A recently declassified U.S. military document describes an eight-minute encounter with a round, cold object over the Gulf of Aden on September 4, 2020. The report, released on May 8, 2026, through the Department of War’s PURSUE archive, provides specific technical details about the incident but leaves the object’s identity unexplained.
The document is a Range Fouler form, the standard U.S. Navy paperwork used to report unauthorized airspace intrusions. It was filed by an O-3 operator assigned to squadron 1172 ATKS during a night intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance mission. The operator tracked the object using an infrared sensor set to black hot mode, which displayed the target as bright white against the dark sky. The sensor was in autotrack mode and maintained a stable trackfile throughout the contact.
According to the form, the object was recorded at an altitude of 23,819 feet above ground level, traveling at 277 miles per hour on a heading of 168 degrees. The slant range was 6.1 nautical miles, with a ground range of 8.81 kilometers. The sensor was aimed 39 degrees below the aircraft’s altitude. The operator noted that the object made “a few abrupt directional changes during the 8 minute contact.”
The checklist portion of the form asked for physical characteristics. The operator checked “Round” and “Cold” but left blank the boxes for moving parts, metallic composition, wings, airframe, and markings. No electronic attack indications, radar jamming, or false trackfiles were reported. The operator did not achieve a tally, meaning the object was only observed through the sensor and not visually confirmed with the naked eye.
The PURSUE archive is a program established by the Department of War to declassify and release military records related to unidentified aerial phenomena. This document is one of several expected to be made public under the initiative. The Department of War has committed to releasing additional records, which may provide further data points for analysis.
For the military, a Range Fouler form is a routine administrative tool used to document intrusions into training areas or active operations zones. The Gulf of Aden is a heavily trafficked waterway with frequent aircraft patrols and ship transits. Most unauthorized incursions involve mundane objects such as drones, civilian aircraft, or weather balloons. This particular report stands out due to the object’s lack of visible propulsion, wings, or markings, combined with its ability to change direction abruptly.
The release of this document adds to the ongoing public conversation about UAPs. While it does not provide a definitive explanation, it offers precise sensor data and a formal military record of the event. The report was filed in 2020 and remained in an archive for nearly six years before being declassified. The meaning of the encounter remains open to interpretation, pending further disclosures from the PURSUE archive.
