🛸 Historical UFO Events Database

4K Mavic 3 drone footage captured by an FAA-certified pilot shows a light orb racing silently across the desert sky with no visible propulsion, changing shape and rolling mid-flight. A fighter jet appeared to pursue it moments later.

MQ-9 drone footage shows a glowing orb off Yemen that a Hellfire missile was fired at - the missile struck and bounced off with no effect on the object. Shown during Congressional hearing in September 2025.

Wave of mysterious drone sightings over New Jersey and multiple U.S. states beginning November 2024. Drones spotted near military facilities including Picatinny Arsenal and Trump golf course. FAA issued temporary flight restrictions over 22 cities. Authorities say majority are lawful drones but some sightings remain unexplained.

Video footage shows multiple glowing multi-colored orbs outside a military base in Afghanistan. A missile is fired at the orbs but they remain completely unaffected, continuing their movements undeterred.

This clip was taken by an MQ-9 in the Middle East, and while AARO assesses the object in the clip is not exhibiting anomalous behavior, the object remains unidentified.

A photograph taken in Bergen, Norway showing a cigar-shaped, luminous object. The image bears a striking resemblance to the famous Holloman UFO photograph taken in 1957, leading to speculation about a recurring phenomenon.

On May 17, 2022, Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence Mr. Scott Bray shared this video of a US. Naval aviator encounter with an unknown object (UAP) in a fleeting pass. This video, captured by the pilot in the cockpit of a Navy fighter jet, demonstrates the typical speed at which military aircraft may approach an unknown object.

MQ-9 Reaper drone footage shows a UAP demonstrating apparent instantaneous acceleration. Filmed by US Air Force in Syria. Object was actively tracked with weapons-quality lock.

In October 2017, an infrared sensor onboard a force protection aerostat near Al Taqaddum Air Base, Iraq, captured 17 minutes of video of an unidentified object. AARO says balloons but the object is perfectly stiff, rotates and the balloon strings do not sway in the wind as the object moves for over 17 minutes. Reports say it shoots up into the sky.

Metallic sphere filmed over Mosul, Iraq by a U.S. Air Force MC-12 reconnaissance aircraft. The object moved without visible propulsion. Released via FOIA lawsuit in 2025 after initial leak in 2023.

This video was taken during a U.S. Navy training mission over the Atlantic Ocean off the U.S. East Coast, near Florida, by F/A-18 Super Hornet pilots from the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. The infrared video shows a small unidentified object apparently moving at high speed above the ocean while pilots attempt to lock onto it.

The Gimbal UFO incident occurred on January 21, 2015, during a U.S. Navy training mission over the Atlantic Ocean off the U.S. East Coast when an F/A-18F Super Hornet from the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt recorded an infrared video showing a rotating, disc-like unidentified object flying above clouds. Pilots tracking it remarked Theres a whole fleet of them, indicating other objects on their radar display.

Witness in rural Michigan observed a strange object in the sky. The object moved toward the witness vehicle, hovered over it with a green beam, then shot straight up into the sky. Witness reported strange swirling noise and feeling of static electricity.

On April 26, 2013, an infrared sensor onboard a U.S. Customs and Border Protection aircraft captured footage of a UAP event over the Rafael Hernandez Airport near Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. The footage appears to depict a UAP moving at high speed, splitting into two objects, and entering and exiting the water before disappearing into the ocean off Puerto Rico northwestern coast.

CBS News obtained footage of mysterious glowing orbs floating over Manhattan. The FAA was unable to identify the objects.

United Airlines employees and pilots reported a disc-shaped object hovering over Gate C17 at Chicago OHare Airport. The object reportedly shot upward, leaving a hole in the cloud layer.

Video footage of a glowing UFO recorded in Turkey and posted to YouTube approximately 19 years ago. Witnesses can be heard reacting to the object, describing it as burning and moving in the night sky.

Navy pilots from the USS Nimitz encountered and recorded an unknown object off the coast of San Diego. The object displayed flight characteristics far beyond known technology.

Thousands of people across Arizona and Nevada reported seeing a massive V-shaped object with lights. Governor of Arizona later said he saw a large triangular craft with lights. It was dramatic. And it could not have been flares because it was too symmetrical. It had a geometric outline, a constant shape.

