Pentagon UFO Files Detail Close Encounter with Super-Hot Objects Near Helicopter

A senior U.S. intelligence official reported a close-range encounter with fast-moving, super-hot unidentified objects that came within roughly 10 feet of a helicopter during an aerial search, according to newly released Pentagon UFO files.

The account appears in an FBI Form 302 interview report that documents interactions between federal agents and witnesses. The report is part of a larger set of previously classified unidentified aerial phenomena records made public Friday as part of the Trump administration's effort to declassify government files on the topic.

Infrared systems detected the objects as super-hot. They traveled roughly 20 miles at speeds the helicopter could not match before changing direction and accelerating away.

The official took part in a joint operation with federal and state personnel after earlier sightings of unexplained lights. Witnesses, including the intelligence official and helicopter crew, saw one object come within about 10 feet of the aircraft. The object then split into multiple lights, with additional orbs appearing in sequence and forming repeated patterns across the sky.

Groups of four or five glowing objects flared into view and disappeared in a cycle that lasted roughly 30 minutes. Pilots said they were recording, but many sightings occurred above the helicopter and outside the camera's field of view.

The report does not identify the location or military facility involved, nor does it specify if the helicopter belonged to U.S. military personnel or a partner agency. It provides no explanation for the objects' heat source.

The release includes previously unseen reports from military personnel, sensor data, and firsthand accounts from government officials. Many incidents remain unexplained.

While some files offer brief or redacted accounts, this FBI interview provides a detailed timeline, multiple trained observers, and data from infrared systems, night-vision equipment, and aircraft during an active search.

Physicist Sean Kirkpatrick, former director of the Pentagon's All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office, said he found nothing unexpected in the files. "There’s nothing unexpected in their release. And without any analysis or context, [it] will only serve to fuel more speculation, conspiracy and armchair pseudoscience, particularly from the playhouse politics theater company," he said.

The files come amid Pentagon concerns over unexplained aerial activity near military sites, including possible foreign surveillance from China and Russia. Defense officials have warned that some UAP could involve advanced drones or intelligence platforms.

Lawmakers and officials have raised alarms about drone incursions near bases, training ranges, and nuclear facilities. A Chinese surveillance balloon crossed the U.S. in 2023 before the military shot it down.

"The latest UAP videos, photos, and original source documents from across the entire United States government are all in one place — no clearance required," the White House said in a statement.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the records had long fueled justified speculation and that it was time for the American people to see them, though many documents cover unresolved incidents.

Other files describe a football-shaped object over the East China Sea, erratic lights over Iraq and Syria, and Apollo-era astronaut reports of strange objects near the moon. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for details.