Declassified UAP

DOW-UAP-D038

Range Fouler Debrief, Middle East, May 2020

Format
Document, 1 page
Incident date
5/14/20
Place
Arabian Gulf
Released
Release 01, May 8, 2026
Source
war.gov
Topics
Infrared / FLIR, Radar, Range Fouler, Debriefings & transcripts

Description from war.gov

This document is a Range Fouler Debrief, a standardized reporting form the U.S. Navy uses to record the circumstances surrounding an unauthorized intrusion into controlled airspace during active military operations or training. These reports contain a narrative description of the observer’s experiences. A U.S. military operator reported observing a “solid white object [fly] through the [field-of-view]. The reporter described the UAP as making erratic [movements] above the water. All descriptive and estimative language contained in this report reflects the reporter’s subjective interpretation at the time of the event. Such characterizations should not be interpreted as a conclusive indication of the presence or absence of any intrinsic object features or performance characteristics.

Redactions war.gov lists this record as redacted. Withheld material is blacked out in the file itself.

1 page, 529 words of text

Page 1

Range Fouler Debrief Form Declassified by MG Richard A. Harrison USCENTCOM Chief of Staff Please do not use the purple 026 "submit" button above. Save and email the complete file manually (see below). Please complete this form to the best of your ability. If you do not have the requested information, please leave the field blank. If there was more than one "group," please report each on a separate form for data collection purposes. You should receive a response within 5 business days. Last Name, First Name Rank Squadron SIPR Email Address Crew Position This information is for contact only. SPEAR sanitizes all reports of identifying information. Absolutely no identifying information for aircrew or squadron will be recorded for analysis. 05/14/20 Date (mm/dd/yy) 20:40:00 Time of detection (hh:mm:ss Z) Night Day / Night ISR Side No. Buno Mission Description (CAS, BFM, etc) LFE? 28314 28314 N 49524 Contact Working Area Contact Latitute N/S Contact Longitude (Ex: W-72 1A) (DD:MM:SS) E EW (DD:MM:SS) Please attempt to determine a Lat / Long for the contact at initial detection. We recommend using JMPS to reference the sensor-derived bearing and range relative to the bullseye you had in use. If that method is not available, any reasonable derivation of location will work, but please be as specific as possible and make a note in the comments section. These locations may be used to cue other means of tracking. 20000 Contact Altitude (Ex: 22000) Yes Altitude Wind Dir at Wind Constant? Contact Alt Speed (From) Was the contact moving? Yes Direction/Speed (Ex. 090/15) Radar Equipped: Stable Trackfile?: Intermittent # of Contacts in "Group": 1 EA Indications (Check all that apply): AIM-9x Self-Track: ATFLIR Autotrack: Tally Achieved: Please check all that apply: Round: Moving Parts: Square: Metallic: Balloon-shaped: Markings: Wings/Airframe: Translucent: Other Shape. Opaque: ECM Letter False Other/ Apparent Propulsion. Arc Identifier Trackfiles Ambiguous Reflective: Please use the field below to describe the contact and any interaction in your own words with as much detail as possible. Please be sure to include any detail not included in questions above. While preforming an ISR tasking (ULTN/Black Hot/Lin), a solid white object flew through the FOV. There was a temporarily lose of the object but re-acquired shortly there after. The crew was able to follow the object as it appeared to make erratic moments above the water. During the follow, crew was able to obtain 4x zoom on the object but lost the object due to poor track placement. While following, the sensor operator was continuously manipulating the sensor to maintain eyes on the object. This is apparent by the waves of the water in the background being visible and not being visible. Don't use the purple "submit" button! Save this form with filename "Date_Squadron_RF.pdf" and email it to 3.5c, (b)(6) • (Also in the global). For troubleshooting, call 3.5c, (b)(6) Thank you for your time. Please ensure all display tapes are ripped for the entire time of interaction and saved as a .wmv (Example: 4 May VFA-106 HUD.wmv). Squadron intel personnel shall upload those files to the repository located at this link. USCENTCOM MDR 26-0019 Approved for Release to AARO 01/26/26 001

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Machine summary

Written by Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Anthropic) on May 22, 2026, from the record's text and war.gov's description. It is not part of the record and can contain errors; check it against the document.

DOW-UAP-D038 is a U.S. Navy Range Fouler Debrief form documenting an incident on May 14, 2020, at 20:40 UTC in the Arabian Gulf. The reporting crew was conducting an ISR mission using a FLIR sensor (ULTN/Black Hot/Linear mode) when a solid white, opaque, round object passed through their field of view at approximately 20,000 feet altitude. The crew reacquired the contact after a brief loss and tracked it making erratic movements above the water. A 4x zoom was obtained before the object was lost due to poor sensor track placement. The document was declassified by Major General Richard A. Harrison, USCENTCOM Chief of Staff, and released to AARO in January 2026.

The report is notable as a contemporaneous operational record of a UAP encounter in an active military operating area. Key identifying information — crew names, squadron, and contact coordinates — are redacted under exemptions (b)(3.5c) and (b)(6). The radar trackfile is listed as intermittent rather than stable, and no propulsion, markings, or airframe features were identified. Display tapes were requested but their disposition is not confirmed in this document.

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please contact object form above information squadron range field water email your crew sensor fouler debrief military reports description operator solid white through reporter erratic uscentcom purple submit button save

Records war.gov itself pairs with this one.

  1. DOW-UAP-PR036 Unresolved UAP Report, Middle East, May 2020 Department of War Video No incident date or place given

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  2. DOW-UAP-D056 Range Fouler Debrief, Arabian Sea, August 2020 Department of War Document 8/24/20
  3. DOW-UAP-D044 Range Fouler Reporting Form, Gulf of Aden, October 2020 Department of War Document 10/15/20
  4. DOW-UAP-D057 Range Fouler Reporting Form, Gulf of Aden, September 2020 Department of War Document 9/4/20
  5. DOW-UAP-D058 Range Fouler Debrief, NA, October 2020 Department of War Document 10/27/20
  6. DOW-UAP-D089 Range Fouler Debrief, Eastern United States, 2020 Department of War Document 2020
  7. DOW-UAP-D091 Range Fouler Debrief, Atlantic Ocean, 2020 Department of War Document 2020
  8. DOW-UAP-D090 Range Fouler Debrief, Eastern United States, 2019 Department of War Document 2019