File 068 · 15 July 2019

USS Omaha sphere

Off San Diego, California, United States

Opened 9/4/2026

Ledger illustration of the file — not a photograph of the object. Ledger illustration of the report. Pacific night off a warship’s rail. — Night Ledger illustration of the file

OrbHynek RVphotographicArchiveFilm8 witnesses

Standing

Unidentified

On the public record, and still open. A claim, paper, or film — not a finding that it was ours, and not a finding that it was not.

Related Navy UAP Flyby Footage

U.S. Department of Defense

Original tape · original language kept

English writing · original voice kept

English writing of the original tape. USS Omaha sphere — U.S. Department of Defense. The voice on the recording is left as it was spoken.

What was claimed

USS Omaha recorded spherical objects, one apparently entering the water, during UAP incidents off California.

What is on the record

Footage and deck logs entered the public UAP discussion through later reporting. ODNI’s 2021 assessment covers this period of Navy reports. No public recovery from the water.

During a series of UAP incidents involving several ships of a Navy strike group off California in July 2019, the USS Omaha recorded a spherical object flying at night, then apparently plunging into the water. Crews searched. Nothing was recovered. Separate videos from the same week, including a “pyramid” later argued to be a bokeh of a distant plane, leaked through filmmaker Jeremy Corbell and were acknowledged as authentic Navy imagery.

The New York Times and others confirmed the ships had been swarmed by unknowns, some detected on classified systems. The Pentagon has not identified the Omaha sphere.

A warship, a night sphere, a splash, an empty search: the file is a video and a negative result.

Could this have been ours?

The known sky, that night.

The station, the trains, and the rest of the known sky were already there. Hold the claim next to them.

1998 —

International Space Station

A bright, steady moving star. A few minutes to cross. No strobe. Occupied since 2000. NASA publishes the pass times. Not unidentified.

2019 —

Starlink trains

A line of equally spaced lights after a launch. The most common string of orbs in current reports. A satellite deployment, not a formation of craft.

Always

Venus and the bright planets

A fixed brilliant point. Does not streak. Does not hover over a street then leave. Often the first misread light in a rural report.

Always

Aircraft, balloons, meteors

Landing lights, flares, lanterns, reentries, fireballs. They are on the known sky. They do not close a file by themselves — they are what a serious look has to hold the claim against.

Orbit · Space — the desks for lights that are already named.

Sources

Paper on this file

Official or public documents that belong with this case — not a verdict.

ReportUnclassified

June 2021

Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

Office of the Director of National Intelligence · United States

ODNI preliminary assessment submitted to Congress on UAP, analyzing 144 reports primarily from U.S. Navy aviators between 2004 and 2021. Most cases lacked sufficient data for firm conclusions but noted potential national security implications and recommended improved collection and analysis.

MemoUnclassified

July 31, 2026

Preliminary Guidance for Implementation of NDA Waiver

Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) · United States

This memorandum provides guidance to the Intelligence Community on implementing presidential direction regarding UAP-related nondisclosure agreements and reporting channels as part of the PURSUE declassification effort.

Related files

Same craft, same place, same years. A neighbor in the catalogue — not a conclusion.

OrbFilm

Same craft · Nearby · Same year · July 15, 2019

USS Omaha Spherical UAP

Pacific Ocean off San Diego · United States

Unidentified

Infrared video from the USS Omaha's Combat Information Center showing a spherical object tracked by radar that appears to enter the ocean without splash or debris.

OrbFrom the net

Same craft · Nearby · September 22, 2026 (during rush hour traffic report)

Dark spherical orb filmed by news helicopter over freeway

Los Angeles, California, USA · USA

Unidentified

Fox 11 news helicopter filming traffic over a busy LA freeway captured a dark, basketball-sized spherical orb moving in a steady straight line at constant speed with no visible wings, engine, or wobble. Object did not drift like a balloon. Footage went viral, sparking debate between balloon, drone, or UAP.

OrbFrom the netFilm

Same craft · Same country · October 9, 2026, 03:45

Red orb rising and hovering outside Buffalo motel

Buffalo, New York · United States

Unidentified

While smoking outside a motel at 3:45 AM, a traveler filmed a red ball of light that rose slowly then remained stationary. Witness regularly observes the sky and noted it as unique.