The report lists three times in the Arabian Gulf. Parts of it are redacted, and it offers no description of what was seen.
A U.S. military operator reported three separate encounters in the Arabian Gulf on the same day. The record lists the times but does not describe what the operator saw.
USCENTCOM Mission Report (MISREP 4472514) submitted by the 482d Attack Squadron documenting an ISR sortie on 16-17 July 2020 supporting NAVCENT in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman. The aircraft took off from OKAS at 0443Z on 16JUL20 and landed back at OKAS at 0200Z on 17JUL20 (20.3 mission hours; 18.3 IMINT hours). During the mission the crew observed three Unidentified Aerial Phenomena via Full Motion Video at 1830Z, 1920Z, and 2345Z, and also observed Iranian-associated vessels (PROB NASER, PROB SAFIR KISH, POSS HOUDONG) and received a routine guard call. The narrative records UAP locations and aircraft parameters but provides no description of the phenomena themselves; redactions cover unit/aircraft identifiers, MGRS coordinates, and personnel PII.
Aircraft observed an Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon via FMV. Aircraft heading 152M, altitude FL 200, airspeed 98 KIAS. Weather was not a factor. No further description of the object is recorded.
Aircraft observed an Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon via FMV. Aircraft heading 34M, altitude FL 190, airspeed 90 KIAS. Weather was not a factor.
Aircraft observed an Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon via FMV. Aircraft heading 331M, altitude FL 191, airspeed 115 KIAS. Weather was not a factor.
"AT 1830Z, [redacted] OBSERVED AN UNIDENTIFIED AERIAL PHENOMENON. SEE OBS LINE 1. AT 1920Z, [redacted] OBSERVED AN UNIDENTIFIED AERIAL PHENOMENON. SEE OBS LINE 2. AT 2345Z, [redacted] OBSERVED AN UNIDENTIFIED AERIAL PHENOMENON. SEE OBS LINE 3."
Why it matters: Narrative summary listing three discrete UAP observations during a single sortie.
Page 1
"TO CONDUCT SCANS FOR IDENTIFIED [redacted] VESSELS TO ESTABLISH PATTERN OF LIFE, UAS ACTIVITY AND CHARACTERIZE ACTIVITY OUTSIDE OF PORTS."
Why it matters: Stated mission purpose — pattern-of-life and UAS activity characterization in the Arabian Gulf.
Page 4
"AT 0645Z [redacted] OBSERVED 1X PROB NASER UAP. AT 1932Z, [redacted] OBSERVED 1X PROB SAFIR KISH IVO 39RUN [redacted] HEADING EAST. AT 2140Z [redacted] OBSERVED 1X POSS HOUDONG AND 1X POSS NASER DOCKED AT BUSHEHR PORT IVO 39RVM [redacted]"
Why it matters: Vessel observations interspersed with the UAP events; note the OCR string 'PROB NASER WAP' on page 4 likely 'UAP' but the GENTEXT/ISR section appears to track surface vessels rather than aerial UAP at 0645Z.
Page 4
"AT 0615Z [redacted] WAS HAILED ON GUARD [redacted] DEFENSE. ORDERS GIVEN: STANDARD CALL [redacted] RESPONDED WITH THE STANDARD RESPONSE. NO IMPACT TO MISSION"
Why it matters: Routine guard call, professional tone, separate from the UAP observations.
