Declassified UAP

DOW-UAP-D055

Mission Report, Syria, November 2016

Format
Document, 1 page
Incident date
11/18/16
Place
Syria
Released
Release 01, May 8, 2026
Source
war.gov
Topics
Infrared / FLIR, Military aircrew, At sea, Mission reports

Description from war.gov

This document is a mission briefing summarizing an observation of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) by a U.S. military platform near Latakia, Syria. A U.S. military pilot flying a P-8A aircraft reported observing an object via the aircraft’s EO/IR sensor, which they characterized as appearing to be in “sea skim mode,” traveling at approximately 500 knots (575 mph) on a southeasterly heading. The P-8A lost visual contact with the object after two minutes. 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, 274 words of text

Page 1

Declassified by MG Richard A. Harrison USCENTCOM Chief of Staff Declassified on: 20 M 67.1 P-8A OBSERVES UNIDENTIFIED LOW-FLYING OBJECT 55 NM NORTHWEST OF LATAKIA, SYRIA 18 NOV 2016 FLIGHT PATH BLUE: While monitoring KCTG activity in the Eastern Mediterranean, P-8A, observed an unidentified low-flying object 55 mm northwest of Latakia from an unknown origin, traveling at approx 500KTS on a southeasterly heading outbound from KCTG, for ~2 minutes. Timeline (Z): -18/1310Z: P-8 observed a possible missile launch IVO 1.4a I from an origin unknown detected via the EO/IR sensor. The possible missile appeared to be in sea skim mode traveling at approximately 500KTS on a southeasterly heading outbound from KCTG. P-8 position was 26NM S of object detection at 16121 FT| 1.4a 718/1312Z: - P-8 lost visual of the object IVO approx. 40 NM northwest of Latakia. The missile was observed to pass between (RUS) INGUL ARS and 1x U/i vessel. Weather: (U) P-8 aircrew characterized visibility as clear, no range limitations. THUS UDALOY QD.519 (BUS/HUZNET SOVEN 063 (RUS) CHILDRIN AOR TRUSY KALININGRADNEET AG (RUS, INGLE ARS (RUS) HIROV CON 099 1 KTG 1310Z: 1.4a 26 NM -1312Z: 1.4a U/I OBJ (RUS) INGUL ARS U/I VESSEL US P-8A Location 1310Z: 1.4a CTG 67.1 Comments: The mission commander for P-8 characterized the interaction as safe. While this was the first observed occurrence of possible missile activity by P-8 aircraft in the Eastern Mediterranean it is assessed to be standard activity consistent with the assessed activity of the KCTG. Video footage can be found at this link: (b)(6) USCENTCOM MDR 26-0038 to MDR 26-0046 Approved for Release to AARO 03/27/26 000001

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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-D055 is a one-page mission report dated November 18, 2016, produced under USCENTCOM CTG 67.1 and declassified by MG Richard A. Harrison. It documents an observation by a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft operating over the Eastern Mediterranean. At approximately 1310Z, the P-8A crew detected via EO/IR sensor an unidentified low-flying object 55 nautical miles northwest of Latakia, Syria, traveling at roughly 500 knots on a southeasterly heading in apparent sea-skim mode. Contact was lost two minutes later near 40 NM northwest of Latakia. Russian naval vessels, including the INGUL ARS, were in the vicinity.

The report's mission commander assessed the interaction as safe and characterized the object as likely a missile consistent with the activity of the associated Carrier Task Group (KCTG), making this primarily a tactical incident report rather than an unexplained phenomenon file. It was nonetheless released under the PURSUE UAP program. A redacted video link and coordinates are present, and sections citing exemption 1.4a obscure specific location data. The document was approved for release to AARO on March 27, 2026.

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object latakia activity observed missile unidentified flying aircraft characterized traveling southeasterly heading northwest possible mission military syria sensor skim mode approximately lost visual minutes declassified uscentcom eastern mediterranean unknown origin

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  8. DOW-UAP-D025 Mission Report, Greece, January 2024 Department of War Document 1/25/24