AARO Unresolved Case Analysis Update: Western United States Event

A four-page, unclassified 5 June 2026 memorandum from the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Intelligence and Security, signed by AARO Director Jon T. Kosloski, formally titled 'Orbs Launching Orbs.' Over two days in October 2023, six federal law-enforcement special agents in three two-person teams reported a luminous orange 'mother orb' repeatedly producing clusters of two to four smaller red 'orbs,' with one red orb reportedly remaining stationary above a ridgeline for several hours. AARO systematically tested and largely ruled out misidentified aircraft exhaust, UAVs, foreign intelligence platforms, and natural/atmospheric phenomena; assessed military flares as accounting for about 60% of the activity but physically incompatible with the multi-hour stationary red orb; found U.S. capability deconfliction inconclusive; and concluded that roughly 40% of the reported phenomena remain unexplained after first-stage analysis, provisionally attributed (pending) to 'unrecognized technology.'

Why this rating Six independent witnesses across three separated teams and multiple viewing angles gave mutually consistent narrative descriptions (several independent witnesses, per the evidence ladder); AARO's own analysis states that the reported multi-hour stationary persistence of one red 'orb' is physically incompatible with its leading conventional hypothesis (military flares), and it explicitly rules out or downgrades every other conventional explanation it tested. This is capped short of the highest confidence only by the complete absence of instrumented data: no video, photograph, radar, or other sensor evidence was collected, so the entire case rests on narrative testimony, however consistent and however carefully AARO says it corrected for the optical-estimation limits of eyewitness testimony.

• DocumentDOW-UAP-D077Release 3

  DOW-UAP-D077, AARO Unresolved Case Analysis Update: Western United States Event

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• DocumentWestern US EventRelease 1

  Western US Event

  AARO's own four-slide synthesis of the Western US Event, grouping the five witness narratives (D079-D083, plus two more witnesses not in this batch) into four named phenomena: 'Orbs Launching Orbs' (three teams, five-plus repetitions), 'Large, Fiery Orb' (an orb AARO itself later measured at roughly 1,050 m distance and 12-18 m diameter), 'Dark Kite' (a pursued car-like object that AARO's own footnote says was later described as triangular), and 'Transparent Kite' (an object through which a witness reported seeing stars). This is a briefing product, not a raw witness statement, and it adds AARO's own follow-up measurements and clarifications in footnotes.

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• DocumentDOW-UAP-D083Release 3

  DOW-UAP-D083, Narrative Statement 5, Western United States Event, 2023

  Heavily redacted field-note-style account from Witness 5 (with a named-but-redacted partner), the only Western US Event narrative that reports physical trace evidence: the following morning, agents found fresh, sharp, roughly circular scrape marks in the dirt around a specific plant that the witness says wind could not explain. The same account describes an orange light suspended near a ridge, red orbs released from a larger red orb, and a red-and-white light pair that hovered off-road and later resolved, in night vision, into a faint geometric formation of lights.

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• DocumentDOW-UAP-D082Release 3

  DOW-UAP-D082, Narrative Statement 4, Western United States Event, 2023

  Witness 4 gives the longest and most sustained account: over multiple nights across several days, the witness reports repeated 'hatching' of small orange lights from larger ones, lines of nine static lights above a ridgeline, lights forming geometric clusters (diamonds, hexagons, triangles), and a light that moved between the top and bottom of a mountain faster than a vehicle could manage on rough terrain, without raising dust. The witness also reports chemtrail-like trails and a passing aircraft on one night, which the witness distinguishes from the light phenomena.

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• DocumentDOW-UAP-D081Release 3

  DOW-UAP-D081, Narrative Statement 3, Western United States Event, 2023

  Witness 3 describes two occurrences: an orange orb crossing the sky that 'expelled' three smaller red orbs in a mechanical-looking release, and a later pursuit (with a partner, using night vision) of a car-like light pair that kept a constant ~100-yard distance before floating off-road across terrain with no tire tracks found afterward. The witness explicitly frames the release as looking mechanical and the vehicle-like object's evasion as apparently responsive to their approach.

