DISCLOSURE / FILECENTCOM Full-Motion Sensor Pans and Zooms September 2020
DOW-UAP-PR085, "16 Sept 2020 [CALLSIGN] [CALLSIGN] observes UAP"
A 4-minute, 44-second full-motion video uploaded to a classified network in September 2020 showing an unidentified area of contrast tracked by a U.S. military sensor in the CENTCOM area of responsibility, released following a March 2026 congressional records request.
Brief
Eight House members requested access to 51 potentially UAP-related records on March 6, 2026; AARO identified a collection of responsive materials on a classified network, many of which lack a substantiated chain-of-custody. AARO assesses the video is 'likely derived from' a full-motion video camera aboard a U.S. military platform operating within the CENTCOM AOR in 2020, with both the uploader identity and operator callsigns redacted. The 4:44 clip shows an area of contrast entering the sensor frame from the bottom, being tracked and centered as the sensor pans and zooms, and ultimately exiting the field-of-view in the lower left after approximately three minutes of active tracking. AARO explicitly disclaims the video description as not constituting an 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
- 2020
- Location
- CENTCOM
- Type
- VIDEO • .mp4
- Length
- 4:44
- Programs
- AARO
- Tags
- area-of-contrast, full-motion-video, CENTCOM, 2020, AARO, classified-network-upload, callsigns-redacted
Key points
- Eight U.S. House members requested access to 51 potentially UAP-related records held by the Department of War and the Intelligence Community on March 6, 2026.
- AARO found the responsive materials on a classified network; many lack a substantiated chain-of-custody.
- AARO's origin assessment is explicitly hedged: the video is 'likely derived from' a full-motion video camera aboard a U.S. military platform in the CENTCOM AOR — not confirmed.
- Both operator callsigns in the title are redacted, and the uploading user's identity is not disclosed.
- The first 1 minute and 17 seconds of the 4:44 video contain no content.
- Active sensor tracking — panning, zooming, and centering — runs from 01:18 to 04:29, indicating deliberate operator engagement with the object.
- The UAP is characterized throughout only as 'an area of contrast' — no shape, altitude, speed, or size estimates are provided.
- AARO provides an explicit disclaimer that no part of the video description reflects an analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination about the event.
Most interesting
- The congressional request that triggered this release cited 51 potentially UAP-related records — suggesting a broader tranche of classified video material exists beyond what has been released.
- AARO's use of 'likely derived from' rather than a definitive attribution signals chain-of-custody gaps; the office cannot confirm the video's provenance with certainty.
- The operator spent over three minutes actively tracking the object before it exited the sensor's field-of-view, which implies the phenomenon was not trivially explained in real time.
- Both pilot or crew callsigns in the video's own title are redacted, indicating the upload metadata itself contains identifying information that remains classified.
- The disclaimer language is unusually explicit — AARO took the step of formally stating that even its own descriptive narration of the video carries no evidentiary weight, a protective framing not standard for routine footage releases.