Newly declassified files from the National Security Agency detail several Cold War-era incidents in which Soviet-designed MiG fighter jets pursued unidentified flying objects, according to records obtained by the Disclosure Foundation after a lengthy legal battle.
The 334 pages of heavily redacted documents, many stamped “TOP SECRET UMBRA,” include radar reports and intelligence messages describing unexplained objects tracked by military systems around the world. One account stands out for its scale: 13 MiG jets were scrambled after radar detected a single unidentified object.
The NSA files do not specify exact dates or locations for most incidents, though repeated references to Soviet-made aircraft point to events during the Soviet period. Separate reports mention encounters over China and describe six MiGs “attacking said UFO.”
Other documents catalog objects of various shapes, including star-shaped, disc-like, spherical, and cigar-shaped craft. One report described an “elongated ball of fire” that split into three glowing objects while crossing the sky.
In one witness account included in the files, an object emitted a “white luminous light” with a slightly “bluish” color. The report noted that it moved rapidly in vertical motions at high altitude and “kept turning around.” Another file described a “spherical or disc-like” UFO that was “brighter than the sun and about half the Moon’s diameter.”
The Disclosure Foundation, a U.S. nonprofit focused on greater transparency regarding UFOs, secured the records through a Freedom of Information Act appeal. The NSA had initially denied access requests, extending a legal fight over UFO-related materials that dates back to a 1980 lawsuit against the agency.
The release comes shortly after the Trump administration published more than 160 UFO-related files earlier this month. Those disclosures followed earlier declassification orders connected to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr.
Former President Barack Obama has publicly dismissed claims that the United States is concealing evidence of alien contact, adding to ongoing public debate about the nature of such sightings. Officials have not confirmed whether any of the objects described in the newly released files were later identified.
The documents provide no names of individual witnesses or pilots involved in the reported pursuits. All identifying details remain redacted, leaving researchers to piece together the incidents from the limited context available.
Similar accounts of military radar tracking unusual objects have surfaced in declassified records from other nations over the decades. The latest batch adds to a growing archive of unexplained aerial phenomena reported during the Cold War.
Advocates for further disclosure say these files underscore the need for continued review of historical intelligence records. The Disclosure Foundation plans to examine the documents for additional patterns or connections to other known cases.
Whether any of the described objects represented advanced foreign technology, natural phenomena, or something else remains unconfirmed in the released materials. Government agencies have historically offered limited explanations for such incidents.
The NSA has not issued a public statement on the specific contents of the newly released pages. Researchers continue to review the documents for any overlooked details that might shed light on the reported encounters.