DISCLOSURE / FILECENTCOM HD EO-IR Redacted Callsign Mission February 2020
DOW-UAP-PR094, "[CALLSIGN] (Mission) - HD 2020-02-13"
A 4-minute, 59-second classified military EO/IR video from February 2020, uploaded to a classified network within the CENTCOM AOR, released following a March 2026 congressional request for 51 UAP-related records.
Brief
DOW-UAP-PR094 is a declassified military video assessed by AARO as likely captured by an electro-optical and infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform operating in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in 2020. The file surfaced through a March 6, 2026 request by eight House members for access to 51 potentially UAP-related records held by the Department of War and the Intelligence Community. AARO flagged that many responsive materials in this collection, including this video, lack a substantiated chain-of-custody. The video's primary observable is an unidentified area of contrast that enters the frame, is actively tracked by the sensor across multiple zoom and modality changes, and remains visible for roughly three minutes of the nearly five-minute runtime.
Metadata
- Agency
- Department of War
- Release
- 5/22/26
- Incident
- 2020
- Location
- CENTCOM
- Type
- VIDEO • .mp4
- Length
- 5:00
- Classification
- UNCLASSIFIED
- Programs
- AARO
- Tags
- area of contrast, electro-optical/infrared, CENTCOM AOR, 2020, classified network upload, no chain-of-custody, sensor modality switch, congressional request
Key points
- Eight U.S. House members submitted a formal request on March 6, 2026 for access to 51 potentially UAP-related records held by the Department of War and the Intelligence Community.
- AARO identified the video on a classified network and assesses it is likely derived from an electro-optical and infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform operating within the CENTCOM AOR in 2020.
- The video was uploaded by an unidentified user to a classified network in February 2020; AARO notes that many materials in the responsive collection lack a substantiated chain-of-custody.
- The redacted callsign in the title ('[CALLSIGN]') indicates the originating unit or platform has not been publicly disclosed.
- The first 1 minute and 46 seconds of the 4-minute, 59-second recording contain no content; UAP-relevant activity begins at 01:47 and runs through the end of the file.
- At timestamps 04:40-04:43 the sensor changes modalities, causing the area of contrast to lose distinctiveness against the background — consistent with an EO-to-IR or IR-to-EO mode switch — before reverting and rendering the object visible again at 04:44.
- AARO's video description carries an explicit disclaimer that no part of it reflects an analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination regarding the event's validity, nature, or significance.
Most interesting
- The opening 1 minute and 46 seconds of the recording are blank, suggesting the platform's sensor was running well before the object appeared in frame — a detail that bears on whether the encounter was anticipated or incidental.
- The sensor alternates between electro-optical and infrared modalities during the observation. The area of contrast loses distinctiveness in one mode but remains visible in the other, which is analytically relevant to ruling out sensor artifacts.
- AARO's chain-of-custody caveat applies broadly across many of the 51 records surfaced by the congressional request, not just this file — raising systematic provenance questions about the full collection.
- The uploader is described only as 'a user,' with no rank, unit, or identity disclosed, and the upload went to a classified network rather than through an official UAP reporting channel.
- The file's release on May 22, 2026 ties it directly to a named congressional access request, making it part of the first tranche of Department of War UAP video disclosures driven by legislative demand rather than executive initiative.