Documents / Report
This declassified U.S. Central Command mission report (MISREP) describes an AC-130 type armed overwatch sortie flown from OKAS on 20 September 2024 under Operation Inherent Resolve. While the crew was doing a weapons calibration in Ayn al Asad Airbase's restricted operating zone, the weapons systems officer and combat systems officer saw an unidentified object fly through the aircraft's sensors at high speed after an AGM-176 was released. The object caused an infrared lens flare that pointed to a significant heat source. The crew assessed it as benign, and it was not seen again. The pages were declassified on 24 October 2025 and approved for release to AARO.
From the source: Release of 2026-05-08 Incident: 9/20/24, 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. While conducting a weapons calibration test, U.S. military operators reported observing a lens flare via MX-20 and MX-25 IR sensors after firing an AGM-176 Griffin air-to-surface missile. The operators described the source of the flare as a UAP moving through the aircraft’s sensor’s field-of-view at a high rate of speed. The reporter assessed that the flare was associated with “a significant heat source.” 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.
SECRET//REL TO USA, FVEYDeclassified by MG Richard A. Harrison USCENTCOM Chief of Staff Declassified on: 24 October 2025 • Kinetic Altitude: • Kinetic Depth Accuracy: Estimated • Kinetic Depth: • Kinetic Velocity Accuracy: Estimated • Kinetic Velocity: • Kinetic Trajectory Accuracy: Estimated • Kinetic Trajectory: • UAP Date of DoD Acquisition: 210000:00ZSEP24 • UAP Reaction to Observation, Interrogation, Engagement (yes/no; if yes, describe): NONE OBSERVED; PATH OF MOVEMENT APPEARED PREDETERMINED AND NOT IN RESPONSE TO(b)(1)1.4a 's DETECTION • UAP Anomalous Characteristics/ Behaviors: IT IS UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME WHETHER AN OBJECT DETACHED ITSELF FROM THE PRIMARY UAP IMMEDIATELY BEFORE LEAVING THE SENSOR FIELD OF VIEW. • First Accuracy: Precise • Call Sign: • UAP First Seen Location:(b)(1)1.4a • UAP Last Seen Location: • UAP Altitude, Depth, Velocity, and Trajectory (indicate estimated or measured): GENTEXT/UAP • UAP Description (e.g., size, shape, color, markings, recognizable features): UAP CREATED IR LENS FLARE ON MX-20 & MX-25 SENSORS, INDICATING A SIGNIFICANT HEAT SOURCE. THE UAP MOVED AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED THROUGH THE SENSOR FIELD OF VIEW. THE CREW MAINTAINED LASER ENERGY UNTIL THE MUNITION IMPACTED ITS DESIRED TARGET.(b)(1)1.4a DID NOT REOBSERVE THE UAP. • Gentext (UAP Event Description): (S//REL TO USA, FVEY)(b)(1)1.4a ENTERED AYN AL ASAD AIRBASE's (AAAB) RESTRICTED OPERATING ZONE (ROZ) RAINDROP AT APPROXIMATELY 1930Z TO CONDUCT A WEAPONS CALIBRATION.(b)(1)1.4a RECEIVED A CALL FOR FIRE AT APPROXIMATELY 2025Z TO EMPLOY AN AGM-176. AFTER WEAPONS RELEASE, THE WEAPONS SYSTEMS OFFICER (WSO) AND COMBAT SYSTEMS OFFICER (CSO) OBSERVED AN UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT "FLY" THROUGH THE AIRCRAFT SENSORS AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED. THE UAP CREATED AN IR LENS FLARE ON THE MX-20 & MX-25 SENSORS, WHICH INDICATED A SIGNIFICANT HEAT SIGNATURE COMING FROM THE OBJECT. IT IS UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME WHETHER AN OBJECT DETACHED ITSELF FROM THE PRIMARY UAP IMMEDIATELY BEFORE LEAVING THE SENSOR FIELD OF VIEW. THE CREW MAINTAINED LASER ENERGY UNTIL THE MUNITION IMPACTED ITS DESIRED TARGET.(b)(1)1.4a DID NOT REOBSERVE THE UAP. (S//REL) UAP EVENT SERIAL NUMBER IS CORRECT WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE "CCMD ASSIGNED NUMERICAL SEQUENCE," WHICH IS UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME. 3.5c, FOIA Exemption (b)(6) SECRET//REL TO USA, FVEYUSCENTCOM MDR 25-0100 thru 25-0103 / JS-250710-TM8SApproved for Release to AARO10/28/25 006
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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.