DISCLOSURE / FILECENTCOM Spherical UAP April 2021 Third Video
DOW-UAP-PR063, "Spherical UAP [CALLSIGN] 2021/04/12 vid 2"
A 4-minute-49-second classified-network video, assessed by AARO as likely recorded by full-motion video and infrared sensors aboard a U.S. military platform tracking a spherical UAP over CENTCOM in April 2021.
Brief
AARO released this video in response to a March 2026 request from eight House members seeking access to 51 potentially UAP-related DoW and IC records. The footage, uploaded to a classified network by an unknown user in May 2024, is assessed as likely originating from a full-motion video camera and an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform operating in the CENTCOM area of responsibility on April 12, 2021. The sensor is described as panning to track an area of contrast, keeping it centered in the field of view until the 50-second mark, after which it pans away. AARO explicitly notes that many materials in this collection lack a substantiated chain-of-custody, and disclaims any analytical or investigative judgment about the event's validity, nature, or significance.
Metadata
- Agency
- Department of War
- Release
- 5/22/26
- Incident
- 2021
- Location
- CENTCOM
- Type
- VIDEO • .mp4
- Length
- 4:49
- Classification
- UNCLASSIFIED
- Programs
- AARO
- Tags
- spherical UAP, infrared sensor, full-motion video, CENTCOM, 2021, classified-network upload, chain-of-custody gap, AARO release
Key points
- Eight House members jointly requested access to 51 potentially UAP-related records held by the Department of War and the Intelligence Community in March 2026.
- AARO assessed the video as likely derived from both a full-motion video camera and an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform — dual-sensor corroboration of the same event.
- The platform was operating within the CENTCOM area of responsibility at the time of the incident in 2021, placing the event in a high-operational-tempo theater.
- The video was uploaded to a classified network in May 2024 — roughly three years after the April 12, 2021 incident — by an unidentified user, raising chain-of-custody concerns.
- AARO explicitly flags that many materials in the 51-record collection lack a substantiated chain-of-custody, a caveat attached to this video specifically.
- The sensor actively tracked the area of contrast, keeping it generally centered in the field of view for the first 49 seconds before panning away — behavior consistent with either manual operator tracking or automated slew-to-cue.
- The uploader-defined title encodes a callsign that has been redacted in the public release, obscuring the specific platform or unit of origin.
Most interesting
- The platform callsign embedded in the video's original title is redacted in the public-facing release — the only identifier present is the bracketed placeholder [CALLSIGN].
- The gap between the incident (April 12, 2021) and the classified-network upload (May 2024) is approximately 37 months, with no explanation provided for the delay.
- AARO's disclaimer — that no part of the video description should be interpreted as an 'analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination' — is unusually broad and appears verbatim in the release text.
- The congressional trigger was a coordinated letter from eight House members, suggesting organized legislative pressure rather than a single-member inquiry.
- At 00:50 the sensor abruptly pans away from the area of contrast; the description offers no explanation for this break in tracking, leaving the termination reason unaddressed.
- The DoW release explicitly distinguishes between the uploader-defined title and any official designation, signaling that the 'Spherical UAP' label is the uploader's characterization, not AARO's.