DISCLOSURE / FILEDigitally Altered Four-Object CENTCOM Formation Eight Minutes
DOW-UAP-PR052, "UAP USO Formation [CALLSIGN] (Mission)"
An 8-minute 16-second infrared sensor video uploaded to a classified network in June 2024 under the title 'UAP USO Formation [CALLSIGN] (Mission),' surfaced by AARO in response to a congressional records request, depicting four areas of contrast across multiple apparent cuts; the footage was digitally altered prior to upload and lacks a substantiated chain-of-custody.
Brief
On March 6, 2026, eight U.S. House members formally requested access to 51 potentially UAP-related records held by the Department of War and the Intelligence Community. AARO identified this video on a classified network in response, assessing it is likely derived from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform, though the materials lack a substantiated chain-of-custody. The footage, running 8 minutes and 16 seconds, was digitally altered before its June 2024 upload and shows four areas of contrast transiting the frame across multiple apparent cuts, contrast-filter changes, and zoom levels. The releasing agency explicitly disclaims any analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination regarding the event's validity, nature, or significance.
Metadata
- Agency
- Department of War
- Release
- 5/22/26
- Type
- VIDEO • .mp4
- Length
- 8:16
- Programs
- AARO
- Tags
- USO, formation, four-object, infrared, classified-network-upload, digitally-altered, 2024, congressional-request
Key points
- Eight U.S. House members requested access to 51 potentially UAP-related records from the Department of War and the Intelligence Community on March 6, 2026.
- AARO assessed the video is likely derived from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform.
- The materials identified on the classified network lack a substantiated chain-of-custody.
- The video was digitally altered prior to its upload to the classified network in June 2024.
- The uploader-defined title is 'UAP USO Formation [CALLSIGN] (Mission),' with the platform or unit callsign withheld.
- Four areas of contrast are the primary visual subject, first transiting the frame from the bottom-left to the bottom-right in the opening five seconds.
- From 06:09 to 06:50 the sensor zooms in on the four areas of contrast; image quality then degrades progressively through 08:10 before an apparent cut restores visibility at 08:11.
- The agency explicitly disclaims that the video description does not constitute an analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination regarding the described event.
Most interesting
- The title contains 'USO' — Unidentified Submerged Object — suggesting the uploader interpreted the phenomenon as operating at or near water, though no official agency determination supports this characterization.
- The callsign in the title is withheld entirely, obscuring which unit, platform, or mission the footage is associated with and preventing independent corroboration of the sensor platform.
- AARO found this footage on a classified network only after a congressional push — it was not proactively surfaced through normal declassification channels.
- The video degrades in quality from 06:51 onward, then appears to cut or zoom out at 08:11 to an earlier and clearer portion of the footage, a sequence consistent with post-production manipulation before upload.
- The 'USO Formation' characterization in the title reflects the uploader's labeling, not any official government or AARO designation — a distinction the release takes care to preserve through its disclaimer language.
- AARO's chain-of-custody caveat is load-bearing: without a verified provenance record, the footage cannot be analytically tied to a specific incident, date, or sensor platform with confidence.