UNCLASSIFIED // PUBLIC RELEASERELEASE 02 · MAY 22, 2026
PENTAGON UFO FILE · VIDEO · DOW-UAP-PR086UAP from Dec 2019 (East Coast)
This short clip is dated by AARO to 2019. The uploader titled it “UAP from Dec 2019 (East Coast),” and AARO places it in U.S. Northern Command’s area, which covers the continental United States, in 2019. It believes an infrared sensor on a U.S. military platform recorded the footage. The clip was posted on a classified network in September 2020, the better part of a year after the date in the title, and it surfaced again when AARO searched for material named in a March 2026 House request.
What the clip shows
The camera pans after a patch of contrast for the first couple of seconds. Then, for most of the next 20, the operator switches between contrast modes while keeping the target in view — on a thermal camera, these settings change how temperature differences are displayed. The camera pans after the target once more at 00:22–00:23, and the last ten seconds or so are blank. No second object or editing is described.
What is missing
“East Coast” narrows the location only loosely, and AARO does not confirm it. The release gives no platform, no altitude and no crew report, and AARO does not suggest what the target might have been. Its timeline, it stresses, is descriptive only. Background on the terminology 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, “UAP from Dec 2019 (East Coast),” is likely derived from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform operating within the United States Northern Command area of responsibility in 2019. A user uploaded this video to a classified network in September 2020. Video Duration: 00:00:34 Video Description: 00:00-00:02: The sensor pans to track an area of contrast. 00:03-00:21: The sensor switches contrast modes while tracking an area of contrast. 00:22-00:23: The sensor pans to track an area of contrast. 00:24-00:34: 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.