Three Fixed Contacts, INDOPACOM Infrared, Japan 2023
DOW-UAP-PR47, Unresolved UAP Report, INDOPACOM, 2023
A 1:59 infrared video submitted by INDOPACOM to AARO in 2023 shows three distinct areas of contrast maintaining fixed relative positions, with no accompanying oral or written witness description.
Brief
The United States Indo-Pacific Command forwarded this unresolved UAP report to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, attaching infrared sensor footage captured from a U.S. military platform near Japan in 2023. The footage runs one minute and 59 seconds and depicts three separate areas of contrast that hold their positions and orientation relative to each other throughout the clip. No reporter commentary, written statement, or oral account accompanied the submission, leaving the video as the sole evidentiary record. The war.gov release explicitly disclaims that the video description carries no analytical, investigative, or factual weight regarding the event's nature or significance.
Metadata
- Agency
- Department of War
- Release
- 5/8/26
- Location
- Japan
- Type
- VIDEO • .mp4
- Classification
- UNCLASSIFIED
- Programs
- AARO
- Tags
- three contacts, infrared, fixed relative formation, Japan, 2023, INDOPACOM, AARO, no witness statement, military platform
Key points
- Three distinct areas of infrared contrast are visible throughout the full 1:59 clip, appearing to hold fixed positions relative to one another.
- The submitting reporter provided zero oral or written description of the observation — video was the entire submission.
- The platform and sensor are military; sensor type is infrared; precise platform identity is not disclosed in the release.
- INDOPACOM routed the report to AARO, the designated interagency body for UAP resolution under DoD policy.
- The incident occurred in 2023 in the Japan area of operations; no precise coordinates or altitude data are provided.
- The official video description carries an explicit disclaimer against interpreting it as reflecting any analytical judgment or factual determination.
Most interesting
- The complete absence of any reporter narrative is itself anomalous for a formal incident report — AARO received nothing but raw footage.
- All three contacts sustain fixed orientation relative to each other for the entire 119 seconds, behavior inconsistent with independent balloons or debris in variable airflow.
- The case remains officially unresolved; the 'PR' designation in the document ID (DOW-UAP-PR47) suggests it sits in a 'pending resolution' queue within the DoW disclosure release set.
- Infrared sensor footage with no electro-optical or radar corroboration leaves sensor-artifact explanations open, but AARO's acceptance for formal reporting implies the originating unit considered it non-trivial.
- Japan-area INDOPACOM airspace has been a recurring UAP reporting zone in prior DoD disclosures, making this geographically consistent with other unresolved cases from the Pacific theater.