Cigar Shaped or Fast Sherical UAP clip 15 OCT 22, 2022 — Department of War Video
AARO assesses that this video, whose uploader-defined title is, “Cigar Shaped or Fast Spherical UAP clip 15 OCT 22,” is likely derived from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S.
Incident Overview
In 2022, in the CENTCOM area of responsibility, the Department of War preserved a sensor video that was declassified and published on May 22, 2026 as part of the second tranche of the Department of War’s Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE). These records were identified by AARO in response to a March 6, 2026 request from eight members of the U.S. House of Representatives for potentially UAP-related material; AARO notes that many of the items lack a substantiated chain of custody.
What the government released
AARO assesses that this video, whose uploader-defined title is, “Cigar Shaped or Fast Spherical UAP clip 15 OCT 22,” is likely derived from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform operating within the United States Central Command area of responsibility in October 2022. A user uploaded this video to a classified network in June 2024.
Video Duration: 00:00:21 Video Description: This media was digitally altered prior to its upload to a classified network, and is presented as received.
00:01-00:04: An area of contrast transits the sensor field-of-view from left to right. 00:06-00:14: The video replays at a slower speed. 00:15-00:21: The video replays again at an even slower speed.
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.
Status of the case
Records released under the PURSUE program are designated unresolved by the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, which means the federal government has not concluded the events were anomalous, has not concluded they were conventional, and has not ruled out either possibility. Where AARO has offered a likely source for an item — an infrared sensor aboard a military aircraft, a commercial camera, or a known optical effect — that attribution is the agency’s working assessment rather than a final determination. Conventional candidates such as drones, balloons, flares, satellites, parallax and forced-perspective artifacts, and ordinary aircraft remain on the table for any unresolved case absent better data than a single sensor pass or a witness recollection.