PURSUE Record — PURSUE Case PR-061: declassified UAP analysis: U.S. Department of War / AARO · · Apr 12, 2021 · CENTCOM · FMV + Infrared | Spherical UAP — trans

PURSUE Case PR-061 is a military sensor video record released on May 8, 2026 as part of PURSUE Release 01 — the U.S. Department of War's first coordinated declassification of UAP investigative materials. The record logs a single-part video file captured over the CENTCOM area of operations on April 12, 2021, using a combination of Full Motion Video and infrared sensors. It is catalogued by AARO as a spherical UAP and flagged as a transmedium candidate. The public release provides that categorisation; it does not provide a resolution.

What this record contains

PR-061 is a one-part video file originating from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) airspace, dated April 12, 2021. The releasing agencies are the U.S. Department of War and AARO — the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, the body Congress established specifically to investigate UAP reports from military and government sources. The sensor loadout documented in the metadata is FMV plus infrared, a dual-channel configuration common in ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) platforms. The official description blurb designates the object as spherical and flags it as a transmedium candidate, meaning AARO analysts noted the possibility of medium transition — the object moving between aerial and aquatic environments — without asserting that transition as confirmed fact.

Beyond that categorisation, the public release does not include detailed metadata for this record: no altitude figures, no reported velocity, no witness accounts, and no further description of the object's behaviour. What is documented is the sensor pairing, the geographic command area, the date, and the analyst classification. That is the evidentiary floor this editorial works from.

Sensor & operational context

FMV combined with infrared is a standard dual-channel configuration aboard fixed-wing ISR aircraft and some rotary platforms operating in CENTCOM's area of responsibility, which covers the Middle East, Central Asia, and parts of East Africa. FMV provides real-time optical imagery in the visible spectrum; the infrared channel captures thermal contrast, allowing operators to distinguish objects by heat signature against background clutter rather than visible reflectivity. Objects that appear unremarkable in optical video can register distinctly on infrared if their thermal profile differs from surrounding atmosphere, terrain, or water. Conversely, an object that shows clearly in infrared but poorly in optical can complicate shape estimation — which makes spherical classifications in dual-channel footage more analytically significant than a single-sensor read.

The April 2021 timeframe places this capture roughly six weeks before the U.S. Director of National Intelligence released the preliminary UAP assessment report in June 2021 — the document that formally acknowledged 144 UAP reports and elevated the issue within the national security apparatus. CENTCOM airspace in this period was an active ISR environment, with platforms routinely logging hours over contested and border-adjacent regions. That operational density is relevant context: it means the sensor operators involved were experienced, the equipment was mission-grade, and the footage was likely reviewed by trained analysts before any flagging decision was made.

What this does and does not prove

The documented facts are narrow: an object of approximately spherical appearance was captured on FMV and infrared sensors over a CENTCOM-controlled area on April 12, 2021, and AARO analysts categorised it as unresolved and noted transmedium candidacy. None of that constitutes proof of extraordinary origin, non-human manufacture, or confirmed medium transition. "Transmedium candidate" is an analyst flag for further investigation, not a finding. "Unresolved" means the case has not been explained to AARO's satisfaction — not that it cannot be explained, and not that the explanation is exotic. Spherical shapes include a wide range of conventional objects — balloons, sensor artefacts, certain drones — and the metadata alone does not rule those out. What can be said with confidence is that this video reached the threshold for inclusion in a formal declassified release, which reflects AARO's judgement that it warranted documentation rather than routine dismissal.

How it fits PURSUE Release 01

PR-061 sits within the contemporary Department of War mission-report segment of the PURSUE Release 01 package — the group of military sensor records from the post-2017 period that form the operational core of the release alongside its NASA archive imagery and historic FBI documentation. You can compare it against the full set of 28 video cases on the SkyLens UAP files page, or read broader context about the PURSUE Release 01 structure across our other PURSUE coverage. Its dual-sensor capture and transmedium flag make it one of the more analytically specific entries in the video portion of the release — though specificity of categorisation is not the same as specificity of explanation.

Editorial note: This analysis is independent commentary on a publicly released document. The original record, source links, and full release metadata are catalogued on the SkyLens UAP files page alongside every other case in the PURSUE Release 01 set.