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• DocumentDOW-UAP-D080Release 3

  DOW-UAP-D080, Narrative Statement 2, Western United States Event, 2023

  The richest of the five Western US Event narratives: Witness 2 describes three separate incidents over two nights, including a bright orb that repeatedly 'expelled' three or four red lights in coordinated formation, two sets of headlight-like lights that appeared to mimic vehicles and evaded pursuit at up to 70 mph by fleeing across rugged terrain, and a single orb that transformed in apparent shape (headlights, then a 'box truck') before vanishing near a mountain range. The witness explicitly compares the light-release pattern to a 'portal' and notes the phenomena appeared reactive to the team's approach.

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• DocumentDOW-UAP-D079Release 3

  DOW-UAP-D079, Narrative Statement 1, Western United States Event, 2023

  AARO memorandum forwarding the free-form written narrative of Witness 1, one of several federal law enforcement special agents who reported unidentified anomalous phenomena over two nights in October 2023 in the western United States. The witness describes a glowing orange 'ball' near a hillside, later two more light events each releasing three red lights, and a slow-moving, translucent, car-like object with two mismatched headlights that left no dust and floated off-road. Only the witness's own recollection is given; no sensor data accompanies the memo.

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• DocumentFBI-UAP-D014Release 3

  FBI-UAP-D014

  An FBI-commissioned digital rendering, "Narrative Statement 1-1, Western United States Event, 2023," described in the blurb as an artistic interpretation of a UAP incident near a sensitive national-security site, based on the first-hand description of a federal law-enforcement special agent in DOW-UAP-D079. The paired document is DOW-UAP-D079, a 2 June 2026 AARO memorandum for record recording Witness 1's free-form narrative (one of several federal law-enforcement special agents who reported observing UAP over two days in October 2023 near a sensitive national-security site in the western United States). Based on the image_alt_text ("Rendering of a road at night with an object in the sky.") and the sequence implied by the statement number, this rendering most likely depicts the first sighting in Witness 1's account: a circular, swirling "bright lava"-like light near a hillside, seen from the road at roughly 1,100 meters, about 20 feet in diameter and visible for one to two minutes with no sound. This is an illustration created after the fact from testimony, not a photograph or sensor capture of the event.

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• DocumentDOW-UAP-D078Release 3

  DOW-UAP-D078, Notional Map: Western United States Event

  A single-page captioned illustration (not a photograph) depicting, from above and 'not to relative scale,' four incidents reported by U.S. federal law enforcement special agents over several days in October 2023 near the same site as DOW-UAP-D077: Incident 1 (the 'orbs launching orbs' pattern), a large 'fiery orb' projected against a ridgeline at roughly 1,000 yards, a 'thin or dark kite-shaped object' with one red and one white light, and a 'translucent kite-shaped object.' The document explicitly states all images were generated with AI ('genai.mil') as notional illustrations, not photographic or video evidence.

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• ImageFBI-UAP-D014Release 3

  FBI-UAP-D014

  An FBI-commissioned digital rendering, "Narrative Statement 1-1, Western United States Event, 2023," described in the blurb as an artistic interpretation of a UAP incident near a sensitive national-security site, based on the first-hand description of a federal law-enforcement special agent in DOW-UAP-D079. The paired document is DOW-UAP-D079, a 2 June 2026 AARO memorandum for record recording Witness 1's free-form narrative (one of several federal law-enforcement special agents who reported observing UAP over two days in October 2023 near a sensitive national-security site in the western United States). Based on the image_alt_text ("Rendering of a road at night with an object in the sky.") and the sequence implied by the statement number, this rendering most likely depicts the first sighting in Witness 1's account: a circular, swirling "bright lava"-like light near a hillside, seen from the road at roughly 1,100 meters, about 20 feet in diameter and visible for one to two minutes with no sound. This is an illustration created after the fact from testimony, not a photograph or sensor capture of the event.

