A contrast that fades in and out and survives two sensor-mode switches (Arabian Gulf, 2020)
CENTCOM submitted 4 min 53 s of infrared video from a U.S. military platform. From 00:13 to 00:40 the area of contrast fades against the background and seems to vanish and reappear at irregular intervals. At 00:41 the sensor zooms in. At 02:09 and again at 02:30 the sensor switches imaging modality, and the contrast shifts position on screen with each switch. The reporter gave no description. *Method note: war.gov blocks this server, and the video itself was not viewed. Everything in this write-up comes from the official war.gov description, as reproduced and summarised on the ufotransparency.com mirror page. The same clip is published on DVIDS (linked below). Location is the incident location shown in the war.gov listing, as carried on the mirror page. The official description states that it is "informational" and not "an analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination".*
Evidence, in date order (1)
- 2020CENTCOM via AARO (U.S. military platform sensor)sensor data4 min 53 s infrared video; contrast persists across two sensor-mode switches DOW-UAP-PR42
How plausible · High
Released official sensor footage of unresolved contrasts; no identified witness or independent backing, but the data itself is real. CENTCOM submitted it to AARO; the reporter gave no description.
- ●●Access A U.S. military sensor recorded it.
- ●●No gain sought Released by the government; nobody profits.
- ●●Checkable details check out Released on war.gov (PURSUE).
- ●●Physical traces or official reaction Instrument data: the clip itself.
- ●○Restraint The uploader's title frames it as UAP without explaining it.
- ●○Character record An official record, uploader unnamed.
Plausibility weighs how well an account fits where secrecy hides the documents by design, so missing records never count against it. Strength measures what is documented. Assessed 2026-10-23.
On the record
- U.S. Central Command submitted the report to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). (DOW-UAP-PR42, official description as summarised by the mirror)
- The recording is 4 minutes 53 seconds of infrared sensor video from a U.S. military platform. (DOW-UAP-PR42, official description as summarised by the mirror)
- The observation occurred in 2020 in the Arabian Gulf. (DOW-UAP-PR42, official description as summarised by the mirror)
- The reporter did not provide any oral or written description of the observation. (DOW-UAP-PR42, official description as summarised by the mirror)
- From 00:13 to 00:40 the area of contrast intermittently loses distinctiveness against the background, seeming to disappear and reappear irregularly. (DOW-UAP-PR42, official description as summarised by the mirror)
- At 00:41 the sensor narrows its field-of-view to zoom in on the area of contrast. (DOW-UAP-PR42, official description as summarised by the mirror)