Page 5
"AT 1830Z, [redacted] OBSERVED AN UNIDENTIFIED AERIAL PHENOMENON IVO 39RVM [redacted]"
Speaker: GENTEXT/OBSERVATION (Obs Line 1)
Page 6
"AT 1920Z, [redacted] OBSERVED AN UNIDENTIFIED AERIAL PHENOMENON IVO 39RUN [redacted]"
Speaker: GENTEXT/OBSERVATION (Obs Line 2)
Page 6
MG Richard A. Harris
USCENTCOM Chief of Staff (declassification authority) · USCENTCOM · Page 5
Arabian Gulf
Page 1
Strait of Hormuz
Page 1
Gulf of Oman
Page 1
OKAS (takeoff/landing ICAO)
Page 7
Bushehr Port, Iran
Page 4
482 ATKS (482d Attack Squadron)
U.S. Air Force · Page 1
432 AEW (432d Air Expeditionary Wing)
U.S. Air Force · Page 2
609 AOC Det 1
U.S. Air Force · Page 2
609th Operations Center / 609 CAOC
U.S. Air Force · Page 1
12 AF PAROC
U.S. Air Force · Page 2
609 AOC ISRD Unit Support
U.S. Air Force · Page 2
DGS-1 (Distributed Ground Station 1)
U.S. Air Force · Page 1
NAVCENT
U.S. Navy · Page 1
Aircraft callsign / asset designator throughout narrative
Likely reason: 10 USC 130b / operational security — aircraft and unit identifiers
Operation name (OPERATION [redacted])
Likely reason: Classified operation name
POC / OPC / APPROVER full names, phone numbers, and emails
Likely reason: 3.5c (b)(6) — personnel PII
ATO Mission Number
Likely reason: Operational security
Air-to-Ground weapon designator
Likely reason: 1.4(a) — military plans/weapons
Aircraft type / asset type
Likely reason: 1.4(a) — military operations
Tasked Start Point and Activity Description MGRS coordinates
Likely reason: Operational security — precise coordinates
Vessel-class / tasking identifiers (PROB NASER, PROB SAFIR KISH, POSS HOUDONG location grids)
Likely reason: Operational security
GUARDCALL DTG aircraft callsign, location grid, frequency/agency
Likely reason: Operational security
MISREP 4472514, 482 ATKS / 432 AEW / 609 AOC, USCENTCOM, declassified by MG Richard A. Harris. Mission supported NAVCENT in Arabian Gulf / Strait of Hormuz / Gulf of Oman. Three UAP observations on 16JUL2020 (1830Z, 1920Z, 2345Z) all via FMV using ANDAS4 sensor. Source classification source: MULTIPLE SOURCES; declassification date 20450301. Aircraft type and tail numbers redacted under 1.4(a); document strongly implies an MQ-9-class RPA (482 ATKS attack squadron, ANDAS4 sensor, AREC mission, 20+ hour endurance, OKAS launch) but the platform name is not stated in the released text, so it is not asserted here. OCR quality is moderate — coordinates, callsigns, and weapons designators are partially garbled; quoted text has been normalized only by inserting [redacted] for blacked-out tokens.
The record does not describe what the operator saw. It says the operator reported three unidentified phenomena.
At 6:30 p.m., 7:20 p.m., and 11:45 p.m.
"AT 2345Z, [redacted] OBSERVED AN UNIDENTIFIED AERIAL PHENOMENON IVO 39RUN [redacted]"
Speaker: GENTEXT/OBSERVATION (Obs Line 3)
Page 7
ANDAS4 (targeting pod / primary sensor)
sensor · Page 3
AH_GMESH (additional avionics / sensor available)
sensor · Page 3
OBSERVATION aircraft callsign and observed activity location MGRS for 1830Z and 1920Z events
Likely reason: Operational security — precise UAP coordinates
Asset Type, Aircraft Tail Numbers; OBSERVATION callsign and location MGRS for 2345Z event
Likely reason: 1.4(a) — aircraft identifiers and operational security
At 6:30 p.m. in the Arabian Gulf, a U.S. military operator reported an encounter with something unidentified. The operator reported two more encounters that day, at different times.
Three separate encounters in one day might sound like the beginning of a story with plenty of details. But the record leaves the central question unanswered: it does not describe what the operator saw. It lists the times and location, but says nothing about the phenomena themselves.
The events took place on July 16, 2020. The first encounter was recorded at 6:30 p.m., the second at 7:20 p.m., and the third at 11:45 p.m. Those are the times listed in the record, along with the location: the Arabian Gulf.
The operator reported three unidentified phenomena and described the encounters as separate. The record does not present them as a single event lasting several hours. Nor does it say what happened between encounters.
The U.S. military uses this form to document the circumstances of its operations. It also uses forms like this to report unidentified phenomena. Such forms can include a written account of an event along with numerical details.
Parts of the record are redacted. It was released to the public on May 8, 2026, but the details that remain visible still do not say what was seen during any of the three encounters. The record includes no image, shape, or other description of the phenomena.
Because the record does not say what the operator saw, it is impossible to know what the phenomena were. The material released also does not explain why the description is missing or what caused the encounters.
Three times appear on the page. Three events, with no way to know what happened in them.