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• ImageFBI-UAP-D015Release 3

  FBI-UAP-D015

  An FBI-commissioned digital rendering, "Narrative Statement 1-2, Western United States Event, 2023," described in the blurb as an artistic interpretation of a UAP incident near a sensitive national-security site, based on the first-hand description of a federal law-enforcement special agent in DOW-UAP-D079. The paired document is DOW-UAP-D079, a 2 June 2026 AARO memorandum for record recording Witness 1's free-form narrative (one of several federal law-enforcement special agents who reported observing UAP over two days in October 2023 near a sensitive national-security site in the western United States). Based on the image_alt_text ("Rendering of a road at night with an object in the sky.") and the sequence implied by the statement number, this rendering most likely depicts one of the two later flashes/orbs in Witness 1's account, each of which released three red lights that flew off in different patterns (one straight, one up, one down) accompanied by a horizon flash, roughly 20 minutes after the first sighting. This is an illustration created after the fact from testimony, not a photograph or sensor capture of the event.

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• ImageFBI-UAP-D021Release 3

  FBI-UAP-D021

  An FBI-commissioned digital rendering, "Narrative Statement 1-3, Western United States Event, 2023," described in the blurb as an artistic interpretation of a UAP incident near a sensitive national-security site, based on the first-hand description of a federal law-enforcement special agent in DOW-UAP-D079. The paired document is DOW-UAP-D079, a 2 June 2026 AARO memorandum for record recording Witness 1's free-form narrative (one of several federal law-enforcement special agents who reported observing UAP over two days in October 2023 near a sensitive national-security site in the western United States). Based on the image_alt_text ("Rendering of a road at night with an object over a hill.") and the sequence implied by the statement number, this rendering most likely depicts the later car-like object in Witness 1's account: mismatched red/white and round/square taillights that moved off-road without kicking up dust, then a translucent object "like looking at something through water" hovering 15-20 feet up amid dust and spider-web-like material. This is an illustration created after the fact from testimony, not a photograph or sensor capture of the event.

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• ImageFBI-UAP-D016Release 3

  FBI-UAP-D016

  An FBI-commissioned digital rendering, "Narrative Statement 2-1, Western United States Event, 2023," described in the blurb as an artistic interpretation of a UAP incident near a sensitive national-security site, based on the first-hand description of a federal law-enforcement special agent in DOW-UAP-D080. The paired document is DOW-UAP-D080, a 2 June 2026 AARO memorandum for record recording Witness 2's free-form narrative across three separate incidents on the same two nights, plus AI-generated sketches Witness 2 supplied roughly two and a half years after the events (the memo itself states the sketches make no reference to a specific location and are not to scale). Based on the image_alt_text ("Rendering of two figures watching an object in the sky.") and the sequence implied by the statement number, this rendering most likely depicts the opening of Witness 2's Incident 1: a bright orb-like light low on the northern horizon that grew brighter and expelled three or four red lights, which Witness 2 compared to "the opening and closing of a portal." This is an illustration created after the fact from testimony, not a photograph or sensor capture of the event.

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• ImageFBI-UAP-D017Release 3

  FBI-UAP-D017

  An FBI-commissioned digital rendering, "Narrative Statement 2-2, Western United States Event, 2023," described in the blurb as an artistic interpretation of a UAP incident near a sensitive national-security site, based on the first-hand description of a federal law-enforcement special agent in DOW-UAP-D080. The paired document is DOW-UAP-D080, a 2 June 2026 AARO memorandum for record recording Witness 2's free-form narrative across three separate incidents on the same two nights, plus AI-generated sketches Witness 2 supplied roughly two and a half years after the events (the memo itself states the sketches make no reference to a specific location and are not to scale). Based on the image_alt_text ("Rendering of two figures watching an object in the sky.") and the sequence implied by the statement number, this rendering most likely depicts a repetition of the Incident 1 light-and-expulsion cycle, which Witness 2 says recurred about five times across the northern-to-eastern horizon between roughly 1900 and 1930 hours, confirmed by other team members. This is an illustration created after the fact from testimony, not a photograph or sensor capture of the event.

