Documents / Report
This declassified U.S. Air Force mission report (MISREP), filed by the 77th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron under Operation Inherent Resolve, covers a two-ship F-16CM defensive counter-air sortie flown from Prince Sultan Air Base on 31 March 2023. During the mission the flight saw possibly 10 to 20 bright objects moving quickly from west to east. Each one stayed on the targeting pod for about 20 seconds before it dimmed and disappeared. An analyst note says the pod images of the objects differed from those of a star. USCENTCOM declassified the report for AARO in October 2025.
From the source: Release of 2026-05-08 Incident: 3/31/23, Iraq. Released with redactions. This document is a Mission Report (MISREP), a standardized reporting form the U.S. Military uses to record the circumstances surrounding its operations. U.S. military services often use MISREPs to report Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) to AARO. The GENTEXT, or “general text” section of these reports often contains important qualitative, contextual information, distinguishing it from the more quantitative, or numerical, data found elsewhere in the report. A U.S. military operator reported observing “several bright objects maneuvering quickly” west to east northeast. The operator reported achieving a track on the UAP via an onboard targeting pod for approximately 20 seconds. The report describes that UAP then dimmed and disappeared from the targeting pod. All descriptive and estimative language contained in this report reflects the reporter’s subjective interpretation at the time of the event. Such characterizations should not be interpreted as a conclusive indication of the presence or absence of any intrinsic object features or performance characteristics.
BE!Hl'lfflifMOlt!if • Additional Avionics: HTS-P R7.85 • Data Link: LINK 16 • Gentext: Timeline Takeoff • Callsign~ 1.4a • Number of Aircraft: 2 • Asset Type (Aircraft)~.....1-.4-a,-1.-4g....,I • Aircraft Tail Number(s):I 1.4a, 1.4g I • Takeoff Location (ICAO Code): OEPS • Takeoff Time DTG: 311901 :00ZMAR23 • Mode 3 (IFF Codes): 6266 • Gentext/Additional Details: (U) NSTR. • Mission Canceled: Landing • Last Land Location (ICAO Code): OEPS • Last Land Time: 010148:00ZAPR23 • Last Engine Shutdown Time: 010215:00ZAPR23 • Total Mission Time: 6 hours 47 minutes • Gentext/Additional Details: (U) NSTR. On Station • Time On Station DTG: 312058:00ZMAR23 • Callsign:I 1.4a I • JTAR Number: - • Killbox (Location): ESSA • Mission Type: DCA • JTAC Callsign: KINGPIN • Gentext/Additional Details: (U) NSTR. • Did not Arrive On Station: Off Station • Time Off Station DTG: 010000:00ZAPR23 • Total Time On Station: 3 hours 2 minutes • Gentext/Additional Details: 3.5c, FOIA Exemption (b)(6) ilt11Uiii<@l9BCRM Declassified by MG Richard A. Harrison USCENTCOM Chief of Staff Declassified on: 8 October 2025 MDR 25-0094 thru MDR 25-0099 / JS-250710-TM8S 10/17/25 005 Approved for Release to AARO
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Report, from the pursue collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 6 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.