DISCLOSURE / FILE

Eight-Minute Cold IR Track, Gulf of Aden

DOW-UAP-D57, Range Fouler Reporting Form, Gulf of Aden, September 2020

A U.S. Navy Range Fouler Reporting Form documenting an 1172 ATKS aircrew tracking a round, cold object via IR sensor for eight minutes over the Gulf of Aden on 4 September 2020.

Brief

On 4 September 2020 from 21:09Z to 21:17Z, an O-3 crew member from 1172 ATKS flying a night ISR mission at 23,819 feet over the Gulf of Aden tracked a single round, cold object in infrared. The object was logged traveling 168 degrees at 277 mph and made a few abrupt directional changes during the eight-minute contact. The ATFLIR sensor was set to black hot, rendering the object bright white, aimed 39 degrees below the aircraft with a slant range of 6.1 nautical miles. The form was released by USCENTCOM 26.0028 under FOUO/PA on 16 March 2026.

Metadata

Agency: Department of War
Release: 5/8/26
Incident: 9/4/20
Location: Gulf of Aden
Type: PDF • .pdf
Length: 1 pages
Classification: FOUO
Programs: SPEAR, 1172 ATKS, USCENTCOM
Tags: round, cold object, IR signature, ATFLIR, black hot, Gulf of Aden, 2020, Range Fouler, abrupt maneuvers, night ISR

Key points

Encounter logged 04 September 2020 from 21:09Z to 21:17Z over the Gulf of Aden, an eight-minute IR track.p.1
Reporting crew was 1172 ATKS, O-3 crew position, flying a night ISR mission at 23,819 feet HAT.p.1
Single contact, recorded as round, with no detected moving parts, markings, wings/airframe, or apparent propulsion.p.1
Object tracked at heading 168 degrees and speed 277 mph, with a few abrupt directional changes during the contact.p.1
ATFLIR sensor was set to black hot; the cold object appeared bright white in IR.p.1
Sensor geometry: aimed -39 degrees below aircraft altitude, slant range 6.17 NM, ground range 8.81 KM.p.1
Released by USCENTCOM under tracking 26.0028, approved for release to MRO FOUO/PA on 03/16/26.p.1

Verbatim

While at 23,819 HAT over the ~ulf of Aden we tracked a round, cold object in IR traveling 168 degrees at 277 mph.
p.1
It made a few abrupt dir~ctional changes during the 8 minute contact.
p.1
The IR sensor was set to black hot and the obj ct in question was a bright white.
p.1
Our sensor was aimed -39 degrees below our altitude w th a slant range of 6.1 ?NM and ground range of 8.81 KM.
p.1
Contact at 21 :09z to 21 :17z 04SEP2020.
p.1

Most interesting

The reporting aircrew was a 1172 ATKS unit, a Navy reserve attack squadron, flying night ISR over the Gulf of Aden.
The object's IR signature was cold enough that on black-hot polarity it returned as bright white, the inversion that drew the operator's attention.
Sensor geometry is precise: -39 degree depression, 6.17 NM slant range, 8.81 KM ground range, allowing the contact to be re-derived from the bullseye.
The form is a standardized SPEAR Range Fouler intake, designed to strip aircrew identifying information before analysis.
Aircrew identifying fields and the SPEAR submission email are redacted under (b)(6); coordinates are partially redacted under (b)(1) and (b)(6).

Cross-references

PDF73-Second Cold-IR Round Object, Gulf of AdenDepartment of War
PDFTwo IR Contacts Vanish in 1/30 SecondDepartment of War
PDFRound Object's Erratic Moves Over Persian GulfDepartment of War
PDFThree Small Contacts Over North Arabian SeaDepartment of War
PDFDOW-UAP-PR36, Unresolved UAP Report, Middle East, May 2020Department of War
PDFThree Speed-Variant Contacts Over Arabian GulfDepartment of War
PDFCloudy Persian Gulf Transit Sighting, 2020Department of War
PDFTwo-Minute Formation Over Persian Gulf, 2020Department of War

Common questions

What is Eight-Minute Cold IR Track, Gulf of Aden?: A U.S. Navy Range Fouler Reporting Form documenting an 1172 ATKS aircrew tracking a round, cold object via IR sensor for eight minutes over the Gulf of Aden on 4 September 2020.
What does Eight-Minute Cold IR Track, Gulf of Aden reveal?: Encounter logged 04 September 2020 from 21:09Z to 21:17Z over the Gulf of Aden, an eight-minute IR track. Reporting crew was 1172 ATKS, O-3 crew position, flying a night ISR mission at 23,819 feet HAT. Single contact, recorded as round, with no detected moving parts, markings, wings/airframe, or apparent propulsion.
Which agency produced Eight-Minute Cold IR Track, Gulf of Aden?: Eight-Minute Cold IR Track, Gulf of Aden is a primary-source record from Department of War. Its original classification was FOUO.
When is Eight-Minute Cold IR Track, Gulf of Aden dated?: Eight-Minute Cold IR Track, Gulf of Aden is dated 2020-09-04. It was declassified 2026-03-16.
What programs and topics appear in Eight-Minute Cold IR Track, Gulf of Aden?: Eight-Minute Cold IR Track, Gulf of Aden references SPEAR, 1172 ATKS, USCENTCOM, round, cold object and IR signature.
What does Eight-Minute Cold IR Track, Gulf of Aden say, in its own words?: "While at 23,819 HAT over the ~ulf of Aden we tracked a round, cold object in IR traveling 168 degrees at 277 mph." (source p. 1).

