UNCLASSIFIED // PUBLIC RELEASERELEASE 06 · SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
PENTAGON UFO FILE · VIDEO · DOW-UAP-PR135Unresolved UAP Report, Middle East, 2025
This one-minute clip came to AARO from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), the military command responsible for the Middle East, and was recorded in 2025 by an infrared camera on an unnamed U.S. military platform. No exact place or date is given; the collection labels it only “Middle East.” It is paired with a written mission report, DOW-UAP-D108, which supplies the description the video alone cannot.
What the operator reported and what the clip shows
According to that report, the operator saw “six small spherical objects” in a group, called them “seem[ingly] agile” and “frequently changing direction,” and put their speed at 480 miles per hour.
The footage is thinner. The first few seconds are empty. Then, for several seconds, a number of contrast patches pass down through the picture from top to bottom. From about the 11-second mark until 0:47 the sensor swings to follow them and holds them near the middle, and the final stretch, after a change of magnification, shows nothing at all.
Reading the numbers
The speed and the count are the operator’s judgments at the time, not measurements AARO has verified, and the release stresses that such wording reflects the reporter’s subjective impression. Judging speed from a single infrared view is hard: without a known range, a small object nearby and a large one far away can look alike, and the platform’s own motion adds to what is seen. Like the rest of the PURSUE videos, the case is listed as unresolved, meaning no identification was made. For how these sensors work, see FLIR.
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 1 minute of video footage from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform in 2025. An accompanying mission report, DOW-UAP-D108, described the UAP as “six small spherical objects grouped together, and characterized their behavior as “seem[ingly] agile,” and “frequently changing direction.” The reporter estimated the speed of the UAP to have been 480 miles per hour.
Video Description: 00:00-00:04: No content. 00:05-00:10: Several areas of contrast transit the sensor field-of-view, entering from the top of the frame and exiting from the bottom. 00:11-00:47: The sensor pans to track the areas of contrast, keeping them generally within the center of the frame. 00:48-1:00: The sensor changes its level of magnification. 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.