CENTCOM's Four-Minute Infrared Track, Arabian Gulf 2020

Brief

CENTCOM submitted the footage to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office without any oral or written description from the reporting party, leaving the sensor video as the sole evidentiary record. The infrared platform actively tracked the phenomenon for roughly four minutes, cycling through contrast modes, zoom levels, and reticle sizes to maintain acquisition. At timestamp 04:50, the sensor ceased tracking, at which point the area of contrast departed the frame from the top-left quadrant — suggesting autonomous movement rather than sensor drift. The document carries an explicit disclaimer that the video description reflects no analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination.

Metadata

Agency

Department of War

Release

5/8/26

Location

Arabian Gulf

Type

VIDEO • .mp4

Classification

UNCLASSIFIED

Programs

AARO

Tags

infrared sensor, area of contrast, Arabian Gulf, 2020, CENTCOM, AARO, thermal anomaly, active tracking, no observer description

Key points

• The submitting reporter provided zero oral or written description; the video record is the entirety of the evidentiary submission.
• CENTCOM submitted the report to AARO — placing it within the formal UAP resolution pipeline established post-2021.
• The infrared sensor actively maintained tracking for approximately three minutes and forty seconds (00:31–04:50), requiring repeated pan corrections to keep the phenomenon centered.
• The sensor cycled through multiple contrast modes, zoom levels, and reticle sizes during the track — suggesting the operator or automated system was attempting to characterize the target.
• Between 04:20 and 04:23 the phenomenon briefly left the center of the sensor field-of-view, indicating either abrupt lateral motion or a tracking lag the sensor could not immediately compensate.
• At 04:50–04:54 the sensor ceased active tracking; the phenomenon immediately exited the frame from the top-left quadrant, consistent with directional, self-sustained movement.
• Incidentally recorded audio is present on the video but is explicitly noted as unrelated to the visual content — no cockpit or crew commentary is attributed to the event.
• The war.gov listing carries an explicit liability disclaimer: nothing in the video description should be read as 'an analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination.'

Most interesting

• The reporting party submitted raw video and nothing else — no narrative, no assessment, no witness statement. AARO received the footage with no human interpretation attached.
• The phenomenon exits the frame from the top-left quadrant at the precise moment the sensor stops tracking, not before — suggesting the sensor's active compensation had been masking the object's own velocity or heading.
• The sensor required multiple cycling adjustments (contrast, zoom, reticle size) over a four-minute window without achieving a stable, unambiguous lock, which in standard targeting contexts indicates the return signature was atypical.
• The 30-second dead zone at the start (00:00–00:30) and the 16-second tail at the end (04:55–05:11) bracket the event cleanly, implying the footage was deliberately clipped around the phenomenon rather than being a raw continuous dump.
• No platform type is identified in the public release — the phrase 'U.S. military platform' is the only descriptor, leaving sensor altitude, speed, and collection geometry unknown.