Chronicle year
2020
2020-11-02 / Arabian Gulf
A U.S. Air Force aircraft from the 482nd Attack Squadron filed MISREP 5039166 reporting two UAP observed on November 2, 2020, over the Arabian Gulf area during a NAVCENT support mission. The first UAP was observed at 2143Z; the second was observed at 2148Z traveling northwest, captured via Full Motion Video while the aircraft flew at FL220. The document was declassified by MG Richard A. Harrison, USCENTCOM Chief of Staff, on 16 March 2026.
2020-10-27 / Contact altitude: 26,000 ft
On October 27, 2020, at 01:12:21 Zulu, an O-3 pilot from 77 EFS filed a Range Fouler Debrief reporting two contacts at 26,000 feet, described as balloon-shaped, metallic, reflective, and visually tallied as "2x red blinking strobes." The target pod showed two IR significant contacts, with one range fouler circling the other, and noise jamming was received, indicated by two chevrons. The operator could not close within 16.9 NM, and "in 1/30th of a second, they were gone."
2020-10-15 / Gulf of Aden
A U.S. Navy O-2 from Squadron 172 ATKS filed a Range Fouler Reporting Form reporting that on October 15, 2020, from 14:18:39Z to 14:19:52Z, while at 19,073 feet HAT over the Gulf of Aden, they tracked "a round, cold object in IR traveling 319 degrees at 20 mph." The object "made a few abrupt directional changes during the 1 minute contact," with the infrared sensor set to black-hot and the object appearing bright white. The form was approved for release to AARO by USCENTCOM on March 27, 2026, and publicly released May 8, 2026; witness identifying information was sanitized per SPEAR policy.
2020-10-01 / Strait of Hormuz
MISREP 4871281 records that a U.S. military operator took off from OKAS on 1 October 2020 and, during a 21-hour NAVCENT support mission over the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman, observed 1X UAP at 1829Z on 2 October 2020. The report references OBSERVATION LINE 1 for UAP details, but that section is not present in the released text. The document was declassified by MG Richard A. Harrison, USCENTCOM Chief of Staff, on 16 March 2026 under MDR 26-0028 and approved for release to AARO.
2020-09-16 / Strait of Hormuz
A U.S. Air Force ISR aircraft operating over the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman reported observing one UAP at 1732Z on 16 September 2020, as recorded in MISREP 4782130. The observation is cross-referenced to OBS LINE 1, which is redacted. The report was declassified on 22 January 2026 by MG Richard A. Harrison, USCENTCOM Chief of Staff, and approved for release to AARO.
2020-09-04 / Gulf of Aden
On the night of September 4, 2020, an O-3 assigned to 172 ATKS filed a Range Fouler Reporting Form reporting that between 21:09Z and 21:17Z over the Gulf of Aden, the crew tracked a "round, cold object" in IR traveling 168 degrees at 277 mph at 23,819 HAT. The IR sensor was set to "black hot," making the object appear "bright white," and the object "made a few abrupt directional changes" during the eight-minute contact. The form was approved for release to AARO on March 16, 2026, under USCENTCOM document number 26-0028; reporter identity and coordinate fields are redacted.
2020-08-31 / Arabian Gulf
A U.S. Navy O-2 pilot assigned to 482 ATKS filed a Range Fouler Debrief Form reporting that on August 31, 2020, during a dusk ISR mission over the Arabian Gulf, an object flew through the sensor screen and was then surpassed by a second object of the same size and shape but at much higher speed. At one point three objects were visible simultaneously on the screen, moving amongst each other, at a constant altitude of 18,000 feet on a heading of 150 degrees at 230 knots. The form was declassified by MG Richard A. Harrison and approved for release to AARO on March 16, 2026.
