UNCLASSIFIED // PUBLIC RELEASERELEASE 05 · AUGUST 7, 2026
PENTAGON UFO FILE · VIDEO · DOW-UAP-PR121Unresolved UAP Report, Gulf of Oman, 2021
This 34-second clip comes from the set of six phone recordings of an AC-130J gunship’s infrared screen made over the Gulf of Oman on September 8, 2021. The crew, on a nighttime live-fire training flight, reported seeing many “cold orbs,” according to the intelligence report filed as DOW-UAP-D101. Of the six clips, this one shows the most movement.
Two objects on screen
For the first 12 seconds a patch holds near the center while on-screen symbols come and go. Then two patches of different sizes cross the view. The larger one runs upward across the whole picture and comes back in on the left, moving downward; the smaller one drops out of the bottom and reappears in the upper right. After the sensor is adjusted, a patch comes in from the top and stays roughly in the center for the last quarter-minute.
How to weigh it
The motion here is apparent motion on a filmed screen: the aircraft moves, the sensor turns, and the phone itself may move, so none of it translates directly into speed or direction. AARO notes that this footage overlaps heavily with DOW-UAP-PR122. The crew’s descriptions are their own impressions, and AARO lists the event as unresolved.
The official description
From war.gov/UFO, released August 7, 2026, quoted in full
The United States Central Command submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of 34 seconds of video footage. This footage is a secondary capture, recorded via a cellular device, of an infrared sensor display aboard a U.S. Special Operations Forces AC-130J Gunship. This footage does not represent native primary sensor data, and the secondary recording method introduces limitations in fidelity, resolution, and overall visual quality. Artifacts inherent to filming a screen, such as blurring or flickering, may be present. The footage contained within DOW-UAP-PR117 through DOW-UAP-PR122 was captured contemporaneously. An accompanying Intelligence Information Report, DOW-UAP-D101, describes the phenomena as “cold orbs” approximately four feet in diameter.
Video description:
00:00-00:12: An area of contrast remains generally within the center of the sensor field-of-view. Visual elements of the sensor display enter and exit the frame throughout the duration of the video.
00:13-00:18: A relatively larger area of contrast transits from the bottom of the frame to the top of the sensor’s field-of-view, then re-enters from the top left to the bottom left of the frame. The relatively smaller area of contrast exits the bottom of the frame, and re-enters from the upper-right quarter of the frame.
00:19-00:34: The sensor adjusts, and an area of contrast enters the sensor field-of-view from the top of the frame, and remains generally within the center of the frame.
AARO Comment: This video footage significantly overlaps in content with DOW-UAP-PR122.
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.