Syria ISR UAP sightings, October 2024

A U.S. Central Command mission report recorded a UAP incident during an Operation INHERENT RESOLVE intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sortie over Syria on 20 October 2024. The initial contact was logged at 1559Z and the aircraft was in an orbit at 20,088 feet and 144 knots. The report listed clear weather and a time on station of 1230Z.

The report's event description said that from 1559Z to 1644Z the crew observed multiple glares or light from unknown origin. A light or glare crossed the full-motion video (FMV) camera at 1559Z, 1602Z and 1644Z. A halo effect appeared at the top of the feed at 1609Z and 1620Z. The UAP description was a misshapen and uneven ball of white light. The form listed the physical state as Plasma and the signature as light.

The crew's assessment was recorded as benign. The report said the aircrew considered it no mission impact and did not assess it as a lasing event. It answered no to intelligent control, advanced capabilities and interrogation of the object. Altitude, depth, velocity and trajectory fields were left blank. The observer's rank was E-4.

Three video clips from the same report were later released as Department of War unresolved UAP reports submitted to AARO. They run five seconds, six seconds and five seconds. Their catalogue entries list each case as unresolved. The accompanying analyses note that the light appears at the top edge of the display and that the mission report itself mentions a halo effect. They say this is consistent with a lens flare or sensor artifact, but the documents give no official finding to that effect.