Western U.S. Event: AARO Summary of Seven Federal Witness Statements (2023)
Date
2023 (incident); May 8, 2026 (release)
Document Type
Gov. Report
Authentication
Official PublicationRedaction Status
▐ Partially RedactedIssuing Authority
Department of War / All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO)
Summary
AARO summary of statements by seven U.S. federal government employees who separately reported observing several unidentified anomalous phenomena in the western United States over the course of two days in 2023. AARO documents four distinct categories of experiences reported by the witnesses: (1) observing "orbs launching other orbs" at a distance; (2) observing a large stationary glowing orb at close estimated range; (3) pursuing a large phenomenon near the ground; and (4) observing a large, seemingly transparent phenomenon described as akin to a "translucent kite." AARO assessed this report as among its most compelling current holdings, noting that contextual factors — shared features with other AARO reports, reporter credibility, and the potentially anomalous nature of the events — combine to distinguish it. No technical sensor data is directly associated with this report. Companion to ODNI-UAP-D001 (a 2025 senior USIC official helicopter account from the same geographic area). Released via PURSUE Release 1, May 8, 2026.
Significance
The Western U.S. Event stands out in the PURSUE corpus for several reasons: it is the only Release 1 document where AARO explicitly characterizes the report as "among the most compelling within AARO's current holdings"; it involves seven independent federal government witnesses corroborating overlapping experiences across two days; and it contains the most behaviorally anomalous witness-described phenomena in Release 1, including the "orbs launching other orbs" formation behavior that also appears in Release 1's Eastern U.S. cases. The absence of technical sensor data makes witness credibility the primary evidentiary basis, which AARO explicitly addresses by noting the reporters' credibility as a contextual factor.