View original document PDF viewer unavailable in this browser. Download the PDF to view. According to Department of War records released under the PURSUE archive on May 8, 2026, a U.S. military operator reported observing an unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP) traveling at an estimated speed of 321 knots, or approximately 369 miles per hour, in the Arabian Gulf region in 2020.
The document, titled “DOW-UAP-D4, Mission Report, Arabian Gulf, 2020,” is a standardized Mission Report (MISREP) form used by the U.S. military to record operational circumstances, including UAP sightings reported to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). The released document, a PDF available at the Department of War’s official website, contains a general text, or GENTEXT, section that provides qualitative context for the event.
The report states that at 1258Z (a military time designation), the operator observed a possible UAP in the vicinity of coordinates 34SDG9041417044. The document notes that a “brief observation precluded UAP altitude estimates,” meaning the operator was unable to determine how high the object was flying. The velocity was estimated at 321 knots.
The operator reported that the UAP “increased speed and changed direction towards the east.” The official description accompanying the release emphasizes that all descriptive and estimative language in the report reflects the reporter’s subjective interpretation at the time of the event.
The Department of War cautions that such characterizations “should not be interpreted as a conclusive indication of the presence or absence of any intrinsic object features or performance characteristics.” The document is marked with classification markings including “SECRET//REL TO USA, FVEY,” indicating it was originally classified as secret and releasable to the United States and the Five Eyes intelligence alliance (comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States). The record’s official summary offers limited detail beyond the operator’s account.
It does not list a specific incident date or location beyond the general “Arabian Gulf” reference, and it does not identify the operator, whose name is redacted in the document as “(b) (6),” a standard privacy exemption. The UAP’s size, shape, color, or any other physical characteristics are not described in the released excerpt.
Agency and Archival Context
The document was released by the U.S. Department of War as part of its PURSUE archive, a public repository for declassified UAP-related records. The Department of War, a historical predecessor to the Department of Defense, is the agency responsible for this release, though the document itself was originally generated by a U.S. military service.
The MISREP format is a standardized reporting tool that the military uses to record the circumstances surrounding its operations, and the GENTEXT section is specifically used to capture qualitative, contextual information that complements the quantitative data found elsewhere in the report.
Per a Wikipedia summary of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, AARO is the office within the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense that investigates UFOs and other phenomena in the air, sea, and/or space and/or on land, sometimes referred to as “unidentified aerial phenomena” or “unidentified anomalous phenomena.” Wikipedia’s entry on AARO notes that its first director was physicist Sean Kirkpatrick, who reported to then-deputy defense secretary Kathleen Hicks, and its current director is Jon T. Kosloski.
The document’s official description confirms that U.S. military services often use MISREPs to report UAP to AARO, linking this specific 2020 Arabian Gulf report to the broader government effort to catalog and analyze such incidents. The release of this document under the PURSUE archive is part of a larger transparency initiative by the Department of War to make historical UAP reports available to the public.
The document’s classification markings suggest that while the report was originally secret, it has been declassified for public release, though some details—such as the operator’s identity—remain redacted.
What Remains Unanswered
Despite the release of this mission report, several key questions remain unanswered. The operator’s brief observation did not allow for an altitude estimate, and the document provides no information on the UAP’s size, shape, or any other physical attributes. The report does not indicate whether the UAP was detected by radar or other sensors, or if any other personnel or aircraft corroborated the sighting.
The document also does not specify the type of aircraft from which the operator made the observation, nor does it detail any subsequent analysis or investigation by AARO or other military units. Readers should watch for future PURSUE archive releases, which may include additional mission reports or analytical documents that could provide more context for this and similar incidents.
The Department of War has not announced a schedule for further releases, but the existence of this document suggests that more records from the Arabian Gulf region and other areas may become available, potentially offering a clearer picture of UAP encounters reported by U.S. military personnel.
