UNCLASSIFIED // PUBLIC RELEASERELEASE 02 · MAY 22, 2026
PENTAGON UFO FILE · VIDEO · DOW-UAP-PR07603 January 2021 [CALLSIGN] (Mission) observes UAP
This video’s title dates it to 3 January 2021, with a redacted callsign and mission name, and AARO places it in U.S. Central Command’s area in January 2021. It was posted on a classified network in the same month, making it one of the files uploaded close to the event rather than years later. AARO believes an infrared sensor on a U.S. military platform recorded it.
A minute of content in five
Almost two minutes pass with nothing described. At 01:52 a patch of contrast becomes visible near the top center of the picture, and for close to a minute the operator pans to keep it roughly in the middle. At 02:49 the sensor zooms in, and within a few seconds the target leaves by the bottom left of the display. AARO describes nothing in the remaining two minutes.
There is no sign of a second object, of title cards or of digital editing in AARO’s account.
What a recording like this can and can’t show
A single target followed for about a minute on an infrared display gives an impression of movement relative to the camera, but without the platform’s own speed, heading and the target’s distance, the true motion cannot be worked out. The release adds none of those details and no crew report. AARO stresses that its description is not an analytical judgment. More on the office is under AARO; for infrared sensors, see 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 “03 January 2021 [CALLSIGN] (Mission) observes UAP,” is likely derived from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform operating within the United States Central Command area of responsibility in January 2021. A user uploaded this video to a classified network in January 2021.
Video Duration: 00:04:57 Video Description: 00:00-01:51: No content. 01:52-02:48: An area of contrast becomes visible near the center of the top half of the frame. The sensor pans to track the area of contrast, keeping it generally within the center of the field-of-view. 02:49-02:55: The sensor zooms in. The area of contrast exits the frame in the bottom left of the display. 02:55-04:57: 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.