2020-08-27 / Persian Gulf
MISREP 4685903, filed by U.S. Air Force personnel assigned to the 482nd Attack Squadron and 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing, records that at 1527Z on 27 August 2020, an aircraft operating over the Arabian Gulf observed a "formation of UNK flying objects" via onboard sensor. The report states that "light cloud coverage prevented continuous tracking of the UAP event" and that the aircrew "was unable to gain PIO again on this formation." The document was declassified by MG Richard A. Harrison, USCENTCOM Chief of Staff, on 22 January 2026, and contains extensive redactions.
2020-08-08 / Persian Gulf
MISREP 4592219, filed by the 482nd Attack Squadron under USCENTCOM, records that on 8 August 2020 at 0726Z, a U.S. Air Force asset operating from OKAS observed one UAP "transitting" in the vicinity of grid 39RWL08 over the Arabian Gulf, via full motion video. The report notes "no impact to mission" and states that "dense cloud coverage intermittently impacted FMV collection." The document was declassified by MG Richard A. Harrison, USCENTCOM Chief of Staff, on 20 March 2026, and approved for release to AARO on 27 March 2026.
2020-07-16 / Persian Gulf
A U.S. Air Force ISR aircraft from the 482nd Attack Squadron reported three UAP over the Arabian Gulf on July 16, 2020, at 1830Z, 1920Z, and 2345Z during a 20.3-hour mission supporting NAVCENT. The first UAP was observed via Full Motion Video at grid 39RVM5, with the aircraft at FL 200, 98 KIAS, heading 152M; weather was not a factor. The GENTEXT context field for the first observation is partially redacted. The report was declassified by USCENTCOM Chief of Staff MG Richard A. Harrison on March 16, 2026, and approved for release to AARO.
2020-05-14 / Persian Gulf
On the night of 14 May 2020 at 20:40:00 Zulu, a U.S. Navy crew performing an ISR tasking over the Persian Gulf reported that "a solid white object flew through the FOV" and appeared "to make erratic moments above the water." The crew temporarily lost then re-acquired the object, obtained 4x zoom, and lost it again due to poor track placement. All witness identifying information was removed by SPEAR. The document was declassified by MG Richard A. Harrison, USCENTCOM Chief of Staff, and approved for release to AARO on 26 January 2026.
2020-01-01 / Arabian Gulf
A U.S. military operator reported observing a possible UAP near grid coordinate 34SDG9041417044 in the Arabian Gulf at 1258Z in 2020. The brief observation prevented any altitude estimate; velocity was estimated at 321 knots. The operator reported the UAP "increased speed and changed direction towards the east." Pages 1 through 4 are withheld under exemption 1.4(a), and the pilot's identity is redacted under b(6).
2020-01-01 / Arabian Gulf
A U.S. Air Force operator filed MISREP 8799515, classified SECRET, reporting four UAP observed in the Arabian Gulf area of operations in 2020 under AFCENT. The GENTEXT records sequential sightings at 17:36:22Z, 17:36:30Z, and 17:36:49Z, with cloud coverage obstructing a clear visual. The manifest describes the objects as "a line of dots followed by a trailing dot." The UAP Advanced Capabilities And/Or Materials field is answered "NO"; most other UAP attribute fields are redacted under (b)(1)1.4a.
2020-01-01 / Arabian Gulf
A U.S. military Mission Report from 2020 documents two UAP observations in the Arabian Gulf. At 1354Z, a redacted observer reported 1 UAP traveling at 40 knots between FL160 and FL170 at constant speed. At 2243Z, the same or another redacted observer reported 2 possible UAPs with an estimated velocity of 278 knots that increased speed and changed direction towards the south. Pages 1 through 4 are not reproduced in the available source text.
2020-01-01 / Arabian Gulf
A U.S. military operator reported observing a UAP over the Arabian Gulf in 2020, describing it as looking "like a balloon, similar to previously reported UAP from 48FW." The report states the UAP was traveling with the winds at 31,000 ft MSL and was tracked as a Weapons Quality 1 track. The operator visually identified the UAP using a TFLIR sensor. The operator's identity is redacted under exemption 1.4(a).
2020-01-01 / Arabian Gulf