DISCLOSURE / FILEAFRICOM Five-Second Transit Infrared October 2020
DOW-UAP-PR081, "18 Oct 2020 [CALLSIGN] observes UAP"
AARO's release of a 4:59 infrared video from an unidentified U.S. military platform over the AFRICOM area of responsibility in October 2020, showing a 5-second transiting area of contrast, surfaced in response to a March 2026 congressional records request covering 51 potentially UAP-related files.
Brief
Eight House members formally requested access in March 2026 to 51 potentially UAP-related records held by the Department of War and the Intelligence Community. AARO located this video on a classified network, where an anonymous user uploaded it in October 2020 under the title '18 Oct 2020 [CALLSIGN] observes UAP.' AARO assesses the footage likely originates from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform operating in the AFRICOM area of responsibility, while flagging that many items in the collection — including this one — lack a substantiated chain-of-custody. Of the 4:59 runtime, observable content runs only from 00:58 to 01:03: an area of contrast entering near the top-left of the sensor field-of-view and exiting near the bottom-right.
Metadata
- Agency
- Department of War
- Release
- 5/22/26
- Incident
- 2020
- Location
- AFRICOM
- Type
- VIDEO • .mp4
- Length
- 4:59
- Programs
- AARO
- Tags
- infrared, AFRICOM, 2020, transiting object, area of contrast, classified network upload, chain-of-custody gap, callsign redacted
Key points
- Eight House members submitted a formal request in March 2026 for access to 51 potentially UAP-related records held by the Department of War and the Intelligence Community.
- AARO located the video on a classified network but notes that many materials in the collection lack a substantiated chain-of-custody, leaving provenance unconfirmed.
- The observing platform's callsign is redacted in the official file title, leaving the asset type and unit unidentified.
- AARO uses the hedge 'likely derived from' an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform — stopping short of a confirmed technical attribution.
- UAP-relevant content spans only 5 seconds (00:58–01:03) of a 4-minute, 59-second video; all remaining frames contain no content.
- The phenomenon enters near the top-left corner of the sensor field-of-view and exits near the bottom-right, consistent with a transiting trajectory across the infrared frame.
- AARO explicitly disclaims that the video description reflects no analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination regarding the event's validity, nature, or significance.
Most interesting
- The active UAP content accounts for only 5 of the video's 299 total seconds — roughly 1.7 percent of the runtime.
- The observing platform's callsign is redacted, leaving the precise asset type and unit unidentified in the public release.
- AARO cannot confirm the video's chain-of-custody, meaning its direct connection to the titled October 2020 event is unverified.
- The video was uploaded by an anonymous user to a classified network, not submitted through a formal military UAP reporting channel.
- The congressional request named 51 potentially UAP-related records; this video is one of the materials AARO deemed responsive to that request.
- AARO's use of 'likely derived from' rather than a firm confirmation signals residual uncertainty about both the sensor platform and the geographic attribution.