DISCLOSURE / FILECENTCOM Spherical UAP April 2021 Second Video
DOW-UAP-PR062, "Spherical UAP [CALLSIGN] 2021/04/12 vid 1"
A 4-minute-49-second DOW/AARO release of a classified-network video showing an infrared sensor tracking a spherical UAP in the CENTCOM area of responsibility on April 12, 2021.
Brief
AARO released this video in response to a March 6, 2026 request from eight House members seeking access to 51 UAP-related records held by the Department of War and the Intelligence Community. The file was found on a classified network and carries no substantiated chain-of-custody. AARO assesses the footage most likely originates from a full-motion video camera paired with an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform operating within CENTCOM in 2021. The sensor pans and adjusts zoom throughout the 4-minute-49-second clip to keep an area of contrast centered in the field of view.
Metadata
- Agency
- Department of War
- Release
- 5/22/26
- Incident
- 2021
- Location
- CENTCOM
- Type
- VIDEO • .mp4
- Length
- 4:50
- Classification
- UNCLASSIFIED (originated on classified network)
- Programs
- AARO
- Tags
- spherical, infrared, full-motion video, CENTCOM, 2021, classified-network upload, chain-of-custody gap
Key points
- Eight House members formally requested access to 51 potentially UAP-related records on March 6, 2026, triggering AARO's identification of this material on a classified network.
- AARO flagged the video — along with many items in the broader responsive collection — as lacking a substantiated chain-of-custody.
- AARO assesses the platform is a U.S. military asset operating in the CENTCOM area of responsibility in 2021, using both a full-motion video camera and an infrared sensor.
- A user uploaded this video to a classified network in May 2024, approximately 37 months after the April 12, 2021 incident date encoded in the title.
- The sensor cycles zoom levels and pans continuously to track a contrast area, holding it generally within the center of the field of view for the full 4 minutes and 49 seconds.
- The platform callsign is withheld in the public title, appearing only as '[CALLSIGN]'.
- AARO explicitly disclaims that no part of its video description constitutes an analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination regarding the event's validity, nature, or significance.
Most interesting
- The roughly 37-month lag between the April 12, 2021 incident and the May 2024 upload to a classified network suggests the footage moved outside formal reporting channels for over three years before entering a classified repository.
- The title suffix 'vid 1' implies a sequenced multi-video record; additional clips from the same event may exist but have not been released.
- AARO's chain-of-custody caveat applies to 'many' items across the 51-record collection, not solely to this file — pointing to a systemic provenance problem in how these materials were stored and attributed.
- The eight-member House request is the direct legal trigger for this release, making it one of the first public disclosures traceable to a named legislative action rather than an executive declassification order.
- Dual-sensor framing — full-motion video plus infrared — is consistent with pod-mounted targeting configurations on fixed-wing and rotary-wing platforms routinely operating in the CENTCOM area of responsibility.