DOW-UAP-D101, Intelligence Information Report, Unresolved UAP Report, Gulf of Oman, 2021

Official Conclusion

Unresolved — filed as unevaluated intelligence; report explicitly states this is NOT finally evaluated intelligence

Official Description

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.

Key Findings

• →A USSOF AC-130 Gunship Combat Systems Officer (CSO) observed two approximately four-foot diameter cold orbs stationary 0-20 feet above the water surface, which rapidly flew away immediately upon the trigger pull of the 105mm cannon.
• →Approximately 25 instances of UAPs were observed via EO/IR sensor in both white-is-hot and black-is-hot IR modes throughout the sortie, described as cold orbs with no observable means of propulsion.
• →UAPs were observed flying in coordinated formations of two and three, with altitude oscillating in wave patterns, and were also observed maneuvering erratically and aggressively.
• →The CSO calculated UAP speeds using the aircraft's TACTOOL, clocking a maximum observed speed of 1300 MPH and minimum of 250 MPH.
• →The AC-130's Digital Video Recorder inexplicably failed during the event and the video data became corrupted, eliminating the primary sensor recording of the incident.

Extracted Entities