UNCLASSIFIED // PUBLIC RELEASERELEASE 04 · JULY 10, 2026
PENTAGON UFO FILE · VIDEO · DOW-UAP-PR024Unresolved UAP Report, Middle East, 2023
Published in July 2026 in the fourth PURSUE release, this 18-second Central Command video from 2023 is among the minority of videos in the series marked as having no redactions. It was shot by an infrared camera on a U.S. military platform in the Middle East, and AARO’s release quotes no account from the operator.
Two kinds of target
The clip opens with the sensor zooming in on a dark patch. Almost immediately, at two seconds, two bright patches cross the frame from left to right. The operator zooms out to keep them in view, but by five seconds they have left through the right side. By seven seconds the sensor is back on the dark patch, and at ten seconds a reticle closes around it and it stays roughly centered until a change of contrast and zoom makes the screen flash white near the end.
Which one was the report about
The description does not say which of these the report concerned: the dark patch the operator deliberately came back to and boxed, or the bright pair that passed through. It also does not state the display polarity. On infrared displays, “white-hot” shows warmer objects as bright and “black-hot” shows them as dark, so dark and bright here do not by themselves say which object was warmer. AARO lists the case as unresolved and draws no conclusion. See also FLIR.
The official description
From war.gov/UFO, released July 10, 2026, quoted in full
The United States Central Command submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of 18 seconds of video footage from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform in 2023.
Video Description: 00:01: The sensor focuses on a dark area of contrast, narrowing the field of view to zoom in. 00:02: Two bright areas of contrast transit the frame from left to right. 00:03: The sensor zooms out, keeping the bright areas of contrast within the frame. 00:05: The bright areas of contrast exit the right side of the frame. 00:07: The sensor refocuses on the dark area of contrast, keeping it generally within the center of the frame. 00:10: A reticle surrounds the dark area of contrast, which continues to remain generally within the center of the frame. 00:17: The sensor changes contrast and zoom settings, causing the frame to flash white.
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.