2023 · Gulf of Oman / UAE area (aircraft at MGRS 39R YJ and 39R XK; war.gov title: United Arab Emirates)

Two UAP, one "thermal showed cold", logged by an ISR aircraft from Al Dhafra (24 October 2023)

On the record

Strength C · 6/10

Evidence 4/4 · Witnesses 2/3 · Backing 0/3

An official mission report logs two UAP with a thermal signature and speed estimates by an ISR crew; the copies released under other numbers are identical.

Plausibility High

Score 11 · 7 factors for, 0 against

An ISR crew logs two UAP with speeds and a cold thermal signature.

See the factors ↓

Unresolved

DOW-UAP-D23 · page 1 of 9 · war.gov file, via the ufotransparency.com mirror

When24 October 2023, 0241Z and 0322Z

WhereGulf of Oman / UAE area (aircraft at MGRS 39R YJ and 39R XK; war.gov title: United Arab Emirates)

An ISR aircraft flew out of Al Dhafra (OMAM) for Operation Spartan Shield in support of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT). It logged one UAP at 0241Z and another at 0322Z on 24 October 2023. The first was recorded as solid, not under intelligent control, "THERMAL SHOWED COLD", at an estimated 320 mph, while the aircraft flew at FL243. The second was estimated at 440 mph. Both were judged benign, and the description fields say "UNK". Earlier, at 0145Z, the aircraft received a professional guard call from Iranian Air Defense. war.gov publishes four identical copies of this report: two under DOW-UAP-D23 and one each as DOW-UAP-PR26 and PR27. The mirror's description of PR27 mentions a 4 min 57 s IR video referenced as D23, but no video is in this set. No explanation is given. *Method note: war.gov blocks this server. Each mission report was read from the original PDF served by the ufotransparency.com mirror. Quotations come from the PDF text layer and were checked against the page images where the scan is poor. Redactions are shown as [redacted]. Field names such as "Observer Assessment of UAP" are the form's own labels. This report's text layer is partly garbled; quoted lines were checked against the page images.*

How plausible · High

An ISR crew logs two UAP with speeds and a cold thermal signature.

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Access The ISR crew tracked it on their own sensor.
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No gain sought An official reporting form.
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Checkable details check out Released in PURSUE.
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Physical traces or official reaction Thermal sensor signature recorded.
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Restraint Describes motion and signature, no explanation.
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Character record An official report; crew names withheld.

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

Narrative: "AT 0241Z, [redacted] OBSERVED 1X UAP. SEE UAP LINE 1." and "AT 0322Z, [redacted] OBSERVED 1X UAP. SEE UAP LINE 2." (DOW-UAP-D23, p. 1; text layer garbled, OCR slips corrected)
UAP line 1: Initial Contact DTG 240241:00ZOCT23; friendly aircraft FL243, trajectory 280 degrees, 162 KTAS; "Observer Assessment of UAP: Benign"; "UAP Physical State: Solid"; "UAP Under Intelligent Control ...: NO"; "UAP Signatures: THERMAL SHOWED COLD"; "Kinetic Velocity: 320 MPH" (accuracy "Estimated"); description "UNK." (DOW-UAP-D23, pp. 7-8)A round, cold object tracked in infrared making abrupt turns over the Gulf of Aden (4 September 2020)Range Fouler: a round, cold object with abrupt turns off Mirbat, Oman (15 October 2020)Range Fouler: a solid white object makes "erratic moments" over the northern Gulf (14 May 2020)Cold orbs Hearing, 2025 A low UAP outpaces the ISR aircraft following it over the Gulf of Aden (14 July 2024)
UAP line 2: Initial Contact DTG 240322:00ZOCT23; "Kinetic Velocity: 440 MPH"; description "UNK"; signatures "UNK". (DOW-UAP-D23, pp. 8-9)
Guard call 240145:00ZOCT23 from "IRANIAN_AIR_DEFENSE", tone "Professional"; the crew answered "THIS IS A COALITION AIRCRAFT CONDUCTING ROUTINE OPERATIONS IN INTERNATIONAL AIRSPACE". (DOW-UAP-D23, pp. 6-7)
Operation "OP SPARTAN SHIELD"; MAJCOM ACC; took off and landed at Al Dhafra (OMAM); weather "WEATHER WAS NOT A FACTOR"; declassified 12 September 2025; total mission time 20 hours 43 minutes. (DOW-UAP-D23, pp. 1, 2, 5, 6)A round, cold object tracked in infrared making abrupt turns over the Gulf of Aden (4 September 2020)