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Eight-Minute Cold IR Track, Gulf of Aden

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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 respons within 5 business days. • Last Name, First Name Rank Squadron SfPR Email Address Crew Position 0-3 1172 ATKS Other This information is for contact only. SPEAR sanitizes all r ports of identifying information. Absolutely no identifying information for aircrew or squadr, n will be recorded for analysis. 09/04/20 21 :09:00 Night ISR Date {mmlddlyy} Time of detection Day I Night Side No. Buno Mi$$ion Description (CAS, BFM. etc) LFE? (hh:mm:ss Z) N E 23819 Contact Won,-ing Area Contact Latitute N/S Contact LongitrJ<Je E,W , ntact Altitllde Altitude W'incJ Dir at Wind (Ex: W•721A) (DD:MM:SS) (DD:MM:SS) ~ : 22000} Constant? Contact Alt Speed (From) Please attempt to determine a Lat I Long for the contact at initial cJete<;t;on. We recommend using JMPS to reference the sensor-derived beating and range mtat/ve to the bullseye you had Wes the contact moving? Yes in use. If that methocJ is not available, any reasonable derivation of location will won,-, but please be as specific as possible and make a note in the comments section. These locations may be Direction/Speed used to cue other means oftracking. 168/277 (Ex. 090/15) Radar Equipped: AIM-9x Self-Track: Please check all that apply: □ Round: [l] Moving Parts: D Stable Trackfile?: A TFLIR Autotrack: □ Square: D Metallic: D # of Contacts in "Group": 1 Tally Achieved: □ Balloon-shapecJ: D Mar1<ings: D EA Indications (Check all that apply): Wings/Airframe: D Translucent: D Other Shape: D Opeque:O □ □ □ □ . Letter False Other/ ECM Apparent Propulsion:□ RefTe<:tive: □ An; Identifier Trackfiles Ambiguous Please use the field below to describe the contact and any inte action in your own words with as much detail as possible. Please be sure to include any detail not incJJded in questions above. Contact at 21 :09z to 21 :17z 04SEP2020. MGRS location 38P L + ?(~a<aoimJ(estimated lat/long I (bJ(1 )1.4a ~. While at 23,819 HAT over the ~ulf of Aden we tracked a round, cold object in IR traveling 168 degrees at 277 mph. It made a few abrupt dir~ctional changes during the 8 minute contact. Our sensor was aimed -39 degrees below our altitude w th a slant range of 6.1 ?NM and ground range of 8.81 KM. The IR sensor was set to black hot and the obj ct in question was a bright white. Don't use the purple "submit" button! Save this form with filenam "Date_Squadron_RF.pdf" and email it to I 3.5c. (blt61 I (Also in the global). For troubleshooting, call I 3.5c, (bl(6l I Thank you for your time. Please ensure all display tapes are rip ed for the entire time of interaction and saved as a .wmv (Example: 4 May VFA-106 HUD.wmv). Squa ron inte/ personnel shall upload those files to the repository located at this link. ( 0 3::c, c1:JJc61 , I USCENTCOM 26.0028 Approved for Release to MRO - FOUO / PA applies 03/16/26 000001

Full transcript1 pages · 529 words›

Concatenated 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.

