UNCLASSIFIED // PUBLIC RELEASERELEASE 02 · MAY 22, 2026
PENTAGON UFO FILE · VIDEO · DOW-UAP-PR0504 UAP Formation Iran 26 Aug 2022 over water [CALLSIGN]
This video reached the public by an unusual route: AARO located it on a classified network after eight members of the House asked, on March 6, 2026, for 51 records they believed the Pentagon and intelligence agencies held. AARO located a set of matching materials but warns that many lack a substantiated chain of custody — no reliable record of who made them, when, and how they were handled.
What the clip shows
The title is the uploader’s, not AARO’s: “4 UAP Formation Iran 26 Aug 2022 over water,” callsign withheld. AARO does not confirm the date, the place or the idea of a formation. It says only that the footage likely comes from an infrared sensor on a U.S. military platform somewhere in CENTCOM’s area, and that it was uploaded in June 2024, nearly two years after the date in its title.
In the opening seconds four patches of contrast move through the frame together, coming in low on the left and leaving near the bottom center. About a second later a single patch enters at the top left corner. AARO’s description gives the clip’s duration as 20 seconds, while the collection’s index lists the file at 10 seconds; the described action falls within the first six seconds either way.
How to weigh it
On an infrared display, an area of contrast is anything hotter or colder than its background; on its own it says nothing about size, distance or what the object is. The words “UAP” and “formation” reflect whoever named the file, and AARO says its description is not an analytical finding. For how these sensors work, see FLIR; more footage is at videos.
The official description
From war.gov/UFO, released May 22, 2026, quoted in full
On March 6, 2026, eight members of the U.S. House of Representatives requested access to 51 potentially UAP-related records allegedly held by the Department of War and the Intelligence Community. The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) identified a collection of responsive materials held on a classified network. Many of these materials lack a substantiated chain-of-custody.
AARO assesses that this video, whose uploader-defined title is, “4 UAP Formation Iran 26 Aug 2022 over water [CALLSIGN],” is likely derived from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform operating within the United States Central Command area of responsibility in 2022. A user uploaded this video to a classified network in June 2024.
Video Duration: 00:00:20 Video Description: 00:01-00:04: Four areas of contrast transit the sensor field-of-view, entering from the lower third of the left side of the screen and exiting near the center of the bottom of the frame. 00:05-00:06: An area of contrast enters the sensor field-of-view from the top left corner of the screen.
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.