UNCLASSIFIED // PUBLIC RELEASERELEASE 06 · SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
PENTAGON UFO FILE · DOCUMENT · DOW-UAP-PR130Unresolved UAP Report, Iraq, 2022
This file is a single still image, not a video, taken from an infrared system on a U.S. military platform over Iraq in 2022 submitted to AARO by Central Command and published in the sixth PURSUE release. It is one of two stills linked to the same mission report, DOW-UAP-D106. In that report an operator said the objects were “flying sporadically” in the target area at speeds between 80 and 180 miles per hour, estimated them at one to two meters across, and could not tell their altitude.
What the still shows
There are two patches. One sits near the center of the display, enclosed by a reticle, the targeting box the sensor draws around what it is tracking. The second, lower down in the picture, is stretched out and followed by a trail, which suggests it was moving from the top right toward the bottom left when the frame was captured.
AARO’s caution about the trail
AARO notes that the trail fits known effects of image compression and processing and does not necessarily represent anything physical. In other words, the streak may be a byproduct of how the image was encoded. The companion image, DOW-UAP-PR131, shows a similar scene with the moving patch higher in the frame. The speed and size estimates are the operator’s, and the case is listed as unresolved.
The official description
From war.gov/UFO, released September 18, 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 a still image derived from an infrared system aboard a U.S. military system in 2022. An accompanying mission report, DOW-UAP-D106, described the UAP as “flying sporadically… at various speeds between 80-180 miles per hour.”
Image Description:
This image features two areas of contrast. One appears near the center of the sensor display, bounded by a reticle. Another appears in the lower third of the frame. The area of contrast in the lower third of the frame appears elongated and is followed by a visible trail. These features suggest motion across the focal plane from the top right to the bottom left of the sensor field-of-view. The apparent trail is consistent with known image-compression and processing effects and does not necessarily represent a physical feature.
This image 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.