SWIR Diamond Over the Med, 434 Knots

Brief

On January 25, 2024, at 0509Z, a U.S. Air Force Special Operations ISR platform operating out of Larissa Air Base (LGLR), Greece, observed a UAP while in transit during a 20-hour, 40-minute surveillance mission. The object appeared diamond-shaped with a non-maneuvering probe at the bottom, was estimated at approximately 434 knots, and was visible only through the Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR) camera — invisible to standard optical sensors. The event lasted approximately two minutes, ending at 0511Z, with no effects on personnel or equipment and no material recovery. Filed by the 33rd Special Operations Squadron, 27th Special Operations Wing, under USCENTCOM; the observer was a Senior Airman (E-4).

Metadata

Agency

Department of War

Release

5/8/26

Incident

1/25/24

Location

Mediterranean Sea

Type

PDF • .pdf

Length

7 pages

Classification

SECRET//REL TO USA, FVEY

Tags

diamond-shaped, SWIR-only, non-maneuvering probe, Mediterranean Sea, FL200, 434 knots, 2024, MISREP, CENTCOM, AFSOC

Key points

• UAP observed at 0509Z on January 25, 2024, while the aircraft was in transit — before arrival on primary ISR station at 0635Z, making this an incidental encounter.p.7
• Object estimated at approximately 434 knots; the observing aircraft was traveling at 176 knots at FL250, meaning the UAP was moving at roughly 2.5 times the observer's speed.p.7
• UAP was visible only on the Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR) camera — it produced no return on standard optical or other onboard sensors.p.7
• Object formally described as a round diamond shape with a straight, non-maneuverable tail or probe at the bottom.p.7
• Event lasted approximately two minutes, ending at 0511Z without further incident.p.7
• UAP maintained a steady westward flight path and varied altitude but did not change trajectory; no response to the observer was recorded.p.7
• Observer filed formal assessment as Benign; no RF signatures, no effects on persons or equipment, and no material recovered.p.6
• UAP kinetic altitude recorded as FL200; the friendly aircraft was at FL250 — approximately 5,000 feet above the object.p.6
• Primary ISR tasking on the same sortie included a stop-follow on an individual and observation of a large white box being transferred between vehicles — suggesting a sensitive surveillance operation.p.5
• Full motion video from the mission was exploited by a Ground Exploitation Team (GET), though the UAP did not appear on the FMV system.p.1

Verbatim

• AT 0509Z, (b)(1)1.4a OBSERVED 1X UAP WHILE IN TRANSIT. UPON INITIAL OBSERVATION, THE UAP WAS FLYING AT A SPEED OF APPROX 434 KNOTS. THE UAP APPEARED DIAMOND IN SHAPE WITH A NON-MANUEVERING PROBE AT THE BOTTOM. THE UAP ONLY APPEARED ON THE SWIR CAMERA. THE EVENT LASTED APPROX 2 MINUTES ENDING AT 0511Z, WITHOUT ANY OTHER INCIDENT OCCURING.

  p.7

• ROUND DIAMOND SHAPE WITH STRAIGHT, NON MANUEVERABLE "TAIL"

  p.7

• MAINTAINED STEADY FLIGHT PATH, INCREASED AND DECREASED ALTITUDE PROFILE, DID NOT CHANGE TRAJECTORY

  p.7

• Observer Assessment of UAP: Benign

  p.6

• UAP Signatures: SWIR WHT

  p.6

• FULL MOTION VIDEO WAS EXPLOITED BY GET.

  p.1

• FROM 1353Z-1500Z, (b)(1)1.4a CONDUCTED A 1X STOP FOLLOW ON 1X ADM IN A SILVER SUV. AT 1400Z, (b)(1)1.4a OBSERVED A LARGE WHITE BOX BEING TRANSFERRED FROM BLACK SUV TO WHITE VAN.

  p.5

Most interesting

• The UAP was completely invisible to the aircraft's standard optical sensors but appeared clearly on the SWIR camera — indicating it emitted or reflected energy in the short-wave infrared band without producing a visible-light signature.
• The object was traveling at approximately 434 knots while the observing aircraft moved at 176 knots; despite this speed differential, the UAP made no evasive or reactive maneuvers.
• Although the UAP increased and decreased altitude during the encounter, it never changed its westward trajectory — a behavioral pattern noted explicitly in the anomalous characteristics field.
• The observer was a Senior Airman (E-4), one of the lower enlisted grades in the Air Force, making this a line-of-duty incidental observation by a junior operator formally logged into CENTCOM's UAP tracking system.
• The UAP encounter occupied roughly two minutes of a 20-hour, 40-minute ISR sortie and occurred in transit before the primary tasking began — it was entirely unplanned.
• The UAP was assigned a formal event serial number — 250509ZJAN2024-CENTCOM 001 — marking it as the first CENTCOM UAP event logged for that date-time group.
• The same mission recorded surveillance of a white box transfer between vehicles, suggesting the primary tasking was a counterintelligence or counterproliferation operation, adding geopolitical context to the airspace in which the UAP appeared.