A contrast drops through the frame over the Persian Gulf and fades into the grain (21 August 2020)
This is a 4 min 48 s infrared clip uploaded in August 2020. After 3 minutes of nothing, a contrast crosses from top to bottom at 03:08-03:10. The sensor follows it until it becomes indistinguishable from the video grain. *Method note: war.gov blocks this server, and the video itself was not viewed. Everything here comes from the official war.gov description, as reproduced and summarised on the ufotransparency.com mirror page. Release 02 states that on 6 March 2026 eight members of the House asked for 51 potentially UAP-related records. AARO found the responsive material on a classified network, and many items "lack a substantiated chain-of-custody". The quoted titles are uploader-defined, not AARO's, and AARO describes its descriptions as informational only, not analytical judgments. No DVIDS copy of the Release 02 videos was found.*
Evidence, in date order (1)
- Aug 2020U.S. military sensor (released by AARO)sensor datainfrared video released on war.gov DOW-UAP-PR091
How plausible · High
Released official sensor footage of unresolved contrasts; no identified witness or independent backing, but the data itself is real.
- ●●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
- AARO assesses the video is likely derived from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in 2020. (DOW-UAP-PR091, official description as summarised by the mirror)
- A user uploaded the video to a classified network in August 2020; its uploader-defined title is "21 AUG 2020 [CALLSIGN] Observes UAP in Persian Gulf." (DOW-UAP-PR091, official description as summarised by the mirror)
- Total video duration is 00:04:48, with no content for the first 03:07. (DOW-UAP-PR091, official description as summarised by the mirror)
- From 03:08 to 03:10 an area of contrast transits from the top of the screen to the bottom and exits the frame; the sensor then zooms and pans to track it. (DOW-UAP-PR091, official description as summarised by the mirror)
- By 03:49 to 04:48 the area of contrast becomes indistinguishable from the grain of the video and the sensor zooms out. (DOW-UAP-PR091, official description as summarised by the mirror)