DISCLOSURE / FILEPersian Gulf Infrared Formation Track 17 Minutes 2019
DOW-UAP-PR098, "UFOs in formation over Persian Gulf?"
A 17-minute 36-second infrared video, uploader-titled 'UFOs in formation over Persian Gulf?', uploaded to a classified network in October 2019 and released by AARO on May 22, 2026 in response to a congressional records request.
Brief
Eight members of the U.S. House of Representatives formally requested access on March 6, 2026, to 51 potentially UAP-related records held by the Department of War and the Intelligence Community. AARO identified this video among responsive materials on a classified network and flagged that many of those materials lack a substantiated chain-of-custody. The agency assesses the footage is likely derived from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform operating within CENTCOM's area of responsibility. Over the 17:36 runtime, the sensor tracks and repeatedly magnifies an area of contrast that, at higher zoom, resolves into multiple distinct areas of contrast — consistent with the uploader's 'formation' framing, though AARO attaches no analytical judgment to that characterization.
Metadata
- Agency
- Department of War
- Release
- 5/22/26
- Location
- CENTCOM
- Type
- VIDEO • .mp4
- Length
- 17:36
- Programs
- AARO
- Tags
- formation flight, infrared, Persian Gulf, CENTCOM, 2019, multiple objects, area of contrast, low-contrast target
Key points
- Eight House members formally requested access to 51 potentially UAP-related records on March 6, 2026, triggering AARO's review of classified holdings and producing this release.
- AARO assesses the footage is likely derived from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform in the CENTCOM area of responsibility — a 'likely' determination, not a confirmed one.
- The video was uploaded to a classified network by an unidentified user in October 2019; the formation-flight framing in the title originates with that uploader, not with any government analyst.
- Many materials in the broader 51-record collection lack a substantiated chain-of-custody, a provenance gap AARO explicitly flagged in its release description.
- At higher magnification, a single area of contrast resolves into multiple distinct areas of contrast, lending some visual basis to the uploader's 'formation' title.
- The sensor operator makes repeated zoom adjustments and contrast corrections across more than 13 minutes, indicating active effort to resolve an elusive or low-contrast target.
- AARO's scene-by-scene description carries an explicit disclaimer that no part of it reflects an analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination about the event's validity, nature, or significance.
Most interesting
- The title 'UFOs in formation over Persian Gulf?' was set by the original uploader on a classified network, not by any government analyst — the 'formation' characterization carries no official analytical weight.
- At higher zoom, a single area of contrast splits into multiple distinct areas, which the sensor operator then tracks through repeated zoom and contrast cycles for more than 13 continuous minutes.
- The broader congressional request covered 51 records; this single video release implies the remainder are either still under review, separately scheduled, or withheld on other grounds.
- Chain-of-custody is not substantiated for this video or for many of the 51 records in the collection, limiting AARO's ability to authenticate when, where, or under what operational conditions the footage was originally captured.
- The platform type is not disclosed in the public description; AARO stops at 'likely infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform,' preserving ambiguity about both the aircraft and the sensor suite.
- The first two seconds and the final nine seconds of the 17:36 recording contain no content, suggesting a clip boundary or recording artifact rather than a continuous mission log.
- Between the 6:30 and 13:17 marks — nearly half the total runtime — the area of contrast is described as at times indistinguishable from video grain, placing the target near or below the sensor's effective resolution floor.