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• ImageFBI-UAP-D018Release 3

  FBI-UAP-D018

  An FBI-commissioned digital rendering, "Narrative Statement 2-3, Western United States Event, 2023," described in the blurb as an artistic interpretation of a UAP incident near a sensitive national-security site, based on the first-hand description of a federal law-enforcement special agent in DOW-UAP-D080. The paired document is DOW-UAP-D080, a 2 June 2026 AARO memorandum for record recording Witness 2's free-form narrative across three separate incidents on the same two nights, plus AI-generated sketches Witness 2 supplied roughly two and a half years after the events (the memo itself states the sketches make no reference to a specific location and are not to scale). Based on the image_alt_text ("Rendering of two figures watching an object in the sky.") and the sequence implied by the statement number, this rendering most likely depicts the closing phase of Incident 1, in which the last grouping of red lights settled and hovered above the southern horizon from about 1930 to 2300 hours, occasionally dipping out of sight. This is an illustration created after the fact from testimony, not a photograph or sensor capture of the event.

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• ImageFBI-UAP-D019Release 3

  FBI-UAP-D019

  An FBI-commissioned digital rendering, "Narrative Statement 2-4, Western United States Event, 2023," described in the blurb as an artistic interpretation of a UAP incident near a sensitive national-security site, based on the first-hand description of a federal law-enforcement special agent in DOW-UAP-D080. The paired document is DOW-UAP-D080, a 2 June 2026 AARO memorandum for record recording Witness 2's free-form narrative across three separate incidents on the same two nights, plus AI-generated sketches Witness 2 supplied roughly two and a half years after the events (the memo itself states the sketches make no reference to a specific location and are not to scale). Based on the image_alt_text ("Rendering of two figures watching objects in the sky.") and the sequence implied by the statement number, this rendering most likely depicts the opening of Incident 2: two circular orb-like lights resembling distant vehicle headlights, and a separate row of red lights hovering in a triangular pattern the size of a football field above the southern horizon. This is an illustration created after the fact from testimony, not a photograph or sensor capture of the event.

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• ImageFBI-UAP-D020Release 3

  FBI-UAP-D020

  An FBI-commissioned digital rendering, "Narrative Statement 2-5, Western United States Event, 2023," described in the blurb as an artistic interpretation of a UAP incident near a sensitive national-security site, based on the first-hand description of a federal law-enforcement special agent in DOW-UAP-D080. The paired document is DOW-UAP-D080, a 2 June 2026 AARO memorandum for record recording Witness 2's free-form narrative across three separate incidents on the same two nights, plus AI-generated sketches Witness 2 supplied roughly two and a half years after the events (the memo itself states the sketches make no reference to a specific location and are not to scale). Based on the image_alt_text ("Rendering of two figures watching objects in the sky.") and the sequence implied by the statement number, this rendering most likely depicts the pursuit phase of Incident 2, in which the "headlights" merged into a single bright orb, accelerated roughly a mile in under a minute, then transformed into a box-shaped cluster of orange and purple lights that crossed about four miles of rugged terrain in about a minute. This is an illustration created after the fact from testimony, not a photograph or sensor capture of the event.

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• ImageFBI-UAP-D022Release 3

  FBI-UAP-D022

  An FBI-commissioned digital rendering, "Narrative Statement 2-6, Western United States Event, 2023," described in the blurb as an artistic interpretation of a UAP incident near a sensitive national-security site, based on the first-hand description of a federal law-enforcement special agent in DOW-UAP-D080. The paired document is DOW-UAP-D080, a 2 June 2026 AARO memorandum for record recording Witness 2's free-form narrative across three separate incidents on the same two nights, plus AI-generated sketches Witness 2 supplied roughly two and a half years after the events (the memo itself states the sketches make no reference to a specific location and are not to scale). Based on the image_alt_text ("Rendering of people in a car watching an object on a road.") and the sequence implied by the statement number, this rendering most likely depicts the opening of Incident 3: an orb-like light sitting on a rural highway that Witness 2 and a partner drove toward, which began moving west "as if it were a vehicle," alternately brightening and dimming to a single red taillight. This is an illustration created after the fact from testimony, not a photograph or sensor capture of the event.

