United Arab Emirates

LocationCountry

United Arab Emirates

LocationCountry

The United Arab Emirates is the location on three U.S. military infrared UAP videos from 2023 and 2024 that the Department of War released as unresolved in May 2026.

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Oct 9Nov 7

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Video8Official doc3Opinion2

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Al Dhafra

Probed Analysis

The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven emirates on the Arabian Peninsula's Gulf coast, facing Iran across the water. About 20 miles south of Abu Dhabi lies Al Dhafra Air Base, home to a fighter wing of the UAE Air Force, the U.S. Air Force's 380th Air Expeditionary Wing since 2002 and a French Rafale squadron since 2016. The base lies close to the Persian Gulf, with its busy and closely watched sea lanes and airspace, and it is the departure point named in one of the released UAP mission reports.

The record comes from American files rather than Emirati ones. In PURSUE UFO Files Release 01, published on 8 May 2026, the Department of War posted two infrared videos labelled "United Arab Emirates, October 2023" that U.S. Central Command had submitted to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office. In the 43-second clip, an area of contrast stays in the upper left of the display until the sensor stops tracking it; in the second, which runs four minutes and 57 seconds, the sensor zooms in on a similar area of contrast, then repeatedly loses and reacquires it as the sensor moves. Both are tied to a nine-page Central Command mission report from a flight out of Al Dhafra, which logs two entries about 40 minutes apart and classes both as benign and non-maneuvering, the first with a cold thermal signature. A separate October 2023 mission report records an observer's estimate of the object's speed at 163 knots (187 mph).

A third video, labelled June 2024, runs 21 seconds and shows what the release describes as an inverted teardrop with a vertical trailing mass beneath it. Its mission report described an object with a vertical pole or bar attached to its bottom, and the observer added that it might instead be a reflection from an object in the water. The release lists all three videos as unresolved and states that its descriptions are not analytical judgments about what was filmed. No Emirati government statement on the reports has been published.

The UAE's UAP history is therefore short and American in origin: three infrared recordings and their mission notes, published in the first tranche of the 2026 releases and still listed as unresolved. Their main value is the paperwork that came with them, which records times, a thermal signature and a speed estimate alongside the footage.

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/u/Ordinary_Salamander

Oct 20

socialr/

This video was filmed in Argentina at 10:08 PM local time, with the exact location of recording shown on a map in the video. This video shows a UAP that looks extremely similar to the “pointed-star” UAP, which was famously caught on video in Ukraine. This UAP morphology appears in at least two different videos released by the USG in the first batch of declassified UAP videos: Vid 1 filmed in October 2023 over the United Arab Emirates. Vid 2 filmed in January 2013 over the Middle East. It is c...

/u/samlopamlo

May 9

socialr/

I found the location where the video “DOW-UAP-PR27, Unresolved UAP Report, United Arab Emirates, October 2023” was filmed. The video shows 2 Iranian ports and the Iranian coasts and was shot from the UAE airspace west of the Strait of Hormuz. The camera makes a pan from port #1 to port #2 as in the last image. The video was taken in 2023-10-01 according to the DOW website, but I'm not sure if that means that the video was shot that day. The "Incident Day" section on the website shows "N/A". I...

/u/Sure_Departure_6989

May 8

socialr/

The first two Photos are from the footage released today that was taken in the UAE, I just think they look slightly similar to what has been called the jellyfish yap. The jellyfish yap, is often reported in the Middle East, and of course my main reason for thinking is because there is something low hanging but I hope we get more footage!

/u/Sure_Departure_6989

May 8

socialr/

John Greenewald, Jr.

May 8

social𝕏

DOW-UAP-PR26, Unresolved UAP Report, United Arab Emirates, October 2023 The United States Central Command submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP) to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of a still image derived from a U.S. military system in 2022. The original reporter digitally altered the imagery by adding a red line encircling an area of interest before submitting it to AARO. An accompanying mission report, DoW-UAP-D12, described the UAP as mo...

John Greenewald, Jr.

May 8

social𝕏

DOW-UAP-PR27, Unresolved UAP Report, United Arab Emirates, October 2023 The United States Central Command submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of four minutes and 57 seconds of video footage from an infrared (IR) sensor aboard a U.S. military platform in 2023. An accompanying mission report, DoW-UAP-D23, mentions a UAP was observed during the mission. Video Description: 00:00-01:55: No content. 01:56: An area...

/u/murdacai999

May 8

socialr/

https://www.war.gov/UFO/#DOW-UAP-PR46-Unresolved-UAP-Report-INDOPACOM-2024 https://www.war.gov/UFO/#DOW-UAP-PR38-Unresolved-UAP-Report-Middle-East-2013 https://www.war.gov/UFO/#DOW-UAP-PR27-Unresolved-UAP-Report-United-Arab-Emirates-October-2023 https://www.war.gov/UFO/#DOW-UAP-PR29-Unresolved-UAP-Report-United-Arab-Emirates-June-2024 https://www.war.gov/UFO/#DOW-UAP-PR28-Unresolved-UAP-Report-Greece-January-2024

Preview of DOW-UAP-D23, Mission Report, United Arab Emirates, October 2023

ReportAnalyzed

govMay 8, 2026

DOW-UAP-D23, Mission Report, United Arab Emirates, October 2023

Department of War9 pagesMay 8, 2026RELEASE-01-FILE-042-DOW-UAP-D23-MISSION-REPORT-UNITED-ARAB-EMIRATES-OCTOBER-2023

This nine-page USCENTCOM mission report records two UAP entries at 0241Z and 0322Z during an October 2023 flight from Al Dhafra. The event fields classify both observations as benign and non-maneuvering, while preserving separate estimated velocities and a cold thermal signature for the first entry.

War.gov PURSUEunclassifiedOpen Original

Preview of DOW-UAP-D27, Mission Report, United Arab Emirates, October 2023

ReportAnalyzed

govMay 8, 2026

DOW-UAP-D27, Mission Report, United Arab Emirates, October 2023

Department of War8 pagesMay 8, 2026RELEASE-01-FILE-045-DOW-UAP-D27-MISSION-REPORT-UNITED-ARAB-EMIRATES-OCTOBER-2023

The observer estimated the UAP’s speed as 163 knots (187 mph). File: DOW-UAP-D027, Mission Report, United Arab Emirates, October 2023. DOW-UAP-D027, Mission Report, United Arab Emirates, October 2023 combines an official, downloadable document, 5 extracted claims, 1 evidence record, and 3 timeline entries across 8 source pages, and file-level provenance that can be compared with related release records.

War.gov PURSUEunclassifiedOpen Original

govMay 8

DOW-UAP-PR026, Unresolved UAP Report, United Arab Emirates, October 2023

The United States Central Command submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of 43 seconds of video footage from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform in 2023. An accompanying mission report, DoW-UAP-D23, mentions a UAP was observed during the mission. Video Description: 00:00-00:17: An area of contrast remains generally within the top left quarter of the display. 00:17-00:18: The sensor pans from right to left, causing the area of contrast to pass through the center of the display. The sensor then pans from left to right, causing the area of contrast to return to its approximate initial position within the sensor field-of-view. 00:29: The sensor stops tracking the area of contrast, causing it to leave the sensor field-of-view on the left side of the screen. 00:30-00:43: The sensor resumes its motion relative to the background but does not reacquire the area of contrast. 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.

War.gov PURSUE

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