Dept. of DefenseUnresolved

UAP sighting 1 — Persian Gulf/Arabian Gulf area, 1830Z 16 Jul 2020

Jul 16, 2020Arabian Gulf / Persian Gulf (MGRS 39RVM, redacted grid) (approx.)20,000 ft

Analysis — our summary

During an ISR mission (Misrep 4472514) conducted by 482 ATKS / 432 AEW under USCENTCOM in support of NAVCENT operations over the Arabian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, an airborne sensor operator observed an Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon at 1830Z on 16 July 2020. The observation was made via FMV (Full Motion Video) from approximately FL200 (20,000 ft). The precise nature, shape, and behavior of the UAP are not described in the available text beyond a terse log entry.

As reported — verbatim from the document

“"AT 18302Z [REDACTED] OBSERVED AN UNIDENTIFIED AERIAL PHENOMENON IVO [REDACTED MGRS]"”

Analyst notes — caveats & confidence

Heavy redaction throughout. Aircraft callsign, asset type, tail number, exact MGRS grid, and UAP description are all withheld under 1.4(a)/1.4(g) exemptions. FMV sensor confirmed (ANDAS4 pod). Weather noted as not a factor. Three separate UAP observations are recorded in this mission report (1830Z, 1920Z, 2345Z); each is treated as a distinct incident object. Location lat/lng set to Arabian Gulf centroid (location_approx: true). Confidence moderate due to sparse description.

Provenance

Source documentDOW-UAP-D65-Mission-Report-Persian-Gulf-July-2020.pdf

Document typeMISREP

Reporting agencyDept. of Defense

Source pages8

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.