UNCLASSIFIED // PUBLIC RELEASERELEASE 02 · MAY 22, 2026
PENTAGON UFO FILE · VIDEO · DOW-UAP-PR056Spherical UAP pulsing over water [CALLSIGN]
This file is a long, steady look at one target. An infrared sensor on a U.S. military platform, AARO believes, kept a single patch of contrast near the middle of the picture for the whole of its three minutes and 32 seconds. AARO attaches no year and no command area at all, and the platform’s callsign in the title is blacked out. It was posted on a classified network in June 2024 and found while AARO searched for records listed in the March 2026 House request.
What changes during the clip
Very little, by AARO’s account. The target stays roughly centered throughout. The only event noted is a four-second switch, from 00:48 to 00:52, into a different contrast mode before the sensor returns to its original setting for the remaining two and a half minutes. Thermal cameras commonly offer such modes — for example showing hot objects as white or as black — and switching between them changes how a target looks without changing the target.
AARO also records that the footage was digitally altered before it was uploaded.
“Pulsing” and “over water”
Both details come from the uploader’s title, not from AARO. The description says nothing about pulsing brightness, nor does it mention a sea surface, so the release offers no way to confirm either. As with every clip in this set, AARO stresses that its description is not an analytical finding. More on the terms is under UAP and FLIR.
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, “Spherical UAP pulsing over water [CALLSIGN],” is likely derived from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform. A user uploaded this video to a classified network in June 2024.
Video Duration: 00:03:32 Video Description: This media was digitally altered prior to its upload to a classified network, and is presented as received.
00:01-0:47: The video features an area of contrast generally within the center of the frame. 00:48-00:52: The sensor briefly switches contrast modes, with the area of contrast remaining generally within the center of the frame. 00:53-03:32: The sensor returns to its original contrast mode, with the area of contrast remaining generally within the center of the frame.
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.