UNCLASSIFIED // PUBLIC RELEASERELEASE 02 · MAY 22, 2026
PENTAGON UFO FILE · VIDEO · DOW-UAP-PR09121 AUG [CALLSIGN] Observes UAP in Persian Gulf
The title of this recording, “21 AUG 2020 [CALLSIGN] Observes UAP in Persian Gulf,” names a body of water. The Persian Gulf, which U.S. forces often call the Arabian Gulf, lies within U.S. Central Command’s area, and AARO places the footage there in 2020. It believes an infrared sensor on a U.S. military platform recorded it, and says it was posted on a classified network in August 2020.
A late arrival
Nothing happens for the first three minutes. At 03:08, as the operator zooms out, a patch of contrast crosses from the top of the picture to the bottom and out of view. Over the next half-minute or so the camera zooms out and back in and pans to pick it up again. From 03:49 to the end, the target becomes impossible to separate from the grain of the video — the random speckle of the image — and the operator widens the view once more.
Other records from the Gulf
The PURSUE release contains several items from the same waters in 2020, among them a mission report (MISREP), DOW-UAP-D003, and two clips titled for the Gulf of Arabia on 5 May 2020, starting with DOW-UAP-PR093. The release does not link them to this recording. A target that dissolves into sensor noise cannot be sized or ranged, and AARO’s description, it stresses, is not an analytical judgment.
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, “21 AUG 2020 [CALLSIGN] Observes UAP in Persian Gulf,” is likely derived from an infrared sensor 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 August 2020.
Video Duration: 00:04:48 Video Description: 00:00-03:07: No content. 03:08-03:10: The sensor zooms out. An area of contrast transits from the top of the screen to the bottom, exiting the frame. 03:11-03:48: The sensor zooms out and back in. The sensor pans to track the area of contrast. 03:49-04:48: The area of contrast becomes indistinguishable from the grain of the video and the sensor zooms out.
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.