62 children at Ariel School in Ruwa, Zimbabwe witnessed a silver disc land in scrubland adjacent to the school playing field during their morning break. One to four small humanoid beings with large black eyes were observed near the craft. Multiple children independently reported receiving a telepathic message about harm being done to the planet. BBC correspondent Tim Leach filmed the children within 72 hours. Harvard psychiatry professor Dr. John E. Mack traveled to Ruwa and interviewed the children individually, finding no evidence of fabrication or psychopathy. The majority of witnesses have maintained every detail of their accounts unchanged for 30 years.

A commercial pilot for Ilitalia reported a near collision with an unknown object while approaching Heathrow Airport. Having determined that the object was not a missile, weather balloon or space rocket, the Ministry of Defence closed the inquiry and left the matter unsolved.

Two witnesses photographed a diamond-shaped craft hovering silently over the Scottish moors. Six photographs were taken. The original photo was rediscovered in 2022 after being held by a former RAF press officer for 32 years.

Thousands of people, including police, reported seeing large triangular objects over Belgium. The Belgian Air Force scrambled F-16s to intercept, and radar confirmed unknown targets.

JAL cargo flight crew reported being followed by three unidentified objects over Alaska. The objects were tracked by both ground and airborne radar for over 50 minutes.

Betty Cash, Vickie Landrum, and her grandson Colby encountered a diamond-shaped UFO with flame propulsion near Dayton, Texas. The intense heat reportedly caused burns and later health issues. 23 helicopters (described as CH-47 Chinooks) were seen surrounding the object. The witnesses filed a $20 million lawsuit against the U.S. government, which was dismissed in 1986.

US Air Force personnel reported seeing unusual lights and a metallic object in Rendlesham Forest, England. Multiple servicemen witnessed the events over several nights. 10x radiation readings at landing site.

Multiple fishermen captured Saturn-shaped disc UFOs over Guanabara Bay during the 1978 Brazilian UFO wave.

Police Officer Mark Coltrane photographed a metallic disc UFO at close range in Colfax, Wisconsin on April 19, 1978. Two Polaroid photographs captured the object with lower surface details visible. Radio interference reported.

A civilian captured a color photograph of a metallic disc-shaped UFO with a raised three-tiered cupola over Centeno, Santa Fe, Argentina on June 21, 1977.

Iranian Air Force jets were scrambled to investigate a bright object over Tehran. When F-4 fighters approached, their instruments malfunctioned. The incident was documented by the US Defense Intelligence Agency.

Joshua da Silva photographed a Saturn-shaped metallic disc over Passo Fundo, Brazil during the 1976 Brazilian UFO wave.

Swiss national Billy Meier claimed contact with Pleiades aliens and produced photographs of metallic disc-shaped craft. One photo became the I Want to Believe poster in The X-Files. Published by former USAF pilot Wendelle Stevens in 1979.

During a routine government aerial mapping survey for a hydroelectric project, an automated Zeiss precision camera captured a single frame showing a metallic disc-shaped object over Lake Cote. No crew member aboard the aircraft saw the object. The original negative has been held in the Costa Rican national archive since 1971. A 1989 peer-reviewed analysis by Dr. Richard Haines and Dr. Jacques Vallee ruled out fabrication, double exposure, and lens artifact -- leaving the object officially unidentified.

Technician Emil Barnea captured four photographs of a large metallic disc over Baciu Forest near Cluj-Napoca, Romania on August 18, 1968. The object displayed a hat-brim / inverted-plate profile and increased its luminosity to exceed direct sunlight before departing on a diagonal trajectory. Two independent European laboratories independently authenticated the photographs as genuine.

Two identical disc-shaped UFOs photographed in close formation over the Huascaran massif near Yungay, Peru on March 22, 1967. Four photographs captured the dual-craft sequence.

All ten Minuteman I nuclear ICBMs at Echo Flight, Malmstrom AFB went offline simultaneously within ten seconds of each other on March 16, 1967. Eight days later at Oscar Flight, security guards reported a glowing oval object hovering above the front gate before all ten missiles there also shut down. Deputy Missile Combat Crew Commander Robert Salas witnessed the Oscar Flight shutdown firsthand. Boeing investigated and could not reproduce or explain the failure mode. Declassified Air Force records describe the Echo Flight shutdown as a matter of grave concern with no identified cause. Missile targeting officer Robert Jamison independently corroborated being dispatched to restart the Oscar Flight missiles.

