UNCLASSIFIED // PUBLIC RELEASERELEASE 01 · MAY 8, 2026
PENTAGON UFO FILE · VIDEO · DOW-UAP-PR026Unresolved UAP Report, United Arab Emirates, October 2023
This video is one of two that Central Command filed with the same October 2023 mission report from the United Arab Emirates, DoW-UAP-D23. That report, as AARO summarizes it, says only that one UAP was seen; it gives no shape, speed or direction. The footage, 43 seconds long, comes from an infrared sensor aboard an unnamed U.S. military platform, and parts of the record are redacted.
What the sensor captured
For the first 17 seconds a patch sits in the upper left quarter of the display. The sensor then swings right to left and back again within a second or so, which carries the patch through the middle of the screen and returns it close to where it started. Its movement on screen in that moment is caused by the camera, not necessarily by the object.
At 29 seconds the sensor stops following it and the patch drifts out on the left. For the rest of the clip the camera keeps moving across the background but never finds it again.
The companion clip
The other video tied to the same report, DOW-UAP-PR027, runs nearly five minutes and shows a longer track. Neither comes with an explanation, and AARO lists both as unresolved. “Area of contrast” is AARO’s deliberately neutral phrase for anything that stands out from the background in a sensor image; on an infrared camera that usually means something warmer or cooler than its surroundings.
The official description
From war.gov/UFO, released May 8, 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 43 seconds of video footage from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform in 2023. An accompanying mission report, DoW-UAP-D23, mentions a UAP was observed during the mission.
Video Description: 00:00-00:17: An area of contrast remains generally within the top left quarter of the display. 00:17-00:18: The sensor pans from right to left, causing the area of contrast to pass through the center of the display. The sensor then pans from left to right, causing the area of contrast to return to its approximate initial position within the sensor field-of-view. 00:29: The sensor stops tracking the area of contrast, causing it to leave the sensor field-of-view on the left side of the screen. 00:30-00:43: The sensor resumes its motion relative to the background but does not reacquire the area of contrast.
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.