DOW-UAP-D38, Range Fouler Debrief, Middle East, May 2020
▮ AI SYNOPSIS · Sonnet 4.6
DOW-UAP-D38 is a U.S. Navy Range Fouler Debrief Form documenting an incident on May 14, 2020, at 20:40 UTC over the Persian Gulf. Filed by an unidentified crew member performing an ISR mission (ULTN/Black Hot/Linear imaging mode), the report describes a solid white, opaque object that flew through the sensor field of view at approximately 20,000 feet altitude. The crew briefly lost and then reacquired the object, tracked it at 4x zoom, and observed what they characterized as erratic movements above the water. The form was declassified by USCENTCOM Chief of Staff MG Richard A. Harrison and released to AARO in January 2026.
The report is notable as a contemporaneous operational record from an active ISR platform in the USCENTCOM area of responsibility. Crew identity and squadron information are redacted per standard SPEAR protocols. Contact coordinates are partially filled in but incomplete, and radar trackfile stability is listed as intermittent. No propulsion, markings, wings, or other identifying features were noted. The sensor operator's continuous manual adjustments during tracking are documented as contextual detail explaining variable imagery quality.
▮ TOP WORDS IN THIS DOCUMENT
Redactions present in this record. Black bars protect identities of eyewitnesses, locations of facilities, or non-UAP-related sensitive material.
This document is a Range Fouler Debrief, a standardized reporting form the U.S. Navy uses to record the circumstances surrounding an unauthorized intrusion into controlled airspace during active military operations or training. These reports contain a narrative description of the observer’s experiences.
A U.S. military operator reported observing a “solid white object [fly] through the [field-of-view]. The reporter described the UAP as making erratic [movements] above the water.
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.
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Range Fouler Debrief Form
Declassified by MG Richard A. Harrison
USCENTCOM Chief of Staff
Please do not use the purple 026
"submit" button above. Save and
email the complete file manually
(see below).
Please complete this form to the best of your ability. If you do not have the requested information,
please leave the field blank. If there was more than one "group," please report each on a separate
form for data collection purposes. You should receive a response within 5 business days.
Last Name, First Name
Rank
Squadron
SIPR Email Address
Crew Position
This information is for contact only. SPEAR sanitizes all reports of identifying information.
Absolutely no identifying information for aircrew or squadron will be recorded for analysis.
05/14/20
Date (mm/dd/yy)
20:40:00
Time of detection
(hh:mm:ss Z)
Night
Day / Night
ISR
Side No.
Buno
Mission Description (CAS, BFM, etc)
LFE?
28314
28314
N 49524
Contact Working Area
Contact Latitute
N/S
Contact Longitude
(Ex: W-72 1A)
(DD:MM:SS)
E
EW
(DD:MM:SS)
Please attempt to determine a Lat / Long for the contact at initial detection. We recommend
using JMPS to reference the sensor-derived bearing and range relative to the bullseye you had
in use. If that method is not available, any reasonable derivation of location will work, but please
be as specific as possible and make a note in the comments section. These locations may be
used to cue other means of tracking.
20000
Contact Altitude
(Ex: 22000)
Yes
Altitude
Wind Dir at
Wind
Constant?
Contact Alt
Speed
(From)
Was the contact moving? Yes
Direction/Speed
(Ex. 090/15)
Radar Equipped:
Stable Trackfile?: Intermittent
# of Contacts in "Group": 1
EA Indications (Check all that apply):
AIM-9x Self-Track:
ATFLIR Autotrack:
Tally Achieved:
Please check all that apply:
Round:
Moving Parts:
Square:
Metallic:
Balloon-shaped:
Markings:
Wings/Airframe:
Translucent:
Other Shape.
Opaque:
ECM
Letter
False
Other/
Apparent Propulsion.
Arc
Identifier
Trackfiles
Ambiguous
Reflective:
Please use the field below to describe the contact and any interaction in your own words with as much
detail as possible. Please be sure to include any detail not included in questions above.
While preforming an ISR tasking (ULTN/Black Hot/Lin), a solid white object flew through the FOV. There
was a temporarily lose of the object but re-acquired shortly there after. The crew was able to follow the
object as it appeared to make erratic moments above the water. During the follow, crew was able to obtain
4x zoom on the object but lost the object due to poor track placement. While following, the sensor operator
was continuously manipulating the sensor to maintain eyes on the object. This is apparent by the waves of
the water in the background being visible and not being visible.
Don't use the purple "submit" button! Save this form with filename "Date_Squadron_RF.pdf" and email
it to
3.5c, (b)(6)
• (Also in the global). For troubleshooting, call 3.5c, (b)(6)
Thank you for your time. Please ensure all display tapes are ripped for the entire time of interaction and
saved as a .wmv (Example: 4 May VFA-106 HUD.wmv). Squadron intel personnel shall upload those files
to the repository located at
this link.
USCENTCOM MDR 26-0019
Approved for Release to AARO
01/26/26 001