Page 1born-digital extraction

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 respons within 5 business days. • Last Name, First Name Rank Squadron SfPR Email Address Crew Position 0-3 1172 ATKS Other This information is for contact only. SPEAR sanitizes all r ports of identifying information. Absolutely no identifying information for aircrew or squadr, n will be recorded for analysis. 09/04/20 21 :09:00 Night ISR Date {mmlddlyy} Time of detection Day I Night Side No. Buno Mi$$ion Description (CAS, BFM. etc) LFE? (hh:mm:ss Z) N E 23819 Contact Won,-ing Area Contact Latitute N/S Contact LongitrJ<Je E,W , ntact Altitllde Altitude W'incJ Dir at Wind (Ex: W•721A) (DD:MM:SS) (DD:MM:SS) ~ : 22000} Constant? Contact Alt Speed (From) Please attempt to determine a Lat I Long for the contact at initial cJete<;t;on. We recommend using JMPS to reference the sensor-derived beating and range mtat/ve to the bullseye you had Wes the contact moving? Yes in use. If that methocJ is not available, any reasonable derivation of location will won,-, but please be as specific as possible and make a note in the comments section. These locations may be Direction/Speed used to cue other means oftracking. 168/277 (Ex. 090/15) Radar Equipped: AIM-9x Self-Track: Please check all that apply: □ Round: [l] Moving Parts: D Stable Trackfile?: A TFLIR Autotrack: □ Square: D Metallic: D # of Contacts in "Group": 1 Tally Achieved: □ Balloon-shapecJ: D Mar1<ings: D EA Indications (Check all that apply): Wings/Airframe: D Translucent: D Other Shape: D Opeque:O □ □ □ □ . Letter False Other/ ECM Apparent Propulsion:□ RefTe<:tive: □ An; Identifier Trackfiles Ambiguous Please use the field below to describe the contact and any inte action in your own words with as much detail as possible. Please be sure to include any detail not incJJded in questions above. Contact at 21 :09z to 21 :17z 04SEP2020. MGRS location 38P L + ?(~a<aoimJ(estimated lat/long I (bJ(1 )1.4a ~. While at 23,819 HAT over the ~ulf of Aden we tracked a round, cold object in IR traveling 168 degrees at 277 mph. It made a few abrupt dir~ctional changes during the 8 minute contact. Our sensor was aimed -39 degrees below our altitude w th a slant range of 6.1 ?NM and ground range of 8.81 KM. The IR sensor was set to black hot and the obj ct in question was a bright white. Don't use the purple "submit" button! Save this form with filenam "Date_Squadron_RF.pdf" and email it to I 3.5c. (blt61 I (Also in the global). For troubleshooting, call I 3.5c, (bl(6l I Thank you for your time. Please ensure all display tapes are rip ed for the entire time of interaction and saved as a .wmv (Example: 4 May VFA-106 HUD.wmv). Squa ron inte/ personnel shall upload those files to the repository located at this link. ( 0 3::c, c1:JJc61 , I USCENTCOM 26.0028 Approved for Release to MRO - FOUO / PA applies 03/16/26 000001

DISCLOSURE / FILE

Eight-Minute Cold IR Track, Gulf of Aden

A U.S. Navy Range Fouler Reporting Form documenting an 1172 ATKS aircrew tracking a round, cold object via IR sensor for eight minutes over the Gulf of Aden on 4 September 2020.

Brief

Key points

Encounter logged 04 September 2020 from 21:09Z to 21:17Z over the Gulf of Aden, an eight-minute IR track.p.1

Reporting crew was 1172 ATKS, O-3 crew position, flying a night ISR mission at 23,819 feet HAT.p.1

Single contact, recorded as round, with no detected moving parts, markings, wings/airframe, or apparent propulsion.p.1

Object tracked at heading 168 degrees and speed 277 mph, with a few abrupt directional changes during the contact.p.1

ATFLIR sensor was set to black hot; the cold object appeared bright white in IR.p.1

Sensor geometry: aimed -39 degrees below aircraft altitude, slant range 6.17 NM, ground range 8.81 KM.p.1

Released by USCENTCOM under tracking 26.0028, approved for release to MRO FOUO/PA on 03/16/26.p.1

Verbatim

While at 23,819 HAT over the ~ulf of Aden we tracked a round, cold object in IR traveling 168 degrees at 277 mph.

p.1

It made a few abrupt dir~ctional changes during the 8 minute contact.

p.1

The IR sensor was set to black hot and the obj ct in question was a bright white.

p.1

Our sensor was aimed -39 degrees below our altitude w th a slant range of 6.1 ?NM and ground range of 8.81 KM.

p.1

Contact at 21 :09z to 21 :17z 04SEP2020.

p.1

Most interesting

The reporting aircrew was a 1172 ATKS unit, a Navy reserve attack squadron, flying night ISR over the Gulf of Aden.

The object's IR signature was cold enough that on black-hot polarity it returned as bright white, the inversion that drew the operator's attention.

Sensor geometry is precise: -39 degree depression, 6.17 NM slant range, 8.81 KM ground range, allowing the contact to be re-derived from the bullseye.

The form is a standardized SPEAR Range Fouler intake, designed to strip aircrew identifying information before analysis.

Aircrew identifying fields and the SPEAR submission email are redacted under (b)(6); coordinates are partially redacted under (b)(1) and (b)(6).

Common questions

What is Eight-Minute Cold IR Track, Gulf of Aden?

A U.S. Navy Range Fouler Reporting Form documenting an 1172 ATKS aircrew tracking a round, cold object via IR sensor for eight minutes over the Gulf of Aden on 4 September 2020.

