UNCLASSIFIED // PUBLIC RELEASERELEASE 02 · MAY 22, 2026
PENTAGON UFO FILE · VIDEO · DOW-UAP-PR08516 Sept 2020 [CALLSIGN] [CALLSIGN] observes UAP
This is one of a handful of clips in the House-request collection that AARO attributes to a full-motion video camera — an ordinary visible-light video camera of the kind fitted to many surveillance aircraft — rather than an infrared sensor. Its title, “16 Sept 2020 [CALLSIGN] [CALLSIGN] observes UAP,” gives the date and two redacted callsigns. AARO places it in U.S. Central Command’s area in 2020, and it was posted on a classified network in September 2020.
A long, steady hold
Nothing is described for the first minute and 17 seconds. At 01:18 a patch of contrast enters at the bottom of the picture and moves upward as the operator pans and zooms to keep it centered. From 02:25 the camera zooms in further, and for about two minutes the target stays near the middle of the frame. At 04:30 it leaves the view in the lower left quarter, and the recording ends shortly afterwards.
Context
Three minutes of visible-light video is a comparatively generous record, but the release provides none of what an analyst would need to interpret it: the platform, its altitude and heading, the target’s range, or a crew account. The next day’s full-motion video clip, DOW-UAP-PR084, shows just a two-second crossing. Neither is tied to the other in the release. AARO presents the footage without analysis, and the clip reached the public only after eight House members requested specific records in March 2026. Other clips are 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, “16 Sept 2020 [CALLSIGN] [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: 00:04:44 Video Description: 00:00-01:17: No Content. 01:18-02:24: An area of contrast enters the bottom of the screen and moves up the screen as the sensor pans and zooms to hold it in the center of the frame. 02:25-04:29: The sensor zooms in, with the area of contrast remaining generally within the center of the frame. 04:30-04:44: The area of contrast leaves the field-of-view in the lower left-hand quarter 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.