The former leader of the Pentagon’s UFO research office is skeptical about a reported sighting of a mysterious black triangular object by FBI personnel. Sean Kirkpatrick, who led the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), informed Fox News Digital that the evidence from this account does not support what the witnesses claimed to have seen.
Recent declassified records detail strange sightings, including a 2026 event where FBI staff reported seeing a dark triangular object with no visible engines or exhaust rising over a mountain ridge and vanishing into a canyon. These records also involve an image showing a triangular object in mountainous terrain, but it is unclear if this is a genuine photograph or a reconstruction.
Kirkpatrick, with nearly 30 years in defense and intelligence roles, emphasized that witnesses’ professional backgrounds alone do not validate their accounts. He mentioned the bias toward authority figures saying that credibility of witnesses should not mean their accounts are accepted without scrutiny.
Recounting aerospace technology, Kirkpatrick suggested that some sightings could be explained by advanced technologies akin to the F-117 stealth aircraft, unknown before its official disclosure. He explained that AARO evaluates sightings using three main possibilities: foreign advanced technology, misunderstood ordinary objects, or a potential extraterrestrial presence.
Kirkpatrick outlined how data from observations, not mere stories, are compared with signatures to investigate phenomena. He noted that most cases involved ordinary objects that sensors did not properly detect, while a few indicated possible adversary involvement, warranting deeper national security investigation.
‘Unresolved’ in official records refers to insufficient data for analysis, not necessarily inexplicable phenomena. Kirkpatrick shared some cases labeled as unresolved publicly were actually resolved internally; however, Pentagon leadership advised removing explanations to allow public interpretation.
A War Department spokesperson confirmed that images in the FBI report of the triangular object are illustrations, not photographs. ‘Unidentified’ means an object can be characterized with support data, but identification failed. This term differs from unresolved, but confusion persists.
Historical sightings must consider concurrent technological limits. Kirkpatrick attributed some mid-20th century reports to high-altitude balloon programs. While extraterrestrial visitations are statistically unlikely, the prospect of intelligent extraterrestrial life elsewhere should not be discounted, he remarked.
Overall, Kirkpatrick finds no revelations in recent documents altering his stance on UFO phenomena.
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