Unresolved UAP Report, Middle East, 2023 — Department of War Video (DOW-UAP-PR024)
The United States Central Command submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of 18 seconds of video footage from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform in 2023.
Incident Overview
In 2023, in the Middle East, the Department of War preserved a sensor video that was declassified and published on July 10, 2026 as part of the fourth tranche of the Department of War’s Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE).
What the government released
The United States Central Command submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of 18 seconds of video footage from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform in 2023.
Video Description: 00:01: The sensor focuses on a dark area of contrast, narrowing the field of view to zoom in. 00:02: Two bright areas of contrast transit the frame from left to right. 00:03: The sensor zooms out, keeping the bright areas of contrast within the frame. 00:05: The bright areas of contrast exit the right side of the frame. 00:07: The sensor refocuses on the dark area of contrast, keeping it generally within the center of the frame. 00:10: A reticle surrounds the dark area of contrast, which continues to remain generally within the center of the frame. 00:17: The sensor changes contrast and zoom settings, causing the frame to flash white.
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.