DISCLOSURE / FILEAFRICOM One-Second Frame Transit October 2020
DOW-UAP-PR082, "16 OCT 2020 [CALLSIGN] views UAP"
A 4-minute 46-second infrared video uploaded to a classified network in October 2020, assessed by AARO as likely captured by a U.S. military sensor in the AFRICOM area of responsibility, released as part of a 51-record congressional request.
Brief
DOW-UAP-PR082 is a video asset whose provenance AARO cannot fully substantiate — the office notes that "many of these materials lack a substantiated chain-of-custody." AARO's working assessment is that the footage originates from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform operating within AFRICOM in 2020, uploaded to a classified network that same October. The single documented anomaly event occurs at the 28–29 second mark, where an area of contrast transits the frame from middle-left to upper-right. AARO explicitly disclaims any analytical, investigative, or factual conclusion about the event's validity, nature, or significance.
Metadata
- Agency
- Department of War
- Release
- 5/22/26
- Incident
- 2020
- Location
- AFRICOM
- Type
- VIDEO • .mp4
- Length
- 4:57
- Programs
- AARO
- Tags
- infrared, area of contrast, AFRICOM, 2020, classified-network upload, redacted callsign
Key points
- Eight members of the U.S. House of Representatives requested access to 51 potentially UAP-related records from the Department of War and the Intelligence Community on March 6, 2026.
- AARO identified responsive materials held on a classified network; many lack a substantiated chain-of-custody.
- AARO assesses the video is likely derived from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform operating in the AFRICOM area of responsibility in 2020.
- The video was uploaded to a classified network by an unidentified user in October 2020; the uploader-defined title contains a redacted callsign.
- Total video duration is 4 minutes and 46 seconds.
- At the 28–29 second mark, an area of contrast transits the frame from the middle-left to the upper-right.
- AARO's video description is offered for informational purposes only and does not reflect any analytical judgment or investigative conclusion.
Most interesting
- The callsign of the recording platform or witness is redacted in the document title, leaving the uploader-defined title as '16 OCT 2020 [CALLSIGN] views UAP.'
- The congressional request that surfaced this file involved 51 records — making DOW-UAP-PR082 one entry in a broader tranche whose full contents remain undisclosed.
- AARO's chain-of-custody caveat is notable: the office will not confirm who filmed the footage, only that the sensor type and theater are consistent with a U.S. military infrared platform in AFRICOM.
- The anomaly event itself occupies just one second of a nearly five-minute recording — a signal-to-noise ratio that mirrors several other released UAP clips.
- The file was released on 22 May 2026, roughly 14 months after the congressional request date of 6 March 2026.