DISCLOSURE / FILECENTCOM Infrared Tracks 57 Seconds January 2021
DOW-UAP-PR076, "03 January 2021 [CALLSIGN] (Mission) observes UAP"
A 4-minute, 57-second video uploaded to a classified network in January 2021, assessed by AARO as likely captured by a U.S. military infrared sensor in the CENTCOM area of responsibility, showing an unidentified area of contrast tracked across the frame.
Brief
On March 6, 2026, eight House members requested access to 51 potentially UAP-related records held by the Department of War and the Intelligence Community; AARO identified this video among responsive materials on a classified network. AARO assesses the footage is likely derived from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform operating in the CENTCOM AOR during January 2021, with the video uploaded to the classified network that same month. Of nearly five minutes of runtime, only roughly 56 seconds contain observable content: an area of contrast appears near the top-center of the frame, is tracked by the sensor, briefly zoomed into, then exits the lower-left of the frame. AARO explicitly notes that many of the 51 responsive materials — this video among them — lack a substantiated chain-of-custody.
Metadata
- Agency
- Department of War
- Release
- 5/22/26
- Incident
- 2021
- Location
- CENTCOM
- Type
- VIDEO • .mp4
- Length
- 4:57
- Programs
- AARO
- Tags
- infrared, CENTCOM, 2021, area of contrast, sensor tracking, classified network upload
Key points
- Eight U.S. House members formally requested access to 51 potentially UAP-related records held by the Department of War and the Intelligence Community on March 6, 2026.
- AARO identified this video among responsive materials on a classified network and assesses it is likely derived from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform.
- The platform was operating in the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility in January 2021.
- A user uploaded the video to a classified network in January 2021; the uploader-defined title is '03 January 2021 [CALLSIGN] (Mission) observes UAP.'
- AARO explicitly states that many of the responsive materials, including this video, lack a substantiated chain-of-custody.
- Of the video's 4 minutes and 57 seconds, only approximately 56 seconds (01:52-02:48) contain observable content — an area of contrast tracked by the sensor — followed by a brief zoom-in that sends the object out of frame.
- AARO cautions that the video description reflects no analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination about the event's validity, nature, or significance.
Most interesting
- The observing unit's callsign is redacted even in the video's own title, appearing only as '[CALLSIGN]' in official documentation.
- Of nearly five minutes of footage, fewer than 60 seconds contain any observable content; the rest is blank.
- The chain-of-custody for this video — and many of the 51 requested records — is explicitly described by AARO as unsubstantiated, raising provenance questions about the collection as a whole.
- The congressional access request on March 6, 2026 preceded the May 22, 2026 public release by over two months, indicating a classified review period.
- The sensor panned to keep the area of contrast centered in the frame before zooming in, at which point the object exited the lower-left corner — the only platform behavior directly observable in the footage.