What does Eight-Minute Cold IR Track, Gulf of Aden reveal?

Encounter logged 04 September 2020 from 21:09Z to 21:17Z over the Gulf of Aden, an eight-minute IR track. Reporting crew was 1172 ATKS, O-3 crew position, flying a night ISR mission at 23,819 feet HAT. Single contact, recorded as round, with no detected moving parts, markings, wings/airframe, or apparent propulsion.

Which agency produced Eight-Minute Cold IR Track, Gulf of Aden?

Eight-Minute Cold IR Track, Gulf of Aden is a primary-source record from Department of War. Its original classification was FOUO.

When is Eight-Minute Cold IR Track, Gulf of Aden dated?

Eight-Minute Cold IR Track, Gulf of Aden is dated 2020-09-04. It was declassified 2026-03-16.

What programs and topics appear in Eight-Minute Cold IR Track, Gulf of Aden?

Eight-Minute Cold IR Track, Gulf of Aden references SPEAR, 1172 ATKS, USCENTCOM, round, cold object and IR signature.

What does Eight-Minute Cold IR Track, Gulf of Aden say, in its own words?

"While at 23,819 HAT over the ~ulf of Aden we tracked a round, cold object in IR traveling 168 degrees at 277 mph." (source p. 1).

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 respons within 5 business days. • Last Name, First Name Rank Squadron SfPR Email Address Crew Position 0-3 1172 ATKS Other This information is for contact only. SPEAR sanitizes all r ports of identifying information. Absolutely no identifying information for aircrew or squadr, n will be recorded for analysis. 09/04/20 21 :09:00 Night ISR Date {mmlddlyy} Time of detection Day I Night Side No. Buno Mi$$ion Description (CAS, BFM. etc) LFE? (hh:mm:ss Z) N E 23819 Contact Won,-ing Area Contact Latitute N/S Contact LongitrJ<Je E,W , ntact Altitllde Altitude W'incJ Dir at Wind (Ex: W•721A) (DD:MM:SS) (DD:MM:SS) ~ : 22000} Constant? Contact Alt Speed (From) Please attempt to determine a Lat I Long for the contact at initial cJete<;t;on. We recommend using JMPS to reference the sensor-derived beating and range mtat/ve to the bullseye you had Wes the contact moving? Yes in use. If that methocJ is not available, any reasonable derivation of location will won,-, but please be as specific as possible and make a note in the comments section. These locations may be Direction/Speed used to cue other means oftracking. 168/277 (Ex. 090/15) Radar Equipped: AIM-9x Self-Track: Please check all that apply: □ Round: [l] Moving Parts: D Stable Trackfile?: A TFLIR Autotrack: □ Square: D Metallic: D # of Contacts in "Group": 1 Tally Achieved: □ Balloon-shapecJ: D Mar1<ings: D EA Indications (Check all that apply): Wings/Airframe: D Translucent: D Other Shape: D Opeque:O □ □ □ □ . Letter False Other/ ECM Apparent Propulsion:□ RefTe<:tive: □ An; Identifier Trackfiles Ambiguous Please use the field below to describe the contact and any inte action in your own words with as much detail as possible. Please be sure to include any detail not incJJded in questions above. Contact at 21 :09z to 21 :17z 04SEP2020. MGRS location 38P L + ?(~a<aoimJ(estimated lat/long I (bJ(1 )1.4a ~. While at 23,819 HAT over the ~ulf of Aden we tracked a round, cold object in IR traveling 168 degrees at 277 mph. It made a few abrupt dir~ctional changes during the 8 minute contact. Our sensor was aimed -39 degrees below our altitude w th a slant range of 6.1 ?NM and ground range of 8.81 KM. The IR sensor was set to black hot and the obj ct in question was a bright white. Don't use the purple "submit" button! Save this form with filenam "Date_Squadron_RF.pdf" and email it to I 3.5c. (blt61 I (Also in the global). For troubleshooting, call I 3.5c, (bl(6l I Thank you for your time. Please ensure all display tapes are rip ed for the entire time of interaction and saved as a .wmv (Example: 4 May VFA-106 HUD.wmv). Squa ron inte/ personnel shall upload those files to the repository located at this link. ( 0 3::c, c1:JJc61 , I USCENTCOM 26.0028 Approved for Release to MRO - FOUO / PA applies 03/16/26 000001

Eight-Minute Cold IR Track, Gulf of Aden

Brief

Metadata

Key points

Verbatim

Most interesting

Cross-references

Related topics

Common questions

Eight-Minute Cold IR Track, Gulf of Aden

Eight-Minute Cold IR Track, Gulf of Aden

Eight-Minute Cold IR Track, Gulf of Aden

Brief

Metadata

Key points

Verbatim

Most interesting

Cross-references

Related topics

Common questions

Eight-Minute Cold IR Track, Gulf of Aden