View original document (0.6 MB)
A declassified Department of War mission report, released under the Pentagon’s PURSUE transparency initiative, describes an incident in which a U.S. military platform observed an unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP) over Syria in October 2024. The report, designated “DOW-UAP-PR33, Unresolved UAP Report, Syria, October 2024,” was released to the public on May 8, 2026, and is available through the PURSUE archive at war.gov.
Official Description of the Incident
According to the Department of War document, the United States Central Command (USCENTCOM) submitted a report to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of five seconds of video footage from a full-motion video (FMV) camera aboard a military platform. The accompanying mission report, DoW-UAP-D32, described the UAP as a “misshapen and uneven ball of white light,” and noted that a “light/glare halo effect” occurred at the top of the FMV feed.
The document’s narrative section, marked SECRET and declassified on October 24, 2025, provides a timeline of the mission. At 1559Z, the platform “OBSERVED AN UNIDENTIFIED ARRIEAL PHENOMENON (SEE UAP 1).” The report indicates the mission was part of Operation INHERENT RESOLVE, conducted by the 12th Special Operations Squadron (12 SOS) under the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). The aircraft operated out of a base designated OJMS and conducted intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) tasks, collecting both FMV and signals intelligence (SIGINT).
The document’s official summary offers limited detail beyond the description of the light. The video description, provided for informational purposes, states that between 00:01 and 00:03, “two semi-transparent, irregularly shaped orange areas overlay the background imagery, persisting for less than two seconds each.” The document explicitly cautions that readers should not interpret this description as reflecting an analytical judgment or factual determination regarding the event’s validity or significance.
Institutional Context and the AARO Framework
The report was submitted to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). Per a Wikipedia summary of the office’s purpose, AARO is an office within the United States Office of the Secretary of Defense that investigates unidentified flying objects (UFOs) 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” (UAP). 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 document itself is classified SECRET and carries the caveat “REL TO USA, FVEY,” indicating it was releasable to the United States and the Five Eyes intelligence alliance. The declassification was authorized by Major General Richard A. Harrison, USCENTCOM Chief of Staff. The document was approved for release to AARO as part of the Pentagon’s broader effort to standardize UAP reporting across military branches.
The mission report also contains administrative details, including the mission type (ISR), the tasking order (ATO), and the service tasked (Air Force). While many personnel names and unit details are redacted under FOIA exemptions, the document identifies the originating unit as the 12 SOS and the wing as the 27th Special Operations Wing (27 SOW).
What Remains Unanswered
The declassified report does not provide a conclusion regarding the nature or origin of the observed phenomenon. The official description is vague, noting only the visual characteristics of the light and the halo effect. The video footage, described as five seconds long, shows transient orange overlays, but the document offers no analysis of what might have caused them.
Readers should watch for future PURSUE releases, as the Pentagon continues to declassify records related to UAP incidents. The Department of War’s PURSUE archive is expected to publish additional reports from other combatant commands, which may provide further data points for understanding the frequency and characteristics of such encounters. The current document, while limited in its analytical depth, represents a formal record of a UAP observation by a U.S. military asset in a conflict zone, and it underscores the ongoing institutional effort to document and investigate these phenomena within the existing reporting framework.
