PURSUE Record — DOW-UAP-PR38, Unresolved UAP Report, Middle East, 2013: Middle East

DOW-UAP-PR38 is an unresolved UAP report released by the U.S. Department of War on May 8, 2026, as part of PURSUE Release 01. It consists of a single military infrared sensor video from 2013, originating from U.S. Central Command and coordinated through the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). The record carries no resolved explanation and no incident date beyond the year. It is one of 28 videos included in the 162-document release — a clip that raises methodical questions without supplying methodical answers.

What this record contains

The record is a single video file, one minute and forty-six seconds in duration, captured by an infrared sensor aboard an unspecified U.S. military platform operating in the Middle East in 2013. It was submitted to AARO by United States Central Command. No oral or written description from the original reporter accompanied the footage — a detail the official release explicitly flags, meaning the video arrived without any firsthand account of what the operator observed or believed they were tracking.

The Department of War's official video description documents the following sequence: an area of contrast resembling an eight-pointed star with arms of alternating length appears in the sensor field-of-view. At the ten-second mark, the sensor zooms in. From 00:11 to 00:29, the area of contrast moves within the frame, followed by what the description calls "a visible trail." At 00:30, it exits the frame at the bottom right. After an apparent cut at 00:35, the area of contrast reappears and generally holds within the field-of-view before exiting from the top left quarter at 01:44. The release description closes with the standard AARO caveat that the description is informational only and does not represent any analytical judgment or factual determination about the event's nature.

Sensor & operational context

Infrared sensor systems used on U.S. military platforms in the 2013 timeframe were designed for targeting, reconnaissance, and situational awareness — not UAP documentation. These sensors detect thermal contrast rather than visible light, which means they render objects in terms of relative heat signature against background temperature. An "area of contrast" in infrared footage can arise from many sources: engine exhaust, solar reflection off a surface, atmospheric thermal gradients, or electronic sensor artifacts. The eight-pointed star geometry described here is a recognized optical artifact pattern produced by the diffraction spikes of certain infrared sensor optics, particularly when imaging a small, bright point source. This does not resolve the record, but it is the correct baseline for interpreting the shape description.

CENTCOM's area of responsibility in 2013 encompassed active conflict zones and significant air activity across the Middle East. Military platforms in the region routinely operated infrared sensors in environments with high optical complexity — dust, heat shimmer, and dense air traffic. The absence of any reporter description is notable: it may indicate the footage was flagged after the fact rather than in real time, or that the original operator context was not preserved through the chain of submission to AARO.

What this does and does not prove

The documented facts in DOW-UAP-PR38 are limited and should be treated as such. What the record confirms: infrared sensor footage exists, captured in 2013 in the Middle East, submitted by CENTCOM, depicting a moving area of contrast with a trailing signature and a cut between two observation segments. What the record does not confirm: the nature, origin, altitude, speed, or size of whatever produced the contrast. It does not confirm whether the "visible trail" was physical, optical, or artifactual. "Unresolved" in AARO's taxonomy means the case has not been explained to a standard that closes it — it does not mean the footage depicts something extraordinary. The absence of reporter testimony is a meaningful data gap, not an endorsement of any particular interpretation. Readers looking for a full catalogue of what the release does and does not claim can consult the SkyLens UAP files page, where every PURSUE Release 01 record is indexed.

How it fits PURSUE Release 01

DOW-UAP-PR38 sits within the Department of War's contemporary mission report contribution to PURSUE Release 01 — the cohort of recent military sensor records coordinated through AARO, as distinct from the release's NASA archive imagery and historic FBI files stretching back to 1947. The inclusion of cases without reporter testimony and without incident-date specificity reflects the release's honest accounting of what the documentary record actually contains: in some cases, the paper trail is thin. That transparency is part of what makes the release analytically credible. For broader context on the Department of War video records and how they compare to other case types in the release, see SkyLens's wider PURSUE coverage.

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.