Dept. of DefenseRedactedAmbiguous

Possible UAP with speed increase and direction change — Arabian Gulf theater, 2020

~2020Arabian Gulf theater (MGRS 34SDG approx) (approx.)

Analysis — our summary

At 1258Z, a US aircraft (identity redacted) observed a possible UAP in the vicinity of MGRS 34SDG9041417044 over the Arabian Gulf theater. Velocity was estimated at 321 knots (approximately 369 mph). The UAP subsequently increased speed and changed direction toward the east. Most mission context is redacted under 1.4(a).

As reported — verbatim from the document

“"AT 1258Z, [REDACTED] OBSERVED POSS UAP IVO 34SDG9041417044. BRIEF OBSERVATION PRECLUDED UAP ALTITUDE ESTIMATES. VELOCITY ESTIMATED AT 321 KNOTS. UAP INCREASED SPEED AND CHANGED DIRECTION TOWARDS THE EAST."”

Analyst notes — caveats & confidence

Document is heavily redacted — the body consists almost entirely of 1.4(a) FOIA exemptions. Only the GENTEXT/UAP block is readable. No date is explicitly stated in the readable text; filename indicates 2020 and 'Arabian Gulf.' MGRS 34SDG indicates the Arabian Gulf / Qatar coastal area. Speed converted from 321 knots to approximately 369 mph. 'Brief observation' noted by the document as precluding altitude estimates. Confidence low due to near-total redaction and absence of contextual metadata.

Provenance

Source documentDOW-UAP-D4-Mission-Report-Arabian-Gulf-2020.pdf

Document typeMission Report / GENTEXT UAP

Reporting agencyDept. of Defense

Source pages5

Redaction markers in doc3

DeclassifiedFirst public at this release (2026)

Held classified~6 years (≥, to this release)

Extraction confidence ModerateHow cleanly this record could be parsed from the source — driven by legibility & redaction. It is not a measure of how credible or anomalous the sighting is.