DISCLOSURE / FILEFifth-Generation Aircraft NORTHCOM Infrared UAP January 2023
DOW-UAP-PR068, "IIR 1 666 S0151 23/Video Footage of Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP) captured by fifth generation aircraft on 20 Jan 23"
An AARO assessment of a 63-second classified-network video, likely recorded by an infrared sensor on a U.S. fifth-generation military platform, showing a tracked UAP within NORTHCOM airspace on January 20, 2023.
Brief
Eight House members submitted a formal request on March 6, 2026 for access to 51 potentially UAP-related records held by the Department of War and the Intelligence Community; AARO identified responsive materials on a classified network, many of which lack a substantiated chain of custody. The video was user-uploaded to that classified network in July 2023 and is assessed as likely derived from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform operating within NORTHCOM's area of responsibility. The 63-second clip shows a sensor tracking an area of contrast, with a second distinct area of contrast appearing at the 48-second mark in the upper right quarter of the frame. AARO's accompanying video description explicitly carries no analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination about the event's validity, nature, or significance.
Metadata
- Agency
- Department of War
- Release
- 5/22/26
- Incident
- 2023
- Location
- NORTHCOM
- Type
- VIDEO • .mp4
- Length
- 1:03
- Classification
- UNCLASSIFIED (upon release; source material held on classified network)
- Programs
- AARO
- Tags
- infrared video, NORTHCOM, 2023, fifth-generation aircraft, area of contrast, dual object, classified network upload, chain-of-custody gap
Key points
- Eight House members submitted a request on March 6, 2026 for access to 51 potentially UAP-related records held by the Department of War and the Intelligence Community.
- AARO identified responsive materials on a classified network; many of those materials lack a substantiated chain of custody.
- The video was user-uploaded to a classified network in July 2023 — six months after the January 20, 2023 incident date — under a title formatted to resemble an Intelligence Information Report designation.
- AARO assesses the footage is likely derived from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform operating within NORTHCOM's area of responsibility in 2023.
- At the 48-second mark, a second area of contrast becomes visible in the upper right quarter of the frame, distinct from the primary tracked object.
- AARO's video description is provided for informational purposes only and reflects no analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination regarding the event.
Most interesting
- The document's provenance is uncertain: AARO explicitly notes that many of the 51 requested materials, including this video, lack a substantiated chain of custody.
- The video was not formally filed through standard intelligence reporting channels — it was user-uploaded to a classified network by an unidentified individual in July 2023, six months after the incident date.
- The IIR designation in the uploader-defined title ('IIR 1 666 S0151 23') follows the format of a DoD Intelligence Information Report, suggesting the uploader either labeled it to mimic — or intended to submit it as — a formal intelligence product.
- The sensor platform is identified only as a 'fifth generation aircraft,' a designation that in U.S. military usage refers to the F-22 Raptor or F-35 Lightning II.
- The incident occurred within NORTHCOM's area of responsibility, meaning domestic U.S. airspace or its immediate approaches, rather than in a foreign theater of operations.
- The appearance of a second area of contrast at the 48-second mark raises the possibility that more than one object was present in the sensor's field of view during the event.