DISCLOSURE / FILE
73-Second Cold-IR Round Object, Gulf of Aden
A U.S. Navy Range Fouler Reporting Form documenting a one-minute infrared track of a round, cold object over the Gulf of Aden on 15 October 2020.
DISCLOSURE / FILE
A U.S. Navy Range Fouler Reporting Form documenting a one-minute infrared track of a round, cold object over the Gulf of Aden on 15 October 2020.
DOW-UAP-D44, Range Fouler Reporting Form, Gulf of Aden, October 2020
A U.S. Navy Range Fouler Reporting Form documenting a one-minute infrared track of a round, cold object over the Gulf of Aden on 15 October 2020.
On 15 October 2020 at 14:18:39Z, an O-2 aviator from squadron VFA-172 (1172 ATKS) tracked a round, cold object on infrared from 19,073 feet over the Gulf of Aden. The sensor logged the object traveling 319 degrees at roughly 20 mph with a slant range of 4.06 nautical miles. The reporter writes the object "made a few abrupt directional changes during the 1 minute contact" and appeared bright white against a black-hot IR setting. The form is part of USCENTCOM MOR 26-0038 to MOR 26-0046, approved for release on 27 March 2026.
While at 19,073 HAT o'1,er the Gulf of Aden we tracked a round, cold object in IR traveling 3,19 degrees at 20 mph.p.1
It made a fewiabrupt directional changes during the 1 minute contact.p.1
Our sensor was aimed -50 degrees below our altitude with a slant range of 4.06NM and ground range of 4.78KM.p.1
The IR sensor was set to black hot an � the object in question was a bright white.p.1
USCENTCOM MOR 26-0038 to MOR 26-0046 Approved for Release to MR9 03/27/26p.1
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Decl"'ss,fied bv Mt:, Ric1ard Har•,sori • sa::ar , SHI • , 1 U..il.,fjfrfjlf�'tfli C.O/i#, 5 &tt\�rp le Decl;s�RmWJlulpJ.�2fXtL§2r�·e and emairffie complete Tile manually {see below). Range Fouler Reportin � Form Please complete this form to the best of your ability. If you do n:ot have the requested information, please leave the field blank. If there was more than one "group!" please report each on a separate form for data collection purposes. You should receive a response within 5 business days. Last N!tme, First Name Rank 0-2 Squadron 1172 ATKS SIPR E:mail Address Crew Position Other This information is for contact only. SPEAR san itizes all r .ports of identifying information. Absolutely no identifying information for aircrew or squadr::n will be recorded for analysis. 10/15/20 14:18:39 Day ISR Date (mmlddlyy) Time of detection Day I Night (hh:mm:ss Z) Side No. N Buno MissionDescription (CAS, BFM. etc) LFE? E Contact Wot1<ing Area (Ex: W-72 1A) Contact Latltute (DD:MM:SS) N/S Contact Longitude EIW Contact Altitude Altitude W'indDlrat Contact Alt (From) Wind Speed (DD:MM:SS) (Ex: 22000) Constant? Please attempt to determine a Lat I Long for the contact at initial detection. We recommend using JMPS to reference the sensor-derived beanng and range relative to the bullseye you had in use. If that method is not available, any reasonable derivation of location will worl<, but please be as specfflc as possible and make a note in the comments section. These locations may be used to cue other means of tracking. Radar Equipped: Stable Trackfile?: # of Contacts in "Group':· 1 EA Indications (Check all that apply): □ □ £CM Letter Arc Identifier □ □ False Trac:kfiles OIJ1erl Ambiguous AIM-9x Self-Track: A TFLIR Autotrack: Tally Achieved: □ □ □ Was the contact moving? Yes Direction/Speed 261130 (Ex. 090115) Please check all that apply: Round: IZ] Square: D Balloon-shaped: D Wings/Ai1frame:-O Other Shape:O Apparent Propulsion: □ Moving Parts: D Metallic: D Marlcings: D Translucent:- D Opaque:O Reflective: D Please use the field below to describe the contact and any inte 'l action in your own words with as much detail as possible. Please be sure to include any detail not included in questions above. Contact at 14:18:392 to 14:19:522 on 15OCT2020. MGRS locat\on 400 8D 6�1� (estimated lat/long! 1.4a 1- While at 19,073 HAT o'1,er the Gulf of Aden we tracked a round, cold object in IR traveling 3,19 degrees at 20 mph. It made a fewiabrupt directional changes during the 1 minute contact. Our sensor was aimed -50 degrees below our altitude with a slant range of 4.06NM and ground range of 4.78KM. The IR sensor was set to black hot an � the object in question was a bright white. I (b)(6) . Don't use the purple "submit" button! Save this form with filename "Date_Squadron_RF.pdr' and email it tq (b)(6) I (Also in the global)) For troubleshooting, cal/I (bJ(6J I Thank you for your time. Please ensure all display tapes are rip4ed for the entire time of interaction and saved as a .wm:v (Example: 4 May VFA·106 HUD.wmv). Squadron intel personnel shall upload those files to the repository located at this link. 1 I (b)(6) I IIIHif !Nib iii Iiii Iii T I USCENTCOM MOR 26-0038 to MOR 26-0046 Approved for Release to MR9 03/27/26 000001Concatenated page-by-page transcript. Born-digital pages came through pdf.js; scanned pages were transcribed by Claude vision OCR. Pages marked unreadable failed multiple OCR retries (heavy redaction, microfilm artifacts, or blank separators) and are kept in place for audit.
