DISCLOSURE / FILETwo UAP Contacts Columbus Ohio November 2022
DOW-UAP-PR073, IIR 1 655 S0053 23/Several Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Encountered In The Vicinity of Columbus OH"
A 1:28 infrared video, uploaded to a classified network in March 2023, showing two unidentified areas of contrast tracked by a U.S. military sensor over the Columbus, Ohio area in November 2022, released in response to a congressional records request.
Brief
AARO assessed this video — whose uploader-defined title references 'Several Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Encountered In The Vicinity of Columbus OH' — as likely captured by an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform within USNORTHCOM's area of responsibility in November 2022. The footage shows two distinct areas of contrast: a primary object tracked through multiple sensor contrast-mode and zoom cycles, and a second object that transits the sensor field-of-view before being obscured by a redacted display element. AARO identifies a chain-of-custody problem for this entire collection, noting that many materials 'lack a substantiated chain-of-custody.' The agency issued its frame-by-frame description for informational purposes only and drew no analytical or investigative conclusions about the event's nature or significance.
Metadata
- Agency
- Department of War
- Release
- 5/22/26
- Incident
- 2022
- Location
- Midwestern United States
- Type
- VIDEO • .mp4
- Length
- 1:29
- Programs
- AARO, USNORTHCOM
- Tags
- infrared, Columbus OH, USNORTHCOM, 2022, multiple objects, domestic airspace, classified network upload, IIR sensor
Key points
- AARO assessed the video as likely derived from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform operating within USNORTHCOM's area of responsibility in November 2022.
- An unidentified user uploaded the video to a classified network in March 2023; AARO notes that many materials in this collection lack a substantiated chain-of-custody.
- Two distinct areas of contrast appear: the primary object is centered and tracked by the sensor through contrast-mode and zoom cycles (00:11-00:37), while a second object enters from the top of the frame (00:42) and is partially obscured by a redacted sensor display element.
- The video's title was set by an anonymous uploader; AARO adopted it verbatim as the record's official identifier, meaning the government document name is user-generated rather than agency-assigned.
- The release was triggered by a March 6, 2026 request from eight U.S. House members seeking access to 51 potentially UAP-related records held by the Department of War and the Intelligence Community.
- At 00:38-00:41, sensor orientation causes the primary object to appear to rotate — a confound that prevents inferring intrinsic object motion from the footage alone.
- At 01:17 the primary object loses distinctiveness against the background; at 01:20 the second object re-enters the scene before exiting at the top of the frame at 01:20.
Most interesting
- The record's official title is entirely user-generated: an anonymous uploader named the file on a classified network, and AARO carried that label forward into the congressional release without alteration.
- A government-applied redaction actively obscures one of the two objects during its transit across the sensor display (00:42-01:14), meaning at least one visual element was suppressed before public release.
- AARO's disclaimer is unusually explicit, stating the frame-by-frame description 'should not be interpreted as reflecting an analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination regarding the described event's validity, nature, or significance.'
- Both objects ultimately exit or lose definition at or toward the top of the sensor field-of-view, a positional pattern consistent with upward or high-altitude departure vectors.
- The incident falls within USNORTHCOM's domestic area of responsibility, placing this among the relatively rare declassified UAP records documenting objects tracked over the continental United States.