The federal government’s long-running UFO secrecy operation took another bizarre turn Friday after newly released Pentagon files appeared to show a strange “eight-pointed star” object moving through the sky in footage hidden from the public for more than a decade.

The eerie infrared video, reportedly captured in 2013 by personnel assigned to United States Central Command, was quietly included among a massive batch of declassified UFO-related documents released through the Pentagon’s new online archive dedicated entirely to unidentified aerial phenomena.

The nearly two-minute clip allegedly shows a glowing star-shaped object with alternating “arms” drifting through the air while being tracked by advanced military infrared systems aboard a US military platform.

According to the official description posted alongside the footage, the object appeared as “an area of contrast resembling an eight-pointed star with arms of alternating length.”

In classic government fashion, officials immediately attempted to downplay the footage by adding a disclaimer urging viewers not to interpret the description as an official conclusion or confirmation about what the object actually was.

But for millions of Americans who have watched the Pentagon slowly drip-feed UFO disclosures over the last several years, the latest release only raises more questions.

Why was the footage hidden for so long?

What exactly was the military tracking in 2013?

And why does the government continue releasing carefully controlled fragments of information instead of fully opening the classified archives?

The footage was part of a larger dump of 162 files released through the Pentagon’s newly launched UFO records portal, a project years in the making as pressure has mounted on Washington to reveal what it knows about unexplained aerial encounters involving military personnel.

The Trump administration has reportedly pushed for additional transparency surrounding the files and insists more documents will continue to be uploaded on a rolling basis.

Critics, however, remain skeptical that the public is getting the full story.

For decades, government agencies mocked, censored, and dismissed UFO sightings while quietly collecting footage, radar data, pilot testimony, and military intelligence behind closed doors. Now, as more videos emerge from official channels, many believe the slow disclosure campaign is preparing the public for revelations that authorities can no longer contain.

Whether the “eight-pointed star” object was advanced foreign technology, a classified military system, or something far stranger, one thing is becoming increasingly difficult to deny:

The government is admitting there are objects in the sky it cannot publicly explain.