Decl"'ss,fied bv Mt:, Ric1ard Har•,sori • sa::ar , SHI • , 1 U..il.,fjfrfjlf�'tfli C.O/i#, 5 &tt\�rp le Decl;s�RmWJlulpJ.�2fXtL§2r�·e and emairffie complete Tile manually {see below). Range Fouler Reportin � Form Please complete this form to the best of your ability. If you do n:ot have the requested information, please leave the field blank. If there was more than one "group!" please report each on a separate form for data collection purposes. You should receive a response within 5 business days. Last N!tme, First Name Rank 0-2 Squadron 1172 ATKS SIPR E:mail Address Crew Position Other This information is for contact only. SPEAR san itizes all r .ports of identifying information. Absolutely no identifying information for aircrew or squadr::n will be recorded for analysis. 10/15/20 14:18:39 Day ISR Date (mmlddlyy) Time of detection Day I Night (hh:mm:ss Z) Side No. N Buno MissionDescription (CAS, BFM. etc) LFE? E Contact Wot1<ing Area (Ex: W-72 1A) Contact Latltute (DD:MM:SS) N/S Contact Longitude EIW Contact Altitude Altitude W'indDlrat Contact Alt (From) Wind Speed (DD:MM:SS) (Ex: 22000) Constant? Please attempt to determine a Lat I Long for the contact at initial detection. We recommend using JMPS to reference the sensor-derived beanng and range relative to the bullseye you had in use. If that method is not available, any reasonable derivation of location will worl<, but please be as specfflc as possible and make a note in the comments section. These locations may be used to cue other means of tracking. Radar Equipped: Stable Trackfile?: # of Contacts in "Group':· 1 EA Indications (Check all that apply): □ □ £CM Letter Arc Identifier □ □ False Trac:kfiles OIJ1erl Ambiguous AIM-9x Self-Track: A TFLIR Autotrack: Tally Achieved: □ □ □ Was the contact moving? Yes Direction/Speed 261130 (Ex. 090115) Please check all that apply: Round: IZ] Square: D Balloon-shaped: D Wings/Ai1frame:-O Other Shape:O Apparent Propulsion: □ Moving Parts: D Metallic: D Marlcings: D Translucent:- D Opaque:O Reflective: D Please use the field below to describe the contact and any inte 'l action in your own words with as much detail as possible. Please be sure to include any detail not included in questions above. Contact at 14:18:392 to 14:19:522 on 15OCT2020. MGRS locat\on 400 8D 6�1� (estimated lat/long! 1.4a 1- While at 19,073 HAT o'1,er the Gulf of Aden we tracked a round, cold object in IR traveling 3,19 degrees at 20 mph. It made a fewiabrupt directional changes during the 1 minute contact. Our sensor was aimed -50 degrees below our altitude with a slant range of 4.06NM and ground range of 4.78KM. The IR sensor was set to black hot an � the object in question was a bright white. I (b)(6) . Don't use the purple "submit" button! Save this form with filename "Date_Squadron_RF.pdr' and email it tq (b)(6) I (Also in the global)) For troubleshooting, cal/I (bJ(6J I Thank you for your time. Please ensure all display tapes are rip4ed for the entire time of interaction and saved as a .wm:v (Example: 4 May VFA·106 HUD.wmv). Squadron intel personnel shall upload those files to the repository located at this link. 1 I (b)(6) I IIIHif !Nib iii Iiii Iii T I USCENTCOM MOR 26-0038 to MOR 26-0046 Approved for Release to MR9 03/27/26 000001