DOW-UAP-PR42, Unresolved UAP Report, Middle East, 2020

Plain-English Summary

• What happened:The United States Central Command submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of four minutes and 53 seconds of video footage from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform in 2020. The reporter did not provide any oral or written description of the observation. Video Description: 00:00-00:12: An area of contrast enters the sensor field-of-view from the bottom left corner of the frame. The sensor pans to track the area of contrast, keeping it generally within the lower left quadrant of the frame. 00:13-00:40: The area of contrast intermittently loses distinctiveness against the background, seeming to disappear and reappear irregularly. 00:41: The sensor narrows its field-of-view to zoom in on the area of contrast. 00:42-00:52: An area of contrast exits the sensor field-of-view from the left half of the top of the frame, after which the sensor pans up and to the left. 00:53-02:09: The sensor pans erratically, with an area of contrast appearing in a relatively fixed position to the left and slightly below the center of the frame. 02:09-02:29: The sensor switches imaging modalities, and the area of contrast appears to the right and slightly above the center of the frame. 02:30-04:53: The sensor switches imaging modalities again, and the area of contrast returns to its previous position to the left and slightly below the center of the frame. This video description is provided for informational purposes only. Readers should not interpret any part of this description as reflecting an analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination regarding the described event’s validity, nature, or significance.
• Who reported it:Department of War
• What evidence exists:video
• What the government says:The United States Central Command submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of four minutes and 53 seconds of video footage from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform in 2020. The reporter did not provide any oral or written description of the observation. Video Description: 00:00-00:12: An area of contrast enters the sensor field-of-view from the bottom left corner of the frame. The sensor pans to track the area of contrast, keeping it generally within the lower left quadrant of the frame. 00:13-00:40: The area of contrast intermittently loses distinctiveness against the background, seeming to disappear and reappear irregularly. 00:41: The sensor narrows its field-of-view to zoom in on the area of contrast. 00:42-00:52: An area of contrast exits the sensor field-of-view from the left half of the top of the frame, after which the sensor pans up and to the left. 00:53-02:09: The sensor pans erratically, with an area of contrast appearing in a relatively fixed position to the left and slightly below the center of the frame. 02:09-02:29: The sensor switches imaging modalities, and the area of contrast appears to the right and slightly above the center of the frame. 02:30-04:53: The sensor switches imaging modalities again, and the area of contrast returns to its previous position to the left and slightly below the center of the frame. This video description is provided for informational purposes only. Readers should not interpret any part of this description as reflecting an analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination regarding the described event’s validity, nature, or significance.
• What remains unclear:Not provided in source.

Key Facts

Title

DOW-UAP-PR42, Unresolved UAP Report, Middle East, 2020

Release

Release 01

Release date

2026-05-08

Incident date

—

Agency

Department of War

Location

Arabian Gulf

Location precision

region_only

Status

unknown

Source domain

war.gov

Media Gallery

• dvids_video
  Unresolved UAP Report, Arabian Gulf, 2020
  View originalwww.dvidshub.net↗

Skeptical / Mundane Explanations

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What we still don't know

Open questions haven't been catalogued for this record yet. What the released material does and doesn't establish is summarized above.

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