UNCLASSIFIED // PUBLIC RELEASERELEASE 01 · MAY 8, 2026
PENTAGON UFO FILE · DOCUMENT · DOW-UAP-D056Range Fouler Debrief, Arabian Sea, August 2020
This Range Fouler debrief was filed by a pilot from HSM-73, a Navy helicopter maritime strike squadron, after a night surface-surveillance mission over the North Arabian Sea. The detection time is 00:04:30Z on August 24, 2020. The form covers one “group” of three contacts. Range Fouler debriefs are short Navy forms for reporting an unknown contact in an operating or training area.
What the crew saw
The pilot reports three possible unidentified small air contacts seen during routine operations. The crew had no electronic emissions (ES), no radar track and no IFF (identification friend or foe) return, so the sighting rested on what they could see. The distance, speed and exact course were unknown, though the first contact appeared to be heading west. The crew tracked it until it passed behind a cloud; when they regained it, two more contacts had appeared due east of the first. All three then seemed to keep their relative course, speed and altitude. The boxes ticked are “Round” and “Wings/Airframe,” and there was no interaction between the helicopter and the contacts.
Reading it
The form marks the track file as not stable. Without a sensor track or range, the report records a visual impression rather than measurements, and it offers no identification. The contacts’ steady formation is the crew’s observation; the form does not interpret it.
The official description
From war.gov/UFO, released May 8, 2026, quoted in full
This document is a Range Fouler Debrief Form, a standardized reporting form the U.S. Navy uses to record the circumstances surrounding an unauthorized intrusion into controlled airspace during active military operations or training. These reports contain a narrative description of the observer’s experiences. A U.S. military operator reported an encounter with a group of three “unidentified small air contacts” over the North Arabian Sea. The reporter described the UAP as having “wings/airframe” structure, and as initially bearing on a westerly heading. The operator tracked one UAP before losing sight of it behind a cloud. Upon regaining contact, the operator reported observing two additional UAP to the east of the first. The report states that all three objects then “appeared to maintain their relative course, speed, and altitude.” 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.