Arabian Gulf: USAF ISR aircraft tracks formation of unknown flying objects along the coast
On 27 August 2020 from 15:27 to 15:29 UTC, a U.S. Air Force ISR aircraft of the 482nd Attack Squadron supporting Naval Forces Central Command over the Arabian Gulf tracked a formation of unknown flying objects moving northeast to northwest along the coast until light cloud cover ended the track.
Background
The mission report (MISREP 4685903) covers a 21-hour ISR sortie launched from Ali Al Salem (OKAS), Kuwait, at 23:07Z on 26 August 2020 in support of NAVCENT, tasked to characterise Iranian naval vessels, UAS activity and pattern of life in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman; aircraft type, tail number and callsign are redacted. At 15:27Z the crew observed via the aircraft's sensor a formation of flying objects travelling northeast to northwest along the coast in the vicinity of MGRS grid 39RVM8 (remaining digits redacted) and tracked it for approximately two minutes before positive identification was lost in cloud cover; the aircrew was unable to regain it. The weather line states that light cloud coverage prevented continuous tracking of the 'UAP event'. Earlier in the sortie, at 05:32Z, the aircraft had received a standard guard call from Iranian air defence with no mission impact, and full-motion video of the mission was exploited by DGS-1. The report was declassified by the USCENTCOM Chief of Staff on 22 January 2026. The details are taken from the records released by the U.S. Department of War (record code DOW-UAP-D61) and do not represent an independent determination by From Beyond Space.