The 'Formation' off Iran

Four shapes cross the picture together. In the first four seconds of the clip, AARO says, "four areas of contrast transit the sensor field-of-view", entering from the lower left and leaving near the bottom centre. A fifth enters from the top left a second later. Whoever uploaded it called it a formation, placed it off Iran and dated it 26 August 2022.

What is on the record

The only record is the video, DOW-UAP-PR050, published in the Department of War's second PURSUE release on 22 May 2026. It comes from a collection AARO found on a classified network after eight members of the House requested UAP records in March 2026. AARO warns that many of these materials "lack a substantiated chain-of-custody". It judges this one "likely derived from an infrared sensor" on a US military platform in Central Command's area in 2022. The title is the uploader's own and the callsign is withheld. No mission report, unit, time or position comes with it, and AARO does not confirm Iran.

The clip's opening frame looks down on the sea. Three dark shapes on the surface each sit at the head of a long bright streak like a wake. At Metabunk, Mick West argues that the camera was tracking boats and that the four crossing shapes are birds, made to look as if they skim the water by parallax. AARO offers no assessment.

Why it sits where it does

The clip grades L0: a single record that names nobody who saw anything, so there is no identified witness. The tier measures sourcing rather than truth. What crossed the frame is not resolved here.