A New Mexico State University student photographed a big round silvery object hovering over a hill while hiking for a geology class. The photograph shows a circular, metallic-looking object suspended in the air above desert landscape.

U.S. Navy photographer Lee Hansen captured 8mm color footage of a metallic disc-shaped object over Catalina Island, California on April 15, 1966 at 9:45 a.m. The object displayed no visible flight control surfaces, propulsion system, engine, or exhaust — yet maintained stable flight. Hansen, an active-duty Navy photographer, submitted the footage through official Navy channels. The case was reviewed within the defense establishment during one of the most active UFO reporting periods in American history.

More than 200 students and staff at two Melbourne schools witnessed a silver-grey domed disc descend silently into a nearby paddock, leave physical landing traces, and depart at extraordinary speed while evading five pursuing light aircraft. A student named Tania collapsed after approaching the craft and was removed by ambulance -- never returning to school. Science teacher Andrew Greenwood photographed the object; his camera was confiscated by authorities who arrived within 40 minutes. A school-wide silence order was issued. The landing site was burned within days. Channel Nine footage of the event has vanished from two archives. No government investigation has ever been publicly acknowledged.

Melbourne businessman and engineer James Kibel photographed a silver metallic bell-shaped disc hovering at approximately 150 feet above his garden in Balwyn. The object was entirely silent but a loud sonic boom was heard after it departed. A carpenter on site witnessed the Polaroid develop unaltered and signed a written statement to that effect. Four independent organizations analyzed the photograph -- APRO, Ground Saucer Watch, NICAP, and VFSRS -- none could confirm a hoax. The original Polaroid was later stolen in a targeted break-in. The incident occurred four days before the Westall mass sighting five miles away.

Highway inspector Rex Heflin photographed a disc-shaped UFO hovering above a road near Santa Ana, California. Four photos show the object hovering and then ascending into the sky before disappearing.

Socorro police officer Lonnie Zamora reported seeing an egg-shaped craft landed on four legs with two small humanoid figures nearby. The object lifted off with a loud roar and left burned vegetation and landing impressions investigated by Project Blue Book.

A documented daytime UFO sighting captured on film in Colorado, USA on July 23, 1963. The footage was preserved as part of the archival UFO record of the early 1960s. The incident occurred during one of the most active periods of UFO reporting in the United States, when Project Blue Book was actively investigating and cataloguing reports across the country.

Three photographs captured by civilian underwater photographer Almiro Barauna aboard the Brazilian Navy vessel Almirante Saldanha, depicting a Saturn-shaped metallic disc over Trindade Island, Brazil on January 16, 1958. The images were authenticated by the Brazilian Navy and independently verified by Ground Saucer Watch in 1978. The sighting had 48 witnesses, was preceded by radar tracking and electromagnetic effects, and was investigated by the Brazilian Navy with a finding of indications of unidentified aerial objects.

Ella Fortune photographed a disc-shaped object while driving along Highway 54 near the Holloman North Test Range. The object appeared motionless and there was no wind at the time. The photograph has become one of the notable UFO images from the 1950s.

USAF Major William T. Coleman and four crew members aboard a B-25 Mitchell pursued a metallic disc at treetop level over southern Alabama for 10-11 minutes. The object generated two rotating dust vortexes over a plowed field before vanishing instantly as Coleman attempted a banking intercept at 300 knots. The object reappeared briefly 45 minutes later on approach to Greenville, Mississippi. Coleman later became Project Blue Books Public Information Officer. His filed report was never found in the Blue Book archive.

A teenager photographed a hovering disc-shaped object near power lines in San Bernardino, California. The photo was later submitted to the U.S. Air Force and examined by Project Blue Book investigators.

Several photographs were taken of a bright disc-shaped object flying over Passaic, New Jersey during the major 1952 UFO wave. The images were submitted to the U.S. Air Force and reviewed as part of Project Blue Book.

Radar operator and air traffic controllers detected 7 unknown targets maneuvering over Washington D.C. Multiple radar sites tracked the objects while pilots and controllers visually observed lights in the sky during the famous July 1952 UFO flap.

