The Sphere on a Pole

The mission had not gone to plan. Weather kept the aircraft off its tasking, and it spent the night scanning the sea for dhows before turning for home. At 0457Z, on the way back, the crew picked up a "glowing hot spherical unidentified object with a vertical unwavering cylindrical pole/bar attached on the bottom of the object." It flew straight "just over the water" at 140 knots and did not react to the aircraft. The aircraft was at 23,999 feet. The same line of the report carries the obvious caveat: "poss reflection from the object in the water."

Twenty-one seconds of infrared video were released with it. AARO describes "an inverted teardrop with a vertically linear trailing mass suspended below" held near the centre of the frame. The released frame shows a small bright round shape with a short line hanging beneath it over a grey sea.

What is on the record

The report is a US Central Command mission report, DOW-UAP-D27, from the 3rd Special Operations Squadron of the 27th Special Operations Wing, flying under Operation Enduring Sentinel. The flight began and ended in the United Arab Emirates, which gives the release its title. Its coordinates place the sighting over the Gulf of Oman off Muscat. It was declassified in October 2025 and released with the video, DOW-UAP-PR029, on 8 May 2026.

The paperwork is untidy. The file name says October 2023, but the contents are 6 and 7 June 2024. The official index gives the object an altitude of 24,000 feet and a speed of 163 knots, which are the aircraft's figures. PR029 names its mission report as "DoW-UAP-D8". The released D8 describes two white-hot objects over the eastern Mediterranean in 2025, while D27 matches the video's description, so the cross-reference looks wrong. PR029 also says US Northern Command submitted the report. Every name is withheld.

The only explanation on file is the observer's own reflection caveat. The crew rated the object benign.

Why it sits where it does

L4 · OFFICIAL RECORD — a released government record names who saw it. The observers are a special operations aircrew identified by squadron, with every name withheld. No independent testimony sits beside the report in the archive, and the tier measures sourcing rather than truth. What skimmed the water is not resolved here.