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A newly declassified Department of War document reveals a 2024 incident in which a U.S. military platform recorded an unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP) described as a “misshapen and uneven ball of white light” over Syria. The report, designated “DOW-UAP-PR32, Unresolved UAP Report, Syria, October 2024,” was released to the public on May 8, 2026, through the Department of War’s PURSUE archive.
Official Description and Video Footage
According to the Department of War records, the United States Central Command (USCENTCOM) submitted the report to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). The submission consisted of six seconds of video footage captured by a full-motion video (FMV) camera aboard an unspecified U.S. military platform. The accompanying mission report, DoW-UAP-D32, provides the official description of the UAP, noting that a “light/glare halo effect” occurred at the top of the FMV feed.
The Department of War document includes a detailed description of the video footage, provided for informational purposes only. Between the 00:02 and 00:04 marks of the footage, an area of “irregular color and brightness, mainly consisting of white and red highlights,” appears near the center of the top edge of the sensor display. The document states that this area extends to a width of approximately one-third of the horizontal frame, with a vertical area comprising approximately one-sixth of the viewing area. Its shape is described as a “horizontally-oriented half-oval bisected along its major axis.” The Department of War explicitly cautions that readers should not interpret any part of this description as reflecting an analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination regarding the event’s validity, nature, or significance.
The declassified mission narrative, a redacted excerpt of which was included in the release, provides a timeline of the operation. The document, classified as SECRET and releasable to the USA and FVEY (Five Eyes) partners, details a mission conducted under Operation INHERENT RESOLVE. The narrative, originating from the 12th Special Operations Squadron (12 SOS) under the 27th Special Operations Wing (27 SOW), describes a U.S. Air Force platform taking off from an airfield designated “OJMS” via a “SLR” (likely a short landing or takeoff runway). The platform proceeded to a “fragged tasking” and performed FMV and SIGINT (signals intelligence) collection at multiple grid coordinates throughout the day. At 1559Z, the crew “OBSERVED AN UNIDENTIFIED ARRIEAL PHENOMENON (SEE UAP 1).” The mission logged 20:24 total hours, with 14:22 hours of FMV collection and 13:02 hours of SIGINT collection.
Context and Agency Background
The report was submitted to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). Per a Wikipedia summary of the office, AARO is an office within the United States Office of the Secretary of Defense that investigates unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and other phenomena in the air, sea, space, and/or land, often referred to as “unidentified aerial phenomena” or “unidentified anomalous phenomena” (UAP). Wikipedia’s entry on the office notes that its first director was physicist Sean Kirkpatrick, who reported to then deputy defense secretary Kathleen Hicks. Its current director is Jon T. Kosloski.
The Department of War document itself provides additional operational context. The mission was an ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) type, conducted by the Air Force under the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) and USCENTCOM. The report was declassified on October 24, 2025, by Major General Richard A. Harrison, USCENTCOM Chief of Staff, and approved for release to AARO. Many specific details, including the aircraft callsign, unit names, and personnel names, remain redacted under various Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exemptions.
The record’s official summary offers limited detail beyond the visual description of the UAP. The document does not provide an analytical conclusion, nor does it speculate on the nature or origin of the phenomenon. The report is categorized as “unresolved,” indicating that the observed event was not identified during the mission or subsequent analysis.
As the Department of War continues to release records through the PURSUE archive, future documents may provide additional context or analysis regarding this and other unresolved UAP incidents. Readers should watch for further releases that might include more detailed sensor data, analytical reports from AARO, or follow-up mission records that could shed light on the nature of the “misshapen and uneven ball of white light” observed over Syria in October 2024.
