Sean Kirkpatrick on the 2026 UFO Files

What the files described

Newsweek reported in 2026, in a piece titled on its site as detailing FBI records of 2026 sightings, that the released material included accounts gathered with FBI involvement. As summarized by Fox News Digital, one 2026 account described a dark, nonreflective triangular object with no visible engines or exhaust that rose above a mountain ridge and then vanished into a canyon.

The science site EarthSky, summarizing the seventh batch of Pentagon UAP files, reported that the central case took place over two days in June 2026 at a sensitive national security site in the western United States. According to EarthSky, an AARO memo recorded an interview with two federal special agents and a corroborating account from a third official, describing a matte black triangular shape roughly 13 to 15 feet wide that climbed 200 to 300 feet above a ridge line, hovered for about 20 seconds, and then moved into high speed horizontal flight. EarthSky reported that the memo described absolute acoustic silence during the fast phase, and that a ground survey the next morning found no wreckage or ground damage.

What Kirkpatrick told Fox News

According to Fox News Digital, Kirkpatrick said that treating the testimony of credible witnesses as automatically true is a classic case of what he called authority bias, and that without photographs or other supporting data it is hard to determine what the witnesses encountered. Fox News reported that he also pointed to history, noting that some triangular sightings could reflect advanced aircraft, as was the case with the F-117 stealth jet before it was publicly known.

Fox News Digital reported that, during his time at AARO, cases were sorted into three groups: foreign adversary technology, ordinary objects or sensor effects, or an extraterrestrial explanation. According to that report, Kirkpatrick said none of the data the office reviewed matched the extraterrestrial category, and he described the latest records as containing nothing new.

What he said about the word unresolved

Fox News Digital reported that Kirkpatrick drew a careful distinction between two terms. According to that report, he said unresolved usually means there is not enough data to reach any conclusion, while unidentified means an object can be described but its identity is still unknown. Fox News also reported his claim that many publicly released cases labeled unresolved had in fact been resolved, and that Pentagon leadership had told AARO to remove the resolution language, though the report noted he did not say when this happened or who gave the direction.

What the Department of War said

According to Fox News Digital, the Department of War declined to assess the files and said it wanted the public to reach its own conclusions. Fox News reported that Kirkpatrick criticized that hands off approach, saying it can feed conspiracy theories. The same report noted that the FBI was contacted for comment, and that a War Department official confirmed the image accompanying the triangle report was an illustration rather than a photograph.