North Arabian Sea: Navy helicopter pilot sights three small unidentified air contacts
At 00:04 UTC on August 24, 2020, a U.S. Navy helicopter pilot of squadron HSM-73 on a routine night surface-search mission over the North Arabian Sea observed three possible unidentified small air contacts with wings or airframes heading west; after losing one behind a cloud, he saw two more to its east, and all three kept their relative course, speed and altitude.
Background
The record is a one-page Range Fouler Debrief Form submitted by a pilot of O-3 rank of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 73 for a surface search and control (SSC) mission on August 24, 2020, time of detection 00:04:30Z, night; the aircraft's side number and bureau number are given but omitted here, the working area is logged as 21440 (latitude) with the longitude withheld. The crew had no electronic-support, radar or IFF track; distance, speed and precise course of the contacts were unknown, but they appeared to be on a westerly heading with a reported direction of roughly 270 degrees. Three contacts are recorded, with 'Wings/Airframe' checked; the pilot initially observed and tracked one unknown air contact, lost sight of it behind a cloud and, on regaining it, saw two additional unknown air contacts due east of the first; all three 'appeared to maintain their relative course, speed, and altitude', and no interaction took place. USCENTCOM approved release to AARO on March 27, 2026 (MDR 26-0038 to 26-0046). The details are taken from the records released by the U.S. Department of War (record code DOW-UAP-D56) and do not represent an independent determination by From Beyond Space.