The Yellow Sea Cloud Clip (2023)

Seven seconds in, something crosses the frame from the left and is gone. The sensor pans and cycles its zoom. At 21 seconds an area of contrast enters again and loses itself against the background. When the sensor zooms in it reappears near the centre, and for about 17 seconds the sensor tracks it from left to right. At 53 seconds one more area of contrast crosses the bottom third of the frame. Then the clip runs out. That is AARO's description, second by second. The released frame shows only towering cloud under the sensor's reticle.

What is on the record

The Department of War published the video on 22 May 2026 in its second PURSUE release, twice. As DOW-UAP-PR057a it carries the title "Spherical UAP in clouds". As PR057b it is "[Platform] Observes UAP in East China Sea 05 JAN 2023 INDOPACOM". AARO says the two are one video that two uploaders titled differently on a classified network. It assesses that the footage likely comes from an infrared sensor on a US military platform over the Yellow Sea in January 2023. Someone uploaded it in June 2024.

AARO found it while answering eight members of the House who had asked for 51 records, and it warns that many of those materials lack a substantiated chain of custody. The word "spherical" belongs to an uploader. AARO's own description speaks only of areas of contrast. The platform, crew, position and exact date are withheld. The East China Sea in the second title does not match AARO's Yellow Sea, and no explanation is offered.

Why it sits where it does

The page grades L0 · SINGLE ACCOUNT. PR057a and PR057b are one video indexed under two titles, so they count as one source. No person, crew or unit is named, so the record carries no identified witness. The tier measures sourcing rather than truth. What the sensor followed through the cloud is not resolved here.