A "formation of unknown flying objects" tracked along the coast for two minutes (27 August 2020)
This is a mission report (MISREP 4685903) from the 482nd Attack Squadron. The aircraft took off from OKAS late on 26 August 2020. From 1527Z to 1529Z on 27 August, its sensor tracked a formation of flying objects travelling northeast to northwest along the coast in MGRS grid 39R VM. After about two minutes the crew lost positive identification in cloud and could not regain it. The report blames light cloud cover for preventing continuous tracking. Earlier, at 0532Z, the aircraft had been hailed on guard frequency by Iranian air defence. The report gives no explanation for the objects. *Method note: war.gov blocks this server. The mission report was read from the original PDF served by the ufotransparency.com mirror. It is a scan with a noisy OCR text layer; quotations were corrected against the page images where the OCR garbles them. Redactions are shown as [redacted].*
How plausible · Moderate
A declassified mission report records a two-minute sensor track of a formation along the coast.
- ●●Access The ISR crew tracked it on their own sensor.
- ●●No gain sought An official reporting form.
- ●●Checkable details check out Released in PURSUE.
- ●○Restraint Describes motion and signature, no explanation.
- ●○Character record An official report; crew names withheld.
- ●○Fits the documented skeleton Part of the documented Range Fouler and PURSUE record.
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
- "AT 1527Z, [redacted] OBSERVED 1X UNK FORMATION. SEE OBSERVATION LINE 1." (DOW-UAP-D61, p. 1; OCR slips in the text layer corrected)
- "Observed Activity Description: FORMATION OF UNK FLYING OBJECTS" (DOW-UAP-D61, p. 6; OCR slips in the text layer corrected); observation DTG 271527:00ZAUG20; method of observation "SENSOR"; location 39RVM8[redacted].
- "FROM 1527Z TO 1529Z, [redacted] OBSERVED A FORMATION OF FLYING OBJECTS TRAVELING NE-NW ALONG THE COAST IVO 39RVM8[redacted] WAS TRACKING THIS FORMATION FOR APPROXIMATELY 2 MINUTES BEFORE PID WAS LOST IN CLOUD COVER. AIRCREW WAS UNABLE TO GAIN PID AGAIN" (DOW-UAP-D61, p. 6; OCR slips in the text layer corrected; continues on p. 7)Iran's Air Force and the luminous objects over its nuclear sites
- "LIGHT CLOUD COVERAGE PREVENTED THE CONTINOUS TRACKING OF THE FORMATION" (DOW-UAP-D61, p. 7; OCR slips in the text layer corrected)
- Takeoff 262307:00ZAUG20 from OKAS. The aircraft was hailed on guard frequency by Iranian air defense at 0532Z, with a "PROFESSIONAL" tone. Originator 482ATKS. Declassified 22 January 2026; release stamp "USCENTCOM MDR 26-0019 ... 01/26/26". (DOW-UAP-D61, pp. 1, 4-6)