Fifty-Fifty Squadron's Cold Object Over The Gulf

Brief

A 50th Attack Squadron ISR asset from Al Dhafra Air Base flew a 20-hour, 43-minute Joint Surveillance Reconnaissance mission supporting Operation Spartan Shield on 24 October 2023. The operator reported two UAP observations — at 0241Z and 0322Z, both at FL243 over the Persian Gulf — assessed as benign, solid, and not under intelligent control; the first registered cold on thermal sensors at an estimated 320 MPH, the second at an estimated 440 MPH with no thermal data recorded. Iranian Air Defense issued a professional guard call 56 minutes before the first sighting, and full-motion video collected during the mission was subsequently exploited by DGS-2.

Metadata

Agency

Department of War

Release

5/8/26

Incident

10/31/23

Location

Persian Gulf

Type

PDF • .pdf

Length

9 pages

Classification

FOUO (declassified from SECRET//REL and SECRET//NF source sections)

Programs

OP SPARTAN SHIELD

Tags

solid-UAP, thermal-cold-signature, Persian Gulf, October 2023, OP SPARTAN SHIELD, ISR-platform, 320-MPH, 440-MPH, FL243, 50ATKS

Key points

• Two UAP sightings reported in the same mission: first at 0241Z, second at 0322Z — 41 minutes apart — both at FL243 over the Persian Gulf.p.1
• UAP 1: physical state solid, thermal signature cold, estimated kinetic velocity 320 MPH, maneuverability observations none, observer assessment benign.p.7
• UAP 2: physical state solid, thermal signature unknown, estimated kinetic velocity 440 MPH, maneuverability observations none, observer assessment benign.p.9
• Neither UAP was assessed as under intelligent control; neither was engaged or interrogated by the operator.p.7
• Iranian Air Defense issued a guard call at 0145Z warning the aircraft to maintain safe distance from the border; the aircraft identified itself as a coalition asset in international airspace and the calls ceased.p.6
• Mission supported NAVCENT under Operation Spartan Shield (JSR); IMINT collected 0155Z–1837Z, SIGINT via AIRHANDLER collected 0150Z–2019Z.p.6
• Full-motion video (FMV) collected during the mission was exploited by DGS-2.p.1
• Total mission time: 20 hours 43 minutes; time on station: 17 hours 17 minutes; takeoff and landing both at OMAM (Al Dhafra, UAE).p.5
• Declassified 12 May 2026 by MG Richard A. Harrison, USCENTCOM Chief of Staff; original declassification date on the document was set to 25 October 2048.p.2

Verbatim

• MAINTAIN SAFE DISTANCE FROM BORDER

  p.6

• THIS IS A COALITION AIRCRAFT CONDUCTING ROUTINE OPERATIONS IN INTERNATIONAL AIRSPACE

  p.6

• THERMAL SHOWED COLD

  p.7

• WEATHER WAS NOT A FACTOR

  p.6

• Total Mission Time: 20 hours 43 minutes

  p.5

• Kinetic Velocity: 320 MPH

  p.8

• Kinetic Velocity: 440 MPH

  p.9

Most interesting

• Both UAPs were encountered while the aircraft was flying identical parameters — FL243, heading 280 degrees, 162 KTAS — strongly suggesting both sightings occurred on the same outbound flight leg.
• The first UAP's thermal signature read cold, which is anomalous: an object moving at an estimated 320 MPH would ordinarily generate aerodynamic heating detectable by infrared sensors.
• The second UAP's estimated velocity of 440 MPH was 120 MPH faster than the first, yet both objects showed zero recorded maneuverability and carried no recognizable shape, size, or color description.
• Despite simultaneous SIGINT collection via AIRHANDLER, no RF signatures were reported for either UAP — both UAP RF Frequency and UAP RF Duration fields are listed as UNK.
• The Iranian Air Defense guard call at 0145Z preceded the first UAP sighting by 56 minutes; the document draws no connection between the two events.
• The war.gov release listing dates the incident as 10/31/23, but all document-internal DTGs place the mission on 24 OCT 2023 — a discrepancy unaddressed in the released pages.
• Both UAP observations were categorized as UAP Incidents — the more formal event-type designation in the MISREP schema — rather than the lower-tier UAP Sighting.