Two unidentified anomalous phenomena were observed moving at an estimated 276 miles per hour over the Mediterranean Sea, according to a newly released U.S. Department of War document. The record, titled “DOW-UAP-D8, Mission Report, Djibouti, 2025,” was published on May 8, 2026, as part of the Department of War’s PURSUE archive. The document is a standardized Mission Report, or MISREP, a form the U.S. military uses to record operational circumstances, including encounters with UAP.
The Department of War’s official description of the record notes that U.S. military services often use MISREPs to report Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). The document’s general text section, known as GENTEXT, contains qualitative and contextual information that distinguishes it from the more quantitative data found elsewhere in the report. The official description cautions that all descriptive and estimative language in the report reflects the reporter’s subjective interpretation at the time of the event, and such characterizations should not be interpreted as a conclusive indication of the presence or absence of any intrinsic object features or performance characteristics.
The document text excerpt, which includes classification markings of “SECRET//REL TO USA, FIN, SWE, FVEY, NATO,” states that at 1653Z, an operator observed two “white hot UAPs” moving south at approximately 240 nautical miles per hour. The excerpt does not provide a specific incident date, nor does it name the operator or the precise vessel or aircraft involved. The incident location is listed in the official summary as the Mediterranean Sea. The document’s text also includes a coordinate reference, “35SQT3423692957,” which is a military grid reference system location, but the document excerpt does not specify the exact geographic point or the altitude of the objects.
Context from the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office
Per a Wikipedia summary of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, AARO is an office within the United States Office of the Secretary of Defense that investigates unidentified flying objects and other phenomena in the air, sea, and/or space and/or on land, sometimes referred to as “unidentified aerial phenomena” or “unidentified anomalous phenomena.” Wikipedia notes that the office’s first director was physicist Sean Kirkpatrick, who reported to then deputy defense secretary Kathleen Hicks, and that its current director is Jon T. Kosloski. The Department of War’s official description of the Djibouti mission report explicitly states that MISREPs are a common format for reporting UAP to AARO, linking the document to the broader U.S. government effort to collect and analyze such encounters.
The document’s release under the PURSUE archive, hosted at war.gov, represents a deliberate effort by the Department of War to make certain UAP-related records publicly accessible. The archive’s name and the specific selection criteria for released documents are not detailed in the supplied source material, but the publication of this mission report indicates that the Department of War considers it part of a historical record worth sharing. The official description’s emphasis on the subjective nature of the report’s language—noting that terms like “white hot” and speed estimates are the reporter’s interpretation—suggests that the Department of War is mindful of the need to present such observations without overstating their evidentiary weight.
What Remains Unanswered
The document leaves several key questions open. The official summary does not specify the date of the incident, only that the report was filed in 2025. The exact location within the Mediterranean Sea is not provided beyond the grid reference, and the document does not describe the duration of the observation, the behavior of the UAP after they were first seen, or whether any other sensors or personnel corroborated the sighting. The document excerpt also does not indicate whether the operator was airborne or on a naval vessel, nor does it explain the classification markings that restrict sharing to the United States, Finland, Sweden, the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, and NATO.
The release of this mission report, while providing a concrete example of a UAP encounter recorded by U.S. military personnel, does not resolve the broader mystery surrounding such phenomena. Readers should watch for future PURSUE archive releases, which may include additional mission reports, sensor data, or analytical assessments that could provide further context for this and similar incidents. The Department of War’s ongoing publication of such records offers a window into the military’s systematic documentation of UAP, but the subjective nature of the reports and the limited detail in each document ensure that many questions will persist until more comprehensive information is made available.
