Official · Video · Department of War
Syria Report Describes White Light; Video Shows Orange Shapes
Five seconds of military footage, two different descriptions.
Released to the public May 8, 20262 min readALIENS editorial
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Five seconds of military footage, two different descriptions.
A military camera in Syria recorded five seconds of video. The footage description mentions two orange shapes, while the accompanying report describes a white ball of light.
Five-second segment of full-motion video (FMV) from a U.S. military platform over Syria in October 2024, released by the Department of War / AARO as DOW-UAP-PR33 alongside the DoW-UAP-D32 mission report. The grayscale (likely IR) overhead view shows a flat-roofed compound with a magenta crosshair fixed near center; large redaction bars cover the HUD/banner regions at the four corners. Across the five seconds, two semi-transparent irregular orange/red blobs successively appear over the imagery (first lower-center on the rooftop, then off the right side of the building over open ground), each persisting under two seconds. The mission report described the UAP as a "misshapen and uneven ball of white light" with a "light/glare halo effect" at the top of the FMV feed; this clip is the third of three paired video releases (PR31/PR32/PR33) tied to the same five-flash 1559Z-1644Z event, characterized in the report as the "Plasma" state with no laser involvement.
Five seconds of FMV captured by a U.S. military platform over a flat-roofed walled compound in Syria. During the clip, two distinct semi-transparent irregular orange blobs sequentially overlay the imagery: one near the lower-center of the rooftop, then a second over open ground to the right of the building, each lasting under two seconds. Per the accompanying DoW-UAP-D32 mission report the phenomenon was described as a misshapen, uneven ball of white light with an associated light/glare halo at the top of the FMV feed. This is the third of three paired video releases tied to the same five-flash event.
"misshapen and uneven ball of white light"
Speaker: DoW-UAP-D32 mission report (via DVIDS description)
Why it matters: Official descriptor of the phenomenon captured in the FMV clip.
"light/glare halo effect"
Speaker: DoW-UAP-D32 mission report (via DVIDS description)
Why it matters: Reported visual artifact at the top of the FMV feed associated with the event.
"Two semi-transparent, irregularly shaped orange areas overlay the background imagery, persisting for less than two seconds each."
Speaker: DVIDS video description (00:01-00:03)
Why it matters: Authoritative neutral description of what is visible in the clip.
Syria
U.S. military FMV platform (full-motion video camera, likely IR/EO)
aircraft
Black redaction bars covering HUD/banner text in all four corners of every frame (top-left wide bar, top-center bar, top-right bar; left-edge bar, right-edge bar; bottom-right large bar). These obscure platform identifiers, sensor metadata, time/coordinate readouts, and classification markings typical of military FMV feeds.
Likely reason: Operational security: hide platform type, sensor identifiers, geolocation, and classification banner of the FMV feed.
Third of three paired FMV video releases (PR31/PR32/PR33) tied to the DoW-UAP-D32 Syria October 2024 mission report (PDF slug 049). Same scene framing as sister videos 087 and 088 (overhead IR of a flat-roofed walled compound, magenta center crosshair, magenta 'N' compass mark near bottom, four-corner redaction blocks) but with two distinct orange-blob events instead of one. Color palette is grayscale IR with magenta HUD reticles and an artificial orange overlay rendering the phenomenon. The 'Plasma' designation, the five-flash 1559Z-1644Z structure, and the no-laser detail are corpus context — not stated in this DVIDS description, which only quotes the 'misshapen and uneven ball of white light' / 'light/glare halo' wording from D32. Aggregator should treat 049 as the primary textual source and 087/088/089 as the three released video segments of the same event.
Two irregular orange areas, partly transparent, appear briefly over the background image.
The record does not explain what caused them or why the report and video description differ.
A camera mounted on a U.S. military vehicle in Syria recorded five seconds of video in 2024. U.S. Central Command sent the report to the U.S. office that reviews reports of unidentified anomalous phenomena.
The record gives two descriptions of the same footage. The video description mentions orange shapes, while the accompanying report describes a white ball of light. The discrepancy is clear, but the record does not explain how it arose or whether the descriptions are connected.
The video description says two orange areas appear over the background image. Their shapes are irregular, and they are partly transparent. Each appears for less than two seconds.
That is all the description says about their appearance. It offers no explanation of what they resemble, what caused them, or whether they are two separate objects. Nor does it say what the video shows. Central Command told the U.S. office that its report included the footage and a description of it.
The accompanying mission report describes the phenomenon differently: as a distorted, uneven ball of white light. It also notes a halo or glare in the upper part of the video.
These details do not appear in the video description, which refers to two orange areas. The two descriptions may refer to different parts of the footage, but the record does not say so. It also does not explain whether the report’s author saw the same shapes or why they chose to describe a white ball.
It is not known what caused the lights, why the descriptions differ, or whether they refer to the same thing. Parts of the record are redacted, and it offers no conventional explanation for the discrepancy. It also emphasizes that the video description does not determine the nature or authenticity of the event.
In one short video, two descriptions remain: orange shapes against the background, and a white ball in the report.