UNCLASSIFIED // PUBLIC RELEASERELEASE 02 · MAY 22, 2026
PENTAGON UFO FILE · VIDEO · DOW-UAP-PR08417 Sept 2020 [CALLSIGN] observes UAP
Most of the House-request footage was shot in infrared. AARO believes this clip instead came from a full-motion video camera — a visible-light camera that records continuous, broadcast-style video, standard on many surveillance aircraft — aboard a U.S. military platform in U.S. Central Command’s area in 2020. The title, “17 Sept 2020 [CALLSIGN] observes UAP,” supplies the date; the clip was posted to a classified network that same September.
One crossing
AARO’s timeline is brief. The first 24 seconds contain nothing. From 00:25 to 00:27 a patch of contrast enters at the lower right and leaves at the upper left. Nothing more is described for the rest of the recording, more than three and a half minutes, and there is no sign of tracking, zooming or editing.
Why the camera type matters
A visible-light camera shows what the eye would see under the same conditions, so a target on it registers differences of light and shade rather than heat. That can help analysts in principle, but a crossing this short leaves little to work with, and the release attaches no crew report.
The day before, according to its title, another full-motion video recording was made in the same command area: DOW-UAP-PR085, which holds its target for several minutes. The release does not connect the two. AARO stresses that its description is not an analytical judgment. More on the office is under AARO.
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, “17 Sept 2020 [CALLSIGN] observes UAP,” is likely derived from a full-motion video camera aboard a U.S. military platform operating within the United States Central Command area of responsibility in 2020. A user uploaded this video to a classified network in September 2020.
Video Duration: 00:04:13 Video Description: 00:00-00:24: No Content. 00:25-00:27: An area of contrast enters from the lower right-hand side of the screen and exits the screen in the upper left. 00:28-04:13 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.