Conflict · Gulf of Oman · ArchivePentagon File: U.S. Gunship Swarmed by 25 Cold Orbs Over Gulf of OmanAired August 8, 2026 at 10:14 AM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00A declassified Pentagon file now0:02describes a 2021 [music]0:03encounter over the Gulf of Oman in which0:05an American gunship crew saw 25 or more0:08cold orbs flying around, according to an0:10NBC News transcript [music] citing the0:12official report. In 2021, an American0:15gunship was flying over the Gulf of Oman0:17and dropped a flare into the water for0:19target practice, per the same [music]0:21NBC News transcript citing the official0:23report. When the flare touched the0:24water, the weapons [music] officer saw0:26two small orbs hovering over the flare0:28for about 15 seconds, Gadi Schwartz0:30reports via NBC News. [music] The crew0:32then fired at the objects. The officer0:34said the UAPs flew away in [music]0:36between the trigger pull and the recoil0:37after the crew fired at them, according0:39to the NBC News transcript [music]0:41citing the officer account. An0:43instantaneous reaction framed as0:44occurring within the weapon [music]0:46cycle itself. What followed was the0:47emergence of the swarm. The crew then0:50saw 25 or more cold [music] orbs flying0:52around, per the NBC News transcript0:54citing the official report,0:56>> [music]0:56>> surrounding the aircraft over open0:57water. The objects' speeds were clocked1:00at about 250 mph [music]1:02to 300 mph, per the NBC News transcript1:05citing the official report. The crew1:06described the orbs flying [music] in a1:08coordinated formation similar to1:10dolphins playfully swimming in a pod,1:12per the same attribution, a synchronized1:15pod-like maneuver rather than1:16independent flight. [music] Gadi1:17Schwartz reported the account via NBC1:19News from the declassified file, while1:21Harvard University astrophysicist1:23[music]1:23Avi Loeb, affiliated with the White1:25House UAP Science Council, offered1:27analysis on NBC News about what could1:29explain the swarm. [music] There's a1:31limited visual record and a gap. Some1:33crew members pulled out cell phones and1:35started to capture some of those videos,1:37per the NBC [music] News transcript,1:38while the orbs flew around. The crew1:40tried to save all of the good footage,1:42[music] but their DVR inexplicably1:43failed, Schwartz reported via NBC News,1:46leaving cell phone video as the1:47surviving imagery for an encounter1:49involving more than two dozen [music]1:50objects.1:57Avi Loeb [music] said on NBC News the1:59only interpretation he could think of is2:01a coordinated swarm of drones, then2:03pointed to a contradiction in the data.2:05Loeb also noted the speed reached 1.72:07times the speed of sound and that would2:09not leave an object, a solid object2:11cold. That cold thermal signature2:13reported for the orbs does not fit a2:14high-speed solid object under that2:16physics framing [music]2:17and no independent verification of the2:19speed, thermal data, or drone identity2:21is provided in the available evidence.2:23The practical stakes [music] are2:24immediate for flight safety and military2:26awareness. A crewed gunship on live2:28target practice [music] encountering a2:30coordinated swarm that reacts to2:31gunfire, maneuvers at 250 to 300 mph in2:35close proximity [music] over water, and2:37is described as flying in pod-like2:39coordination without a confirmed2:40explanation for propulsion or origin.2:43The most consequential unresolved2:44development is what the failed DVR would2:46have shown. Whether those speeds and the2:48cold signature can be reconciled with2:50any known drone swarm and why the2:52objects [music] converged after the2:53flare and dispersed precisely between2:55trigger pull and recoil questions the2:57declassified file documents but does not2:59answer.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