The Department of War has released a two-page document containing the sole visual evidence from an unresolved unidentified anomalous phenomena report in Kuwait. The file, designated DOW-UAP-PR20, was made public on May 8, 2026, as part of the broader PURSUE archive initiative to increase transparency around such incidents.
At the center of the document is a single still frame captured by a U.S. military system in May 2022. The image features a red line marking an area in the upper left quadrant, which the file describes as an “elongated area of contrast.” According to the document, this contrast intensifies as it extends from the upper left to the lower right of the frame. The file was submitted to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office by United States Central Command.
It references a separate, unpublished mission report labeled DoW-UAP-D12, which contains the operator’s firsthand account. The available document states that the operator observed the object moving from north to northeast but could not positively identify it.
Major General Richard A. Harrison, the USCENTCOM Chief of Staff, recommended the document for public release, signing off on October 8, 2025. The file’s title explicitly labels it as an “Unresolved UAP Report, Kuwait, May 2022.” The image itself is not a direct photograph but a processed still from a sensor system.
The document offers no speculation about what the “elongated area of contrast” might represent. Possibilities include a sensor artifact, a lens smudge, a bird captured at an incorrect focal length, or an unknown object.
The file simply records the operator’s inability to identify the target and forwards the case to AARO for analysis. AARO, the Pentagon’s office tasked with investigating such phenomena, was initially led by physicist Sean Kirkpatrick. The office’s mandate involves collecting data, conducting analysis, and attempting to explain what military personnel and sensors detect.
In this instance, no explanation was reached, and the case was closed as unresolved before being declassified years later. The document is notable for its lack of definitive claims.
It does not assert a threat, a technological breakthrough, or any conclusion. It functions as a bureaucratic record of a negative result: a military operator observed an unidentified object on a display, could not match it to any known aircraft or drone, and filed a report. The report was processed, the image preserved, and a red circle added to highlight the area of interest.
The contrast in the image is acknowledged as real by the document, but its meaning remains unknown. The Department of War provides no answer, only the file itself.
The red line serves as a pointer, directing attention to a specific spot without indicating what might be found there.
