Western US Event

Plain-English Summary

• What happened:This document is a summary of statements by seven US PERSONs employed by the federal government who separately reported observing several unidentified anomalous phenomena in the western United States over the course of two days in 2023. The summary notes the US PERSONS reported four distinct categories of experiences, including observing “orbs launching other orbs” at a distance, observing a large stationary glowing orb at close estimated range, pursuing a large phenomenon near the ground, and observing a large, seemingly transparent phenomenon, reported to being akin to a “translucent kite.” Although there is no technical data directly associated with this report, contextual factors — such as these events sharing features with others reported to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), the reporters’ credibility, and the potentially anomalous nature of the events themselves — combine to make this report among the most compelling within AARO’s current holdings.
• Who reported it:Department of War
• What evidence exists:document
• What the government says:This document is a summary of statements by seven US PERSONs employed by the federal government who separately reported observing several unidentified anomalous phenomena in the western United States over the course of two days in 2023. The summary notes the US PERSONS reported four distinct categories of experiences, including observing “orbs launching other orbs” at a distance, observing a large stationary glowing orb at close estimated range, pursuing a large phenomenon near the ground, and observing a large, seemingly transparent phenomenon, reported to being akin to a “translucent kite.” Although there is no technical data directly associated with this report, contextual factors — such as these events sharing features with others reported to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), the reporters’ credibility, and the potentially anomalous nature of the events themselves — combine to make this report among the most compelling within AARO’s current holdings.
• What remains unclear:Not provided in source.

Key Facts

Title

Western US Event

Release

Release 01

Release date

2026-05-08

Incident date

2023-01-01

Agency

Department of War

Location

Western United States

Location precision

region_only

Status

unknown

Source domain

war.gov

Source Documents

• pdf

  Source document
  Cached copy ↗Originalwww.war.gov↗

Media Gallery

• thumbnail
  Thumbnail
  View originalwww.war.gov↗

Skeptical / Mundane Explanations

Editorial draft pending.

What we still don't know

Editorial draft pending.

Related cases