A mission report dated October 31, 2023 and recently released under the Department of War’s PURSUE archive provides the first official record of a U.S. military operator witnessing an Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon (UAP) during a sortie in the Persian Gulf. The document, titled “DOW‑UAP‑D23, Mission Report, United Arab Emirates, October 2023,” was declassified on September 12, 2025 and made public on May 8, 2026. The report follows the standard Military Situation Report (MISREP) format used by U.S. forces to log operational details, including any UAP sightings.
According to the Department of War’s description, such MISREPs are routinely forwarded to the All‑domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), the Pentagon office tasked with investigating unidentified aerial, maritime, space and land phenomena. According to the narrative section—partially redacted—the operator departed Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates at 0015 Z on October 31, 2023.
The flight was part of “OP SPARTAN SHIELD,” a mission overseen by the 609th Air Operations Center under U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM). The aircraft, assigned to the 50th Attack Squadron (50ATKS) of the 432nd Wing, was conducting signals intelligence (SIGINT) and imagery intelligence (IMINT) collection in a “SRO TRACK IRISH SICKLE” pattern. At 0241 Z the operator recorded the first sighting of an “IX UAP.” A second observation of the same designation occurred at 0322 Z, giving a 41‑minute window in which the phenomenon was seen twice during the same sortie.
The report notes that full‑motion video (FMV) from the mission was later examined by a Distributed Ground Station (DGS‑2), indicating that the visual data were preserved for analysis. The aircraft returned to Al Dhafra at 2058 Z, concluding the mission.
The report’s metadata list “MULTIPLE SOURCES” as the classification origin and record an eventual declassification date of October 25, 2048, although the document was cleared for public release earlier by Major General Richard A. Harrison, USCENTCOM Chief of Staff, on September 12, 2025. While the narrative provides timestamps, unit identifiers and mission purpose, it offers no description of the UAP’s appearance, speed, maneuverability or any threat assessment.
The Department of War cautions that all descriptive language reflects the reporter’s subjective interpretation at the time and should not be taken as conclusive evidence of any intrinsic object characteristics. Personal identifiers for the operator and other personnel have been removed under exemptions cited as “3.5c, (b)(6)” and “130b, (b)(6).” The heavily redacted sections limit insight into the operator’s full account, leaving key questions about the phenomenon unanswered.
The release is part of a broader transparency effort by the Department of War, aiming to make UAP‑related records accessible through the PURSUE archive. Future disclosures may include additional mission reports or analytical summaries that could shed more light on this October 2023 incident or similar observations in the Persian Gulf region.