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• ImageFBI-UAP-D023Release 3

  FBI-UAP-D023

  An FBI-commissioned digital rendering, "Narrative Statement 2-7, Western United States Event, 2023," described in the blurb as an artistic interpretation of a UAP incident near a sensitive national-security site, based on the first-hand description of a federal law-enforcement special agent in DOW-UAP-D080. The paired document is DOW-UAP-D080, a 2 June 2026 AARO memorandum for record recording Witness 2's free-form narrative across three separate incidents on the same two nights, plus AI-generated sketches Witness 2 supplied roughly two and a half years after the events (the memo itself states the sketches make no reference to a specific location and are not to scale). Based on the image_alt_text ("Rendering of figures watching objects over a landscape.") and the sequence implied by the statement number, this rendering most likely depicts the close of Incident 3: the object transitioning into an orange, disk-like light with a halo glow beside the road, followed moments later by what appeared to be a semi-truck passing at high speed before the disk vanished. This is an illustration created after the fact from testimony, not a photograph or sensor capture of the event.

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• VideoFBI-UAP-PR005Release 3

  FBI-UAP-PR005, Digital Recreation, Narrative Statement 3-1, Western United States Event, 2023

  An FBI-commissioned digital video recreation, "Narrative Statement 3-1, Western United States Event, 2023," described in the blurb as an artistic interpretation of a UAP incident near a sensitive national-security site, based on the first-hand description of a federal law-enforcement special agent recorded in DOW-UAP-D081 (Witness 3, a 2 June 2026 AARO memorandum for record). Based on the statement number, this recreation most likely depicts the first of Witness 3's two reported occurrences: a large orange orb seen coming toward the witness at dusk, alternating between a clear/translucent and an orange, well-defined state every two to three seconds, which at about 45 degrees elevation expelled three smaller red orbs that moved off in a straight line about one second apart, with no sound and no exhaust trails, over roughly 30-45 seconds. Witness 3 is one of at least three federal agents who separately reported observations over the same two October 2023 nights (see also Witness 1 in DOW-UAP-D079 and Witness 2 in DOW-UAP-D080, illustrated in the paired FBI-UAP-D014 through D023 image set).

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• VideoFBI-UAP-PR006Release 3

  FBI-UAP-PR006, Digital Recreation, Narrative Statement 3-2, Western United States Event, 2023

  An FBI-commissioned digital video recreation, "Narrative Statement 3-2, Western United States Event, 2023," described in the blurb as an artistic interpretation of a UAP incident near a sensitive national-security site, based on the first-hand description of a federal law-enforcement special agent recorded in DOW-UAP-D081 (Witness 3, a 2 June 2026 AARO memorandum for record). Based on the statement number, this recreation most likely depicts Witness 3's second occurrence, later the same or the following night: four red lights moving south and hovering in a square formation over each corner of an airfield, while separate orange orbs were seen near a ridgeline, and a car below the witnesses flashed its headlights on a slow tempo before appearing to float off-road across rough terrain with no tire tracks found afterward, ending with the vehicle receding into brush and a single light fading out. Witness 3 is one of at least three federal agents who separately reported observations over the same two October 2023 nights (see also Witness 1 in DOW-UAP-D079 and Witness 2 in DOW-UAP-D080, illustrated in the paired FBI-UAP-D014 through D023 image set).

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• Unverified

  Six federal law enforcement special agents across three independent two-person teams gave consistent narrative accounts, from multiple viewing angles, of an orange 'mother orb' repeatedly producing red 'orbs.'

• Unverified

  AARO states that a red 'orb' remaining stationary above a ridgeline for several hours is physically incompatible with the burn-time and descent rate of any known military flare.

• Unverified

  AARO assesses that foreign intelligence collection platforms are a highly unlikely explanation because the reported kinematic profiles diverge significantly from known adversary systems.

• Unverified

  AARO's preliminary, evidence-light hypothesis is that unrecognized technology may account for up to 40% of the phenomena, based solely on narrative testimony and elimination of competing hypotheses.