DOW-UAP-D101, Intelligence Information Report, Unresolved UAP Report, Gulf of Oman, 2021
WAR.gov / Department of War PURSUE Release 05
This document is an Intelligence Information Report (IIR), the primary standardized format utilized by the Department of War, military services, and the broader Intelligence Community to disseminate unevaluated intelligence information derived from human sources (HUMINT), open sources, and field collection activities.
Document Highlights
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Short overview
An Intelligence Information Report (IIR) documenting an observation by the aircrew of a U.S. Special Operations Forces AC-130 Gunship over the Gulf of Oman on September 8, 2021.
Why this is interesting
This is the written record behind the six videos DOW-UAP-PR117 to PR122. During a night-time live-fire exercise the crew reported first seeing two phenomena after dropping a water-activated flare: stationary, roughly four feet across, zero to twenty feet above the water. Over the sortie they reported around 25 similar observations on the infrared sensor and called them cold orbs, with estimated speeds from 250 to 1,300 miles per hour. An IIR is unevaluated raw reporting, not a finished assessment, and the report says plainly that its descriptive language reflects the reporter’s subjective interpretation. The crew also stated they could not record the phenomena because the aircraft’s digital video recorder was not working.
Selected passages
- “maneuvering aggressively”
- “cold orbs”
Background
This document is an Intelligence Information Report (IIR), the primary standardized format utilized by the Department of War, military services, and the broader Intelligence Community to disseminate unevaluated intelligence information derived from human sources (HUMINT), open sources, and field collection activities. IIRs are not finished intelligence products; they serve as inputs for subsequent all-source intelligence assessments. This report accompanies the footage contained within DOW-UAP-PR117 through DOW-UAP-PR122. This report documents an observation by the aircrew of a U.S. Special Operations Forces (USSOF) AC-130 Gunship on September 8, 2021, during a nighttime live-fire training exercise over the Gulf of Oman. The aircrew reported first observing two unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) after dropping a water-activated flare. The report describes the UAP as stationary, approximately four feet in diameter, 0-20 feet above the water’s surface. Throughout the training sortie, the aircrew reported observing approximately 25 instances involving similar phenomena via infrared sensor, describing them as “cold orbs.” Aircrew visual estimates of the UAP’s apparent speed range from 250 to 1,300 miles per hour. The report characterizes the UAP’s behavior as “maneuvering aggressively,” “flying in various formations,” and appearing to react to deployments of the aircraft’s onboard weapons systems. The aircrew stated that they were unable to capture video footage of the phenomena because the aircraft’s digital video recorder was not functioning during the incident. All descriptive and estimative language contained in this report reflects the reporter’s subjective interpretation at the time of the event. Such characterizations should not be interpreted as a conclusive indication of the presence or absence of any intrinsic object features or performance characteristics.