UAP Reports, Gulf of Oman, UAE and Horn of Africa (2023–2025) – PURSUE Files

This page groups reports from the southern Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, an area where U.S. forces have been defending shipping against Houthi drones and missiles since late 2023. The records, released in PURSUE Release 01, include two UAE videos from October 2023, a 2024 Gulf of Oman report of an object at about 24,000 ft, a 2024 Gulf of Aden report, and a 2025 sighting by forces based in Djibouti, home of Camp Lemonnier.^[1]

The records

DOW-UAP-D023, Mission Report, United Arab Emirates, October 2023

Open DOW-UAP-D023 (PDF) on war.gov →

This document is a Mission Report (MISREP), a standardized reporting form the U.S. Military uses to record the circumstances surrounding its operations. U.S. military services often use MISREPs to report Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) to AARO. The GENTEXT, or “general text” section of these reports often contains important qualitative, contextual information, distinguishing it from the more quantitative, or numerical, data found elsewhere in the report.
A U.S. military operator reported observing one UAP.
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.

— Official PURSUE description

DOW-UAP-PR026, Unresolved UAP Report, United Arab Emirates, October 2023

DOW-UAP-PR026, Unresolved UAP Report, United Arab Emirates, October 2023 — official upload on DVIDS (public domain).

The United States Central Command submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of 43 seconds of video footage from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform in 2023. An accompanying mission report, DoW-UAP-D23, mentions a UAP was observed during the mission.

Video Description:
00:00-00:17: An area of contrast remains generally within the top left quarter of the display.
00:17-00:18: The sensor pans from right to left, causing the area of contrast to pass through the center of the display. The sensor then pans from left to right, causing the area of contrast to return to its approximate initial position within the sensor field-of-view.
00:29: The sensor stops tracking the area of contrast, causing it to leave the sensor field-of-view on the left side of the screen.
00:30-00:43: The sensor resumes its motion relative to the background but does not reacquire the area of contrast.

This video description is provided for informational purposes only. Readers should not interpret any part of this description as reflecting an analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination regarding the described event’s validity, nature, or significance.

— Official PURSUE description

DOW-UAP-PR027, Unresolved UAP Report, United Arab Emirates, October 2023

DOW-UAP-PR027, Unresolved UAP Report, United Arab Emirates, October 2023 — official upload on DVIDS (public domain).

The United States Central Command submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of four minutes and 57 seconds of video footage from an infrared (IR) sensor aboard a U.S. military platform in 2023. An accompanying mission report, DoW-UAP-D23, mentions a UAP was observed during the mission.

Video Description:
00:00-01:55: No content.
01:56: An area of contrast becomes distinguishable against the background in the center of the right side of the display.
02:04: The IR sensor pans to center on the area of contrast.
02:14: The sensor field-of-view narrows to zoom in on the area of contrast.
02:15-03:26: The area of contrast remains generally in the center of the sensor field-of-view.
03:27-04:57: The sensor motion causes the area of contrast to move erratically across the display. Due to this motion, the sensor system repeatedly loses and reacquires the area of contrast within the center area of the display.

This video description is provided for informational purposes only. Readers should not interpret any part of this description as reflecting an analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination regarding the described event’s validity, nature, or significance.

— Official PURSUE description

DOW-UAP-D027, Mission Report, United Arab Emirates, October 2023

Open DOW-UAP-D027 (PDF) on war.gov →

This document is a Mission Report (MISREP), a standardized reporting form the U.S. Military uses to record the circumstances surrounding its operations. U.S. military services often use MISREPs to report Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) to AARO. The GENTEXT, or “general text” section of these reports often contains important qualitative, contextual information, distinguishing it from the more quantitative, or numerical, data found elsewhere in the report.
A U.S. military operator reported observing one UAP at an estimated altitude of approximately 24,000 feet. The observer estimated the UAP’s speed as 163 knots (187 mph).
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.

— Official PURSUE description

DOW-UAP-PR029, Unresolved UAP Report, United Arab Emirates, June 2024

DOW-UAP-PR029, Unresolved UAP Report, United Arab Emirates, June 2024 — official upload on DVIDS (public domain).

The United States Northern Command submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP) to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of 21 seconds of video footage from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform in 2024. An accompanying mission report, DoW-UAP-D8, described the UAP as consisting of an object with a vertical pole or bar attached to the bottom of the object. The observer also reported that the UAP may instead be a reflection from an object in the water.

