UNCLASSIFIED // PUBLIC RELEASERELEASE 02 · MAY 22, 2026
PENTAGON UFO FILE · VIDEO · DOW-UAP-PR057aSpherical UAP in clouds
AARO places this clip above the Yellow Sea, the body of water between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, in January 2023, and believes an infrared sensor on a U.S. military platform recorded it. It is filed twice in the release: the same footage appears as DOW-UAP-PR057b under a different title, because two people uploaded it separately to a classified network and named it differently. This entry carries the name “Spherical UAP in clouds.”
A target lost and found again
After a few blank seconds, a patch of contrast flicks across the picture from left to right in about two seconds. The sensor then pans and steps through its zoom levels as if searching. Around the 21-second mark a contrast area enters from the left but blends into the background; the camera zooms in, finds it again near the center, and follows it rightward until about 00:52. A final zoom shows a contrast area crossing low in the frame before the footage ends with more blank time.
Unlike many files in this group, this one is not flagged as digitally altered.
What the title adds
AARO’s description does not mention clouds; it says only that the target at times became hard to distinguish from its background. “Spherical” is the uploader’s reading. The release holds other footage from the Yellow Sea, such as DOW-UAP-PR100, though nothing links them to the same event.
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 in clouds,” is likely derived from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform operating above the Yellow Sea in January 2023. A user uploaded this video to a classified network in June 2024.
Video Duration: 1:10 Video Description: 00:00-00:06: No content. 00:07-00:08: An area of contrast enters the sensor field-of-view from left and exits near the center of the right side of the frame. 00:09-00:20: The sensor pans and cycles zoom levels multiple times. 00:21-00:31: An area of contrast enters the frame from the left side of the screen. The area of contrast becomes indistinguishable against the background. 00:32-00:34: The sensor zooms in. An area of contrast becomes distinguishable against the background near the center of the frame. 00:35-00:52: The sensor pans to track the area of contrast from left to right. 00:53-00:56: The sensor zooms in. An area of contrast transits the sensor field-of-view from left to right in the bottom third of the frame. 00:57-01:10: No content.
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.
AARO Comment: This media is a duplicate of DOW-UAP-PR57b, alternately titled, “[Platform] observes UAP in East China Sea 05 JAN 2023 INDOPACOM.” This discrepancy exists because two uploaders titled the underlying material differently on a classified network.