War.gov PURSUEDepartment of War
Government2020Analysis complete

DOW-UAP-PR040, Unresolved UAP Report, Middle East, 2020

The released record says the United States Central Command submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of video footage from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform in 2020. File: DOW-UAP-PR040, Unresolved UAP Report, Middle East, 2020. DOW-UAP-PR040, Unresolved UAP Report, Middle East, 2020 combines an official, playable video, 3 extracted claims, 1 evidence record, and 2 timeline entries, and file-level provenance that can be compared with related release records.

File
Video · Release 01
Date
2020
Location
Arabian Gulf
Agency
Department of War

Probed Assessment

The released record says the United States Central Command submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of video footage from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform in 2020. File: DOW-UAP-PR040, Unresolved UAP Report, Middle East, 2020.

Key takeaways

  • The released record says the original reporter digitally altered the imagery by pausing the video playback and adding a white line encircling an area of interest at timestamp 00:10.
  • AARO did not edit the originally reported material, and this media is presented as received
  • The released record says an unidentified anomalous phenomenon was reported by the United States Central Command.

Why it matters

DOW-UAP-PR040, Unresolved UAP Report, Middle East, 2020 combines an official, playable video, 3 extracted claims, 1 evidence record, and 2 timeline entries, and file-level provenance that can be compared with related release records.

Corroboration

For DOW-UAP-PR040, Unresolved UAP Report, Middle East, 2020, the release establishes official provenance but does not independently verify the record's statement that the United States Central Command submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of video footage from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform in 2020.

Open questions

  • Do an original-generation recording, complete transcript, or sensor metadata survive outside the released artifact?

Probed separates this editorial assessment from the source claims below. It summarizes what the released artifact supports; it is not independent verification.

Official Description from War.gov

The United States Central Command submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of one minute and three seconds of video footage from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform in 2020. The original reporter digitally altered the imagery by pausing the video playback and adding a white line encircling an area of interest at timestamp 00:10, annotated with the phrase “U/I SMALL THERMAL SIGNATURE.” AARO did not edit the originally reported material, and this media is presented as received. Video Description: 00:00-00:09: An area of contrast brightens within the sensor field-of-view, becoming increasingly distinct against the background. 00:10-00:14: Playback pauses to display a white line encircling an area of interest, annotated with the phrase “U/I SMALL THERMAL SIGNATURE.” 00:15-01:03: Playback resumes, with the sensor panning to track the area of contrast against the background, generally maintaining the area of contrast’s position within the top third of the display area. During this period, the sensor cycles through several contrast and zoom settings. 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.

Preserved verbatim as source metadata. This wording is separate from Probed’s file-specific description and assessment.

File Context

Related entities

5
Research Map relationships require row-level claim or timeline references.

Tracker findings

2

DOW-UAP-PR40: the United States Central Command submitted a report of an UAP

The linked release item states that the United States Central Command submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of video footage from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform in 2020.

DOW-UAP-PR40: the original reporter digitally altered the imagery by pausing

The linked release item states that the original reporter digitally altered the imagery by pausing the video playback and adding a white line encircling an area of interest at timestamp 00:10.

Release provenance

Release
Release 01
Official ID
release-01-file-092-dow-uap-pr040-unresolved-uap-report-middle-east-2020
Cleared
May 8, 2026
Official release source

Related coverage

12

Sighting Context

Stored occurrence and enrichment data for this released artifact. Missing or regional data stays explicit rather than being inferred.

Shape model

Shape not classified

No grounded form data

Observation profile

Recorded occurrence details

Occurrence
Arabian Gulf · 2020
Location
Arabian Gulf
Classification
Not classified

Environmental, lunar, orbital, satellite, airport, and nearby-infrastructure context loads when this section approaches the viewport.

Referenced Timeline

  1. UAP Incident in Arabian Gulf

    An unidentified anomalous phenomenon was reported by the United States Central Command.

  2. Report Cleared for Release

    The report DOW-UAP-PR040 was cleared for release.

Source Claims

Claims are attributed to the released source and remain distinct from Probed’s assessment and tracker findings.

Source reportedObserved

The United States Central Command submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of video footage from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform in 2020.

The United States Central Command submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of one minute and three seconds of video footage from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform in 2020.

Source reportedObserved

The original reporter digitally altered the imagery by pausing the video playback and adding a white line encircling an area of interest at timestamp 00:10.

The original reporter digitally altered the imagery by pausing the video playback and adding a white line encircling an area of interest at timestamp 00:10, annotated with the phrase “U/I SMALL THERMAL SIGNATURE.”

Source reportedObserved

AARO did not edit the originally reported material, and this media is presented as received.

AARO did not edit the originally reported material, and this media is presented as received.

Source Material & Evidence

video

Infrared sensor video footage

United States Central Command

Research Map

5 entities · 2 grounded links

Lines appear only when two entities share a row-level source claim or dated timeline event. Unconnected nodes remain visible without implying a relationship.

UAP/Disclosure Graph
5 nodes2 links