A senior US intelligence official spotted mysterious “orange orbs” next to his helicopter while on a mission last year that left him “speechless,” according to a chilling account published by the Pentagon Friday in the latest dump of UFO-related documents.

The US official was part of a crew investigating reports of “loud thuds” and unidentified aerial phenomenon [UAP] sightings in the mountains near a sensitive US military facility in late 2025 when they ran into the objects that seemed to be “chasing” fighter jets, according to the document.

While investigating, an object suddenly flew towards their chopper and came within 10-feet before splitting into two smaller objects and speeding off out of sight. Fighter jets were deployed to identify the objects.

First-hand account from a senior U.S. intelligence official describing encounters with unidentified anomalous phenomena.
A senior official wrote about a series of close UAP encounters.U.S. Department of War
Moments later, the crew “saw countless orange orbs swarming in all directions against the backdrop of the mountain. The display lasted several minutes before fading,” the unidentified senior official noted in the report.

Suddenly, the official observed with a naked eye “two large orbs flare up side by side, close to the helicopter — stationary and just above the rotor disk to our right.”
The senior writes about seeing large orange orbs coming in all directions.U.S. Department of War
The orbs were described as “oval-shaped, orange with a white or yellow center, and emitted light in all directions.” A third and fourth orb appeared seconds later making a “T” formation with the others.

Then, “they dimmed in reverse order, remaining stationary until they vanished from view. The entire event lasted 10-15 seconds,” the official recalled.

Infrared image showing a bright, glowing object in the center with "N" and "-5M" visible, and several redacted black boxes covering portions of the image.
Imagery likely derived from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform operating within the United States Central Command area of responsibility in 2022U.S. Department of War
Fighter jets then scrambled to identify the objects — but were unable to. He said “the same orbs we had encountered were now ‘chasing’ the fighters.”

“After landing, I briefly spoke with [the crew]– mostly to express thanks. We were virtually speechless after these observations.”