UNCLASSIFIED // PUBLIC RELEASERELEASE 01 · MAY 8, 2026

PENTAGON UFO FILE · DOCUMENT · DOW-UAP-D055

Mission Report, Syria, November 2016

Department of WarIncident: November 18, 2016Syria207 KBPartly redacted

This document is a mission briefing summarizing an observation of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) by a U.S. military platform near Latakia, Syria. A U.S. military pilot flying a P-8A aircraft reported observing an object via the aircraft’s EO/IR sensor, which they characterized as appearing to be in “sea skim mode,” traveling at approximately 500 knots (575 mph) on a southeasterly heading. The P-8A lost visual contact with the object after two minutes. All descriptive and estimative language contained in this report reflects the reporter’s subjective interpretation at the time of the event. Such characterizations should not be interpreted as a conclusive indication of the presence or absence of any intrinsic object features or performance characteristics.

The description is the government’s own, from war.gov/UFO, released on May 8, 2026. The Pentagon calls these unresolved cases — publishing a file does not mean it shows anything anomalous.

Last updated October 13, 2026