2023 Western U.S. Orbs Launching Orbs
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Evidence quality · 6 components
Behavioral anomalousness · 4 components
TL;DR
The Pentagon rated the 2023-2025 Western U.S. 'orbs launching other orbs' cases 'among the most compelling' in PURSUE Release 1, supported by FBI infrared video from two separate incidents, a FaceTime-documented drone operator interview, and an FBI composite sketch of a bronze ellipsoid 130-195 feet in length described as materializing and disappearing instantaneously.
Confirmed
- ✓Pentagon explicitly rated the 'orbs launching other orbs' cases 'among the most compelling' in the PURSUE Release 1 corpus
- ✓FBI infrared imagery from Western U.S. incidents in September 2023 and December 2025 was included in PURSUE Release 1
- ✓An FBI FaceTime interview documents a drone operator describing a 'linear object with a super bright light,' metallic gray, 1-2 Blackhawk lengths, at 5,000 ft altitude, disappearing after 5-10 seconds
- ✓An FBI composite sketch of a bronze ellipsoid 130-195 feet in length described as 'materializing and disappearing instantaneously' is part of the PURSUE corpus
Unresolved
- ?Whether the 'orbs launching other orbs' behavior represents a foreign adversary UAS swarm, a U.S. classified program, or a genuinely anomalous phenomenon
- ?Why an object or objects of 130-195 feet in length was present over U.S. military test sites for multiple years without intercept
- ?What the FBI infrared footage shows that warranted the Pentagon's 'most compelling' characterization - specifics remain undisclosed
Strongest mundane explanation
The objects were an advanced foreign adversary UAS swarm - most plausibly Chinese - conducting multi-year surveillance of U.S. classified aerospace R&D facilities in the Western test site corridor, which would explain the sustained presence and apparent 'deployment' behavior, though an adversary UAS operating in restricted U.S. military airspace for years without intercept would represent an extraordinary security failure, and the 130-195 ft size is above any known conventional UAS.
Between 2023 and 2025, federal law enforcement officers and personnel at U.S. test site facilities in the Western United States reported a series of encounters with luminous orb-shaped objects exhibiting highly anomalous behavior — including apparent deployment of secondary orbs ('orbs launching other orbs'). The Pentagon rated these cases 'among the most compelling' in PURSUE Release 1 (May 8, 2026). Documentation includes an FBI FaceTime interview with a drone operator at a U.S. test site, FBI infrared imagery from September 2023 and December 2025, and an FBI composite sketch depicting a bronze ellipsoid object 130-195 feet in length described as materializing and disappearing instantaneously.
Key Facts
- ›Date range: 2023-2025; location: Western United States (specific facilities not publicly disclosed)
- ›Pentagon rated the 'orbs launching other orbs' cases 'among the most compelling' in the PURSUE Release 1 corpus
- ›FBI FaceTime interview documents 'linear object with a super bright light,' metallic gray, 1-2 Blackhawk lengths (~80-160 ft), at approximately 5,000 feet altitude, disappearing after 5-10 seconds
- ›FBI composite sketch depicts a bronze ellipsoid object 130-195 feet in length described as materializing and disappearing instantaneously
- ›FBI infrared imagery from two separate incidents: September 2023 and December 2025
- ›Multiple federal law enforcement personnel reported parent objects deploying smaller luminous secondary objects