DISCLOSURE / FILECENTCOM Active from 01:15 August 2020
DOW-UAP-PR090, "24 AUG 2020 [CALLSIGN] (Mission) Observes UAP"
A four-minute, fifty-seven-second infrared video uploaded to a classified network in August 2020 and attributed to a U.S. military platform in the CENTCOM AOR tracks an unidentified area of contrast; AARO released it as one of fifty-one records requested by eight House members in March 2026.
Brief
AARO assessed the video as likely captured by an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform operating within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in August 2020. A user uploaded the footage to a classified network that same month, and the file lacks a substantiated chain-of-custody. Eight House members requested access to fifty-one potentially UAP-related DoW and Intelligence Community records on March 6, 2026, prompting AARO to identify and release this material. Of the video's four minutes and fifty-seven seconds, the final three minutes and forty-two seconds (01:15 onward) contain no content.
Metadata
- Agency
- Department of War
- Release
- 5/22/26
- Incident
- 2020
- Location
- CENTCOM
- Type
- VIDEO • .mp4
- Length
- 4:58
- Programs
- AARO
- Tags
- infrared, CENTCOM, area of contrast, 2020, classified-network upload, video asset, chain-of-custody gap
Key points
- Eight U.S. House members submitted a request on March 6, 2026, for access to 51 potentially UAP-related records held by DoW and the Intelligence Community, which surfaced this video.
- AARO assesses the video is likely derived from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform operating in the CENTCOM area of responsibility in 2020.
- The footage was uploaded to a classified network by an unidentified user in August 2020, with no substantiated chain-of-custody.
- The active sensor content spans only the first 01:14 of the recording; the segment from 01:15 to 04:57 contains no content.
- The uploader-defined title identifies the incident date as August 24, 2020, and contains a redacted callsign, leaving the originating unit unknown.
- AARO's accompanying description carries an explicit disclaimer that it reflects no analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination about the event.
Most interesting
- The originating callsign is redacted from the file title, leaving the mission identity unknown.
- Roughly 75 percent of the video's runtime contains no content; the observable sensor activity is confined to under 75 seconds.
- The footage entered the classified network through informal user upload rather than a standard reporting chain, which is the basis for AARO's chain-of-custody flag.
- The congressional request covered 51 records spanning both DoW and the broader Intelligence Community, making this one document in a contested multi-agency tranche.
- AARO's attribution is probabilistic ('likely derived from an infrared sensor'), not a confirmed technical determination.
- The sensor behavior described (tracking, panning, zooming on an area of contrast) is consistent with standard IR targeting pod operations, but no platform type is confirmed.