Ayn al-Asad Air Base: Hot, fast UAP crosses gunship sensors during missile shot
On 20 September 2024 at 20:27 UTC, during a weapons calibration in the restricted operating zone of Ayn al-Asad Air Base, Iraq, the crew of a U.S. Air Force special operations aircraft saw an unidentified object fly at high speed through its MX-20 and MX-25 sensors between release and impact of an AGM-176 missile. The object produced an infrared lens flare indicating a significant heat source and was not seen again.
Background
The mission report (MISREP) of an AFSOC aircraft (type and callsign redacted, originator SOTU 016) records an armed overwatch mission under Operation Inherent Resolve that departed OKAS at 17:40 UTC on 20 September 2024 and entered Ayn al-Asad Air Base's restricted operating zone 'Raindrop' at about 19:30 UTC for a weapons calibration, releasing 105 mm and 30 mm rounds and one AGM-176 Griffin. After a call for fire at about 20:25 UTC and weapons release, the weapons systems officer and combat systems officer observed an unidentified object 'fly' through the aircraft sensors at a high rate of speed; initial contact is logged at 20:27:59 UTC with the aircraft at flight level 130, heading 096, 170 knots, in MGRS grid 38S KC. The object created an IR lens flare on the MX-20 and MX-25 sensors, which the crew read as a significant heat signature; the path appeared predetermined and not a response to the aircraft, and it is unknown whether an object detached from the primary UAP just before leaving the field of view. The crew kept laser energy on the target until impact and did not re-observe the object; no other aircraft were reported in the airspace. Assessment 'benign', no effects on persons or equipment. The event serial number is 202027ZSEP2024-CENTCOM. Declassified by USCENTCOM on 24 October 2025. The details are taken from the records released by the U.S. Department of War (record code DOW-UAP-D28) and do not represent an independent determination by From Beyond Space.