DISPUTEDCRAFT
The Desert Track
2020 · Middle East (CENTCOM)
WHAT IT IS
A bright object is tracked across mottled terrain for nearly five minutes; zoomed in, it becomes an irregular glowing shape.
THE CASE FOR
A long continuous track, with the operator reacquiring the object after losing it.
THE CASE AGAINST
No report accompanies it. It comes from a set AARO found on a classified network and says lacks a substantiated chain of custody.
WHERE IT STANDS
Disputed. Serious questions remain about how it was made or what it shows, and neither side has settled them.
STATUS IS OUR CURRENT ASSESSMENT, NOT A VERDICT · REVIEWED 4 OCT 2026
THE RECORD
- DATE
- 2020
- PLACE
- Middle East (CENTCOM)
- RECORDED BY
- DOW-UAP-PR059 · released by the Department of War via AARO
- TECHNICAL
- Infrared sensor, US military platform · 1 June 2020 · DOW-UAP-PR059 · 4 min 51 s · PURSUE Release 2, 22 May 2026





