IIR 1 655 S0053 23/Several Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Encountered In The Vicin…, 2022 — Department of War Video
AARO assesses that this video, whose uploader-defined title is, “IIR 1 655 S0053 23/Several Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Encountered In The Vicinity of Columbus OH,” is likely derived from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S.
Incident Overview
In 2022, in the Midwestern United States, 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, “IIR 1 655 S0053 23/Several Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Encountered In The Vicinity of Columbus OH,” is likely derived from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform operating within the United States Northern Command area of responsibility in November 2022. A user uploaded this video to a classified network in March 2023.
Video Duration: 00:01:28 Video Description: 00:00-00:04: No content. 00:05-00:07: The sensor pans to center a small area of contrast within its field-of-view. 00:11-00:37: The sensor cycles contrast modes and zoom levels while the area of contrast remains generally within the sensor field-of-view. 00:38-00:41: The orientation of the sensor relative to the area of contrast causes the area of contrast to appear to rotate. 00:42-01:14: A second area of contrast enters the frame from near the center of the top of the screen. It transits the sensor field-of-view, before becoming obscured by a redacted visual element of the sensor display. 01:17: The initial area of contrast loses distinctiveness against the background. 01:20: The sensor rotates, causing the second area of contrast to re-enter the scene before exiting the frame at the center of the top of the screen. 01:23-01:28: 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.
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.