The Pentagon has confirmed that a number of freshly leaked videos appearing to show UFOs, or "unidentified aerial phenomena" (UAP) as they are officially known, were taken by Navy personnel. However, there's no word yet on what exactly these mysterious sightings actually are. 

The footage was recently shared by TV investigative journalist George Knapp at MysteryWire.com and documentary filmmaker Jeremy Corbell at ExtraordinaryBeliefs.com, both of whom are well-versed in the world of UFOs. 

The first of the leaked videos, captured on a night vision camera, shows a "pyramid"-shaped UAP buzzing above the USS Russell warship off the coast of San Diego in July 2019.

Another set of images was captured by the USS Omaha, appearing to show an orb-like shape. The object was reportedly spotted in the sky but proceeded to descend into the water without destruction. Corbell notes that the US Navy deployed a submarine to search for the object, but it appears nothing was found. 

The Pentagon has confirmed that the images and footage were taken by Navy personnel, but made no further comment on what the sights might have been.

“I can confirm that the referenced photos and videos were taken by Navy personnel. The UAPTF has included these incidents in their ongoing examinations,” Susan Gough, a Pentagon spokesperson, told The Black Vault. “As we have said before, to maintain operations security and to avoid disclosing information that may be useful to potential adversaries, DOD does not discuss publicly the details of either the observations or the examinations of reported incursions into our training ranges or designated airspace, including those incursions initially designated as UAP.” 

Aside from a few short descriptions, not much information about the footage has been released. Is it a UFO from another world? An experimental military aircraft? Spyware, weather balloons, drones? Or simply a camera artifact? The sightings have already divided opinion, but there's little denying it's intriguing footage.

Recent years have seen a number of high-profile UFO sightings by military personnel, combined with a renewed sense of openness on the subject from the Pentagon. Just last year, the US Department of Defense acknowledged and publically released three videos of "unidentified aerial phenomena," including the famous "Tic Tac" video shot by a US Navy jet pilot.  

As per the New York Times, there's even been an uptick of UFO sightings in the US since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Nationwide, sightings shot up by more than 1,000 reports compared to an average year to a total of at least 7,200 sightings in 2020. However, even hardcore "ufologists" conceded that this is not necessarily evidence of an incoming alien invasion, but simply a reflection of more people having time to stargaze during the lockdown.