Pilot Tracks Three Contacts, Arabian Sea Radar Silent

Brief

Processed through the SPEAR reporting program, this standardized form records a single pilot's visual-only observation of three unidentified small air contacts during routine operations over the North Arabian Sea at 00:04:30Z on 24 August 2020. No electronic support, radar, or IFF returns were obtained for any of the three contacts. The pilot initially tracked one contact before it disappeared behind a cloud; upon reacquisition, two additional contacts appeared due east of the first position. All three then held apparent consistent course, speed, and altitude on a westerly heading throughout the remainder of the observation.

Metadata

Agency

Department of War

Release

5/8/26

Incident

8/24/20

Location

Arabian Sea

Type

PDF • .pdf

Length

1 pages

Classification

UNCLASSIFIED

Programs

SPEAR

Tags

small air contacts, wings/airframe, North Arabian Sea, 2020, HSM-73, SPEAR, night sighting, group of three, westerly heading

Key points

• All radar, IFF, and electronic support returns were negative — the three contacts were observed exclusively by eye.p.1
• The reporting pilot is an O-3 assigned to HSM-73, flying a night mission (00:04:30Z) designated SSC; aircraft side number 705, Bureau Number 168122.p.1
• The value 21440 appears in both the working area field and an adjacent data field, possibly indicating contact altitude in feet; wind was from 310 degrees at 5 knots with altitude noted as constant.p.1
• Wings/Airframe and Round are both marked checked on the standardized shape checklist; contact direction was logged as 270/UNK — due west, speed unknown.p.1
• The pilot initially tracked a single contact until it was lost behind a cloud; upon reacquisition, two additional contacts appeared to the east of the original position.p.1
• All three contacts maintained their relative course, speed, and altitude throughout the observation window.p.1
• The form directs personnel to rip all display tapes for the full interaction window and upload them as .wmv files — suggesting cockpit video may exist outside this filing.p.1
• Released under USCENTCOM MOR 26-0038 to 26-0046, approved for release 03/27/26.p.1

Verbatim

• Negative ES, radar track, and IFF track.

  p.1

• Speed of contact was unknown.

  p.1

• Precise course of contact was unknown, but appeared to be on a westerly heading

  p.1

• When contact on the unknown air contact was regained , 2x additional unknown air co rytacts were seen due east of the location of the initial contact.

  p.1

• All 3x unknown air contacts appeared to maintain their relative course, speed, and altitude.

  p.1

• SPEAR sanitizes all reports of identifying information.

  p.1

Most interesting

• The ATFLIR pod was present on the aircraft but not in autotrack mode, no stable radar trackfile was generated, and no IFF or electronic support returns appeared — making unaided visual observation the sole detection modality for all three contacts.
• Two of the three contacts materialized only after the pilot lost and reacquired the original contact from behind a cloud, leaving their point of origin entirely unaccounted for in the report.
• Wings/Airframe and Round are both checked on the standardized shape descriptor grid — a combination that does not map cleanly to any conventional rotary-wing or fixed-wing aircraft profile.
• The form's standard footer instructs personnel to preserve all display tapes for the full interaction window as .wmv files and upload them to a shared repository, indicating cockpit video of the encounter likely exists but was not included in this release.
• The SPEAR program strips all aircrew and squadron identifying information before analysis, yet this release retains the pilot's rank (O-3) and squadron designation (HSM-73).
• Contact direction is recorded as 270/UNK — due west at unknown speed — yet all three contacts were reported maintaining consistent relative positions, implying coordinated or formation movement without any quantifiable velocity.