Video Description:
00:00-00:21: An area of contrast visually resembling an inverted teardrop with a vertically linear trailing mass suspended below remains generally within the center of the sensor field-of-view throughout the video.

This video description is provided for informational purposes only. Readers should not interpret any part of this description as reflecting an analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination regarding the described event’s validity, nature, or significance.

— Official PURSUE description

DOW-UAP-D075, Mission Report, Gulf of Aden, July 2024

Open DOW-UAP-D075 (PDF) on war.gov →

This document is a Mission Report (MISREP), a standardized reporting form the U.S. Military uses to record the circumstances surrounding its operations. U.S. military services often use MISREPs to report Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) to AARO. The GENTEXT, or “general text” section of these reports often contains important qualitative, contextual information, distinguishing it from the more quantitative, or numerical, data found elsewhere in the report.
A U.S. military operator reported observing one UAP on July 14, 2024. The observer reported that the UAP maintained a “straight flight path at same altitude”. The report notes that the UAP’s “speed was faster than flying speed,” and the operator assessed the object as “benign.” The operator reported following the UAP “till the distance became too far.”
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.

— Official PURSUE description

DOW-UAP-D008, Mission Report, Djibouti, 2025

Open DOW-UAP-D008 (PDF) on war.gov →

This document is a Mission Report (MISREP), a standardized reporting form the U.S. Military uses to record the circumstances surrounding its operations. U.S. military services often use MISREPs to report Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) to AARO. The GENTEXT, or “general text” section of these reports often contains important qualitative, contextual information, distinguishing it from the more quantitative, or numerical, data found elsewhere in the report.
A U.S. military operator reported observing two “white hot UAPs.” The reporter estimated the UAP’s speed as approximately 240 nautical miles per hour (276 mph).
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.

— Official PURSUE description

DOW-UAP-PR043, Unresolved UAP Report, Africa, 2025

DOW-UAP-PR043, Unresolved UAP Report, Africa, 2025 — official upload on DVIDS (public domain).

The United States Africa Command submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of two seconds of video footage from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform in 2025. The reporter did not provide any oral or written description of the observation.

Video Description:
00:00-00:02: A small, barely distinguishable area of contrast moves from the left side of the sensor field-of-view to the right side, exiting the scene from the bottom right quarter of the screen.

This video description is provided for informational purposes only. Readers should not interpret any part of this description as reflecting an analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination regarding the described event’s validity, nature, or significance. The video is looped for viewing purposes.

— Official PURSUE description

Analysis

Patterns. In the Gulf of Aden report (D075) the operator said the object kept a “straight flight path at same altitude” and judged it “benign,” and a 2025 report describes two “white hot UAPs” at about 276 mph (D008), a speed typical of ordinary aircraft or one-way attack drones. The 2024 Gulf of Oman video (PR029) shows an object with a vertical bar beneath it; the observer noted it might be a reflection off the water, and its shape resembles the Mediterranean “diamond with a probe” reports. Given the heavy use of Iranian-made drones in this region, small uncrewed aircraft are a leading candidate for several of these sightings.

Reading these reports. Speeds, sizes and altitudes in military UAP reports are usually operator estimates. A single infrared camera cannot measure distance, so an object’s speed is inferred from how fast it crosses the screen plus an assumed range; if the object is closer and smaller than assumed, it is also much slower (parallax). “Cold” objects in infrared are cooler than the background, which fits unpowered things like balloons. AARO’s public reports say most cases it has resolved turned out to be balloons, birds, drones, or sensor and display effects.^[2]

New or previously released? New. We found no earlier public release of these reports or videos.

Released files

See also

• AARO
• U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)
• U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM)
• UAP reports: Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean
• PURSUE Release 01 (May 8, 2026) overview
• PURSUE

References

1. ^ U.S. Department of War (2026). PURSUE Release 01 (May 8, 2026): DOW-UAP-D023, DOW-UAP-PR026, DOW-UAP-PR027, DOW-UAP-D027, DOW-UAP-PR029, DOW-UAP-D075, DOW-UAP-D008, DOW-UAP-PR043, with official descriptions. war.gov/ufo.
2. ^ All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, Consolidated Annual Reports on UAP (2023–2025): most resolved cases were balloons, birds, unmanned aircraft or sensor artifacts.