UFOs reenter mainstream amid Congressional hearings
The latest release of declassified UAP files come at a time of heightened public interest in the topic of aliens and UFOs.
A series of dramatic public hearings in Washington, D.C., has in recent years reignited age-old conspiracy theories that the government is concealing information about extraterrestrials that have visited Earth. Former President Barack Obama also made headlines in February when he appeared to admit that aliens are "real, but I haven't seen them," while appearing on a popular left-leaning podcast.
But the Pentagon's relatively new All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, tasked with investigating sightings, has repeatedly emphasized that it has never found evidence extraterrestrials are behind the reports. Many sightings AARO has historically investigated are reported by military fighter pilots, some of whom have captured footage on jets' cockpit gun cameras of UAP.
NASA similarly put out a report of its own in September 2023, stating that the agency had not found any evidence that UAP were extraterrestrial in nature, though officials did advocate for further study of the phenomenon.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pentagon's UFO files reveal black triangles over military sites
