Unresolved UAP Report, Gulf of America, 2019
- Date
- 2019
- Place
- Gulf of America
- Record
- Pentagon file
- Assessment
- Not assessed
- Evidence strength
What was reported
8 seconds of infrared video from a U.S. military platform over the Gulf of America (Air Force submission, 2019). An area of contrast partially obscured by the heads-up display is briefly tracked and 'visually flickers.' This is one of the few files in the batch with an AARO Comment, which offers a specific instrument-based explanation for the flicker.
What officials concluded
Tentative explanation
AARO attributes the flicker to auto-gain control filters causing a target whose temperature is close to the background's to blend in or intermittently vanish, an infrared sensor artifact rather than a described object behavior.
- Agency
- Department of War
- Released in
- 123456
AARO comment
Infrared sensor systems capture information within a specific range of electromagnetic wavelengths. When a tracked source's temperature is similar to that of the surrounding environment, it can visually blend into the background or appear to flicker due to dynamic contrast adjustments applied by the system's auto-gain control filters.
Evidence profile
- No: Visual
- Yes: Infrared
- No: Radar
- No: Video
- No: Photo
- No: Film
- No: Audio
- No: Night vision
- No: Other sensor
- No: Civilian
- Yes: Military aircrew
- No: Military ground
- No: Airline crew
- Yes: Sensor operator
- No: Law enforcement
- No: Scientist
- No: Astronaut
- No: Intelligence official
- No: Other
- No: Light only
- No: Orb or sphere
- No: Disc
- No: Triangle
- No: Cylinder
- No: Cube
- No: Other shape
- No: Physiological
- No: Physical trace
- No: Electromagnetic
- No: Sound
- No: Silent
Why this rating Single sensor, very short clip, and AARO's own comment supplies a specific, plausible instrument-artifact explanation (auto-gain flicker) for the only notable feature (flickering); nothing in the file contradicts that explanation.
As described in the file
- Witnesses
- Not named; military IR sensor operator, no direct quote
- Sensors
- Infrared
- Motion
- Briefly tracked, visually flickers
- Duration
- 8 seconds
Pentagon files
DOW-UAP-PR115, Unresolved UAP Report, Gulf of America, 2019
Open the original on dvidshub.net
What the file claims
- Unverified
AARO states that a near-background-temperature target can appear to flicker on infrared due to the sensor's own auto-gain contrast adjustment, not due to the target's own behavior.
On the map
25.00° N, 90.00° W, a position at sea, approximate
Show on the map