Unresolved UAP Report, Middle East, 2020
The Department of the Air Force submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of 58 seconds of video footage from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform in 2020. The reporter did not provide any oral or written description of the observation. Video Description: 00:00-00:03: The sensor tracks an area of contrast acquiring a reticle lock. 00:04-00:30: The area of contrast gradually increases in distinctiveness against the background. 00:31: The sensor narrows its field-of-view to zoom in on the area of contrast. 00:32-00:56: The area of contrast increases in apparent size and distinctiveness. 00:57-00:58: The area of contrast leaves the center of the frame and passes out of the sensor field-of-view, exiting the scene in the bottom right corner of the screen.
Fighter aircraft HUD or targeting pod footage showing a small object centered in the crosshairs with a pink/magenta tracking ellipse and a red targeting reticle locked on. The footage alternates between white-hot and black-hot IR polarity; in white-hot the object is a small dark dot, indicating active sensor lock on a tracked target.
00:00-00:03: The sensor tracks an area of contrast acquiring a reticle lock. 00:04-00:30: The area of contrast gradually increases in distinctiveness against the background. 00:31: The sensor narrows its field-of-view to zoom in on the area of contrast. 00:32-00:56: The area of contrast increases in apparent size and distinctiveness. 00:57-00:58: The area of contrast leaves the center of the frame and passes out of the sensor field-of-view, exiting the scene in the bottom right corner of the screen.