UAP AnalysisIndependent · the declassified record
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OtherUnresolvedAmbiguous

Swarm of lights and sequential orb formations observed from helicopter — 2025

~2025Undisclosed site and mountain range, United States (all coordinates redacted)15s
Analysis — our summary

Between approximately 2218 and 2257 hours local time, Call Sign 1 crew (including a senior US intelligence official) observed multiple distinct phenomena: a swarm of lights 'too many to count' moving in all directions; two large oval-shaped orange orbs with white or yellow centers appearing in close proximity to the helicopter to the west, stationary and side by side, followed by additional orbs flaring up sequentially below them (four to five total) before fading out in reverse order; and repeated formations of four to six orbs flaring up in horizontal sequence over different geographic bearings. A triangular formation of three distinct orbs was also reported at 2249 hours. Each formation event lasted approximately ten to fifteen seconds. Pilots were recording but many sightings occurred above the helicopter's FLIR camera angle.

As reported — verbatim from the document
'a swarm of lights (too many to count) moving in all directions'; 'two large orbs appear in close proximity to [CALL SIGN 1] to the west and above the rotor disk'; 'oval shaped, orange in color with a white or yellow center and emitting light in all directions'; 'After a few seconds, a third orb flared up below the two, and then another one below that one until there were four or five in total'
Analyst notes — caveats & confidence

Six distinct orb formation events between 2218–2257 hours are documented as separate timestamped observations; they are grouped here as a single incident series due to their temporal and geographic proximity and consistent phenomenology. The camera angle limitation noted by Witness 1 means FLIR did not capture the majority of these sightings; they rest on multi-witness naked eye and NVG observation. All spatial coordinates and designators remain redacted. The sequential flare-up/flare-down behavior is distinctive and internally consistent across six separate observations.

Provenance
Source documentUSPER-Statement-Redacted.pdf
Document typeIntelligence statement / operational report (SECRET//NOFORN)
Reporting agencyOther
Source pages3
DeclassifiedFirst public at this release (2026)
Held classified~1 year (≥, to this release)
Extraction confidence ModerateHow cleanly this record could be parsed from the source — driven by legibility & redaction. It is not a measure of how credible or anomalous the sighting is.