On-duty U.S. Coast Guard photographer Seaman Shell R. Alpert captured four luminous elliptical objects in V formation above the Salem air station at 9:35 a.m. The photograph was taken through a window screen using government-issue equipment and assigned Official Coast Guard Photo No. 5554. A second witness, Coastguardsman Thomas E. Flaherty, corroborated the sighting. The image was flown to Coast Guard HQ, then to Wright-Patterson AFB for Project Blue Book analysis, and was present at the July 29 Pentagon press conference. Three separate Blue Book analyses produced three contradictory conclusions. Final official determination: Unexplained. The photograph is now permanently archived at the Library of Congress with no publication restrictions.

Pan American World Airways First Officer William Nash and Second Officer William Fortenberry observed 8 glowing red-orange discs in tight echelon formation at ~2,000 ft while cruising at 8,000 ft over Chesapeake Bay. The objects decelerated abruptly, simultaneously flipped on edge revealing a coin-like disc profile, reversed their formation order, then accelerated away at a computed ~12,000 mph. The sighting lasted ~15 seconds. USAF OSI investigators had 7 independent corroborating reports before debriefing the pilots. Project Blue Book classified the case as Unknown.

Navy Warrant Officer Delbert Newhouse filmed a formation of bright disc-like objects while driving near Tremonton, Utah. The 16mm film was analyzed by the U.S. Air Force Photo Reconnaissance Laboratory and investigated under Project Blue Book.

A disc-shaped object was photographed in the sky near Hampton, Virginia. The photograph was submitted to the U.S. Air Force and investigated under Project Blue Book.

Beginning in August 1951, groups of glowing lights flying in a V-shaped formation were repeatedly observed over Lubbock, Texas by Texas Tech professors and residents. Student Carl Hart Jr. photographed the lights as they passed overhead, producing one of the most famous UFO photos investigated by Project Blue Book.

Suspected UFO photographed over Auckland, New Zealand in 1951. The photographer believed it was a flying saucer, but Project Blue Book concluded it was a lenticular cloud formation.

Nick Mariana, manager of the Great Falls Electrics baseball team, filmed two bright disc-shaped objects flying over Legion Stadium in Great Falls, Montana. The 16mm film was analyzed by the U.S. Air Force and investigated under Project Blue Book.

Paul and Evelyn Trent photographed a disc-shaped object hovering above their farm near McMinnville, Oregon. The photos were later published in LIFE Magazine and analyzed by the U.S. Air Force as part of Project Blue Book.

Photograph possibly taken near Farmington, New Mexico shows several circular objects amongst a cloudy backdrop. The Teenage-Times newspaper in Dublin first published the photo, raising questions about its origin.

Series of 10 visual sightings of a strange aerial object near Norwood, Ohio from August 19, 1949 to March 10, 1950. Army searchlight operator Sgt. Donald R. Berger observed a massive object in his beam and meticulously documented it in logs. Photos taken by Norwood Police Sgt. Leo Davidson on October 23, 1949, and 16mm motion picture film kept by Reverend Gregory Miller. Witnesses included civilians, clergy, scientists, police officers, and military officials. The case was reported directly to Wright Field intelligence but does not appear in Project Grudge files.

Two photographs taken by William A. Rhodes of a disc-like object over Phoenix, Arizona. Published in The Arizona Republic on July 9, 1947, these were among the first UFO photographs ever published. The Air Force attributed the object to windblown debris; others have suggested it may have been a hoax.

A rancher discovered debris on his property near Roswell, New Mexico. The military initially claimed it was a crashed flying saucer.

Private pilot Kenneth Arnold reported seeing nine unusual objects flying near Mount Rainier, Washington at an estimated 1,200 mph. His description of their movement as like saucers skipping on water coined the term flying saucer.

Allied and Axis pilots reported encounters with mysterious luminous objects that appeared to follow or chase their aircraft. These phenomena became known as foo fighters - glowing orbs, balls of fire, or discs that displayed intelligent movement patterns. U.S. pilots assumed these objects were German, and the Germans assumed they were American.

Over 1,400 anti-aircraft shells fired at unknown object for around an hour. Reports of silvery objects in V formation reported by witnesses.

One of the oldest known UFO photographs. A stereoscopic photograph taken during a meteorological expedition near Mount Washington, New Hampshire, showing a disc-like object in the sky. Purchased at auction in 2002 for $385.