Armed Reconnaissance FMV Contact Over Arabian Gulf, November 2020

Brief

A U.S. Air Force operator assigned to the 482nd Attack Squadron filed MISREP 5039166 after observing two UAP during a 20-hour, 42-minute armed reconnaissance mission over the Arabian Gulf in support of NAVCENT. The first UAP appeared at 2143Z at an unknown altitude bearing 080 T; the second appeared five minutes later traveling northwest — both in the 39RWK grid area. Both sightings were captured via FMV and the footage was subsequently exploited by DOSI. Iranian Air Defense hailed the aircraft on the guard frequency roughly 11 hours before the first sighting, and haze conditions limited overall IMINT collection effectiveness throughout the mission.

Metadata

Agency

Department of War

Release

5/8/26

Incident

11/2/20

Location

Iran

Type

PDF • .pdf

Length

7 pages

Classification

FOUO (For Official Use Only)

Tags

UAP x2, FMV, Arabian Gulf, Iran theater, November 2020, bearing 080 T, NW travel direction, ANDAS4, MISREP 5039166

Key points

• Two separate UAP were observed via FMV at 2143Z and 2148Z on November 2, 2020, approximately 5 minutes apart in the same MGRS grid area (39RWK).p.6
• First UAP was observed at unknown altitude with a bearing of 080 T; no shape, size, or speed is recorded.p.6
• Second UAP was described as traveling northwest from the observation point.p.7
• Both observations were made from FL220 at airspeeds of 105–107 KIAS using Full Motion Video as the observation method.p.6
• The aircraft was hailed on the guard frequency by Iranian Air Defense at 1012Z; standard call-and-response procedures were followed with no impact to the mission.p.6
• FMV footage was captured and exploited by DOSI post-mission; the video files themselves are not included in this release.p.1
• The primary sensor was an ANDAS4 targeting pod; additional avionics included AH_GMESH_VORTEX.p.3
• Haze conditions precluded full IMINT collection effectiveness for the duration of the mission.p.5
• The mission ran 20 hours 42 minutes total (18 hours 55 minutes on-station) covering the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman.p.1
• Between 1910Z and 2210Z, the aircraft conducted open-water scans specifically searching for UUVs; no positive identification was made.p.5

Verbatim

• FMV WAS EXPLOITED BY DOSI.

  p.1

• 20.42 MISSION HOURS, 18.55 IMINT HOURS, 1 IMINT TASKING PROSECUTED

  p.1

• (U) HAZE PRECLUDED !MINT COLLECTION EFFECTIVENESS

  p.5

• AT 1012ZJ 1.4a ~AS HAILED ON GUARI) ilb}<1>J 4a!f REQ BY IRANIAN AIR DEFENSE. ORDERS GIVEN: STANDARD CALL~RESPONDED WITH STANDARD RESPONSE l. NO IMPACT TO THE MISSION

  p.6

• AT 2143Z~ 1.4a pBSERVED IX UNIDENTIFIED AERIAL PHENOMENON lVO 39RWK~~TITUDE UNKNOWN WITH A BEARING OF 080 T.

  p.6

• AT 2148Z,Ef BSERVED AN ADDITI NAL UAP TRAVELING NW lVO 39RWK~~a

  p.7

Most interesting

• The mission exceeded 20 hours total — consistent with a high-endurance ISR platform; the aircraft type and callsign are fully redacted under national security exemptions (1.4a, (b)(1)1.4g).
• In addition to the UAP sightings, the sortie included a dedicated 3-hour window of open-water scanning specifically to detect UUVs (Unmanned Underwater Vehicles) — none were found — suggesting NAVCENT held a separate subsurface threat concern during the same mission.
• The two UAP appeared exactly 5 minutes apart in the same MGRS grid square (39RWK), yet the report records them as independent observations with no stated connection or follow-on characterization.
• Iranian Air Defense made contact approximately 11 hours before the first UAP observation; the guardcall tone was formally logged as 'PROFESSSIONAL' and the mission continued without disruption.
• The original declassification date stamped on the document was March 1, 2045 (20450301); it was released over 19 years early on March 16, 2026, by MG Richard A. Harrison, USCENTCOM Chief of Staff.
• UAP detection occurred despite haze conditions that the report separately noted as limiting IMINT collection effectiveness — suggesting the FMV sensor still returned usable imagery at the time of the observations.
• The ANDAS4 is listed as the primary sensor and TGT Pod; the additional avionics field lists AH_GMESH_VORTEX, a designation not widely associated with publicly documented U.S. ISR systems.