Possible Missile And Four Birds Over Iraq, May 2022

Brief

A classified Mission Report filed under Operation Inherent Resolve documents a U.S. Air Force ISR platform conducting target development over Iraq on 6 May 2022. Between 1514Z and 1934Z, the operator observed five UAP cross the FMV feed: the first was assessed as bearing the visual reconnaissance profile of a possible missile, while the remaining four were assessed as possible birds. SIGINT collection and FMV were both active, with full motion video processed by DGS1. Dust conditions degraded most ground-level FMV collection throughout the sortie, limiting the evidentiary value of the footage.

Metadata

Agency

Department of War

Release

5/8/26

Incident

5/6/22

Location

Iraq

Type

PDF • .pdf

Length

6 pages

Classification

SECRET//REL TO USA, FVEY

Programs

Operation Inherent Resolve

Tags

Iraq, FMV, SIGINT, 2022, Operation Inherent Resolve, possible missile, possible birds, MISREP, USCENTCOM, multi-UAP event

Key points

• Five UAP were observed crossing the FMV field of view between 1514Z and 1934Z on 6 May 2022, over grid 38SMC53 in Iraq.p.6
• The first UAP was assessed using VISRECCE (visual reconnaissance) as fitting the profile of a possible missile.p.6
• The remaining four UAP were assessed as fitting closer to the profile of possible birds.p.6
• Full motion video was exploited by DGS1; primary sensors listed as FMV and SIGINT.p.1
• Dust degraded most FMV collection of the ground throughout the mission, compromising sensor quality during the UAP contacts.p.6
• The structured observation header records only '1X UAP' as observed activity, while the GENTEXT narrative documents a total of five contacts — an internal discrepancy within the same report.p.6
• The ISR asset was on-station from 0958Z to 2036Z conducting planned target development; mission type was REC\XCAS.p.5
• The mission falls under Operation Inherent Resolve, with USCENTCOM as combatant command, AFCENT as major command, and the 609th as operations center.p.2
• Original declassification date on the document was set to 20470506 — 25 years post-incident — before being released early under MDR 25-0093 in October 2025.p.1

Verbatim

• FROM 1514Z to 1934Z, 1.4a OBSERVED 5X UAP FLY ACROSS THE SCREEN.

  p.6

• AT 1514Z 1.4a OBSERVED A UAP WITH THE VISRECCE OF A POSSIBLE 1.4a MISSILE FLY ACROSS THE FOV IVO 38SMC53 1.4a 96 1.4a

  p.6

• 1.4a PROCEEDED TO SEE 4X OTHER UAPS IN THEIR FOV UNTIL 1934Z. ALL 4X REMAINING UAP FIT CLOSER TO THE PROFILE OF POSSIBLE BIRDS.

  p.6

• DUST HINDERED MOST FMV COLLECTION OF THE GROUND.

  p.6

• AT 1515Z 1.4a OBSERVED A POSSIBLE UAP IN ITS FOV IVO OF 38SMC54 1.4a 96 1.4a (SEE OBVS 1).

  p.5

• MISSION INTENT FOR THE TASKING WAS TO REPORT ALL PERSONNEL, VEHICLES, WEAPONS, FOOTPATHS, COMMS EQUIPMENT, AND OCCUPIED BDLS.

  p.5

• FULL MOTION VIDEO WAS EXPLOITED BY DGS1.

  p.1

Most interesting

• The structured MISREP header logs '1X UAP' as observed activity, but the GENTEXT corrects this to five total contacts over a four-hour window — a compression that buries the actual scope of the event in the report's own administrative fields.
• The first UAP was evaluated using 'VISRECCE,' a formal visual reconnaissance assessment methodology, suggesting a deliberate analytical process rather than an informal field impression.
• The original automatic declassification date was set to 20470506 — exactly 25 years after the incident — indicating the document was classified at a level warranting a full 25-year hold before early release under MDR 25-0093.
• Both SIGINT and IMINT taskings were active simultaneously, marking this as a multi-intelligence collection sortie; the specific aircraft type remains redacted under exemption 1.4a throughout all six pages.
• The one-minute discrepancy between the structured observation timestamp (1514Z, page 6) and the ISR GENTEXT timestamp (1515Z, page 5) is a minor internal inconsistency in the report's own timeline.