Pentagon UAP Videos 2026: AARO Release 4 Unveils New Files from the Yellow Sea to the Gulf of America

On July 10, 2026, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) published its fourth major declassification batch, releasing new items into the public domain. This highly anticipated release provides unprecedented primary documentation of military encounters, featuring "Unresolved UAP Report" videos and detailed PDF reports. The release offers a stark, unvarnished look at the data collection challenges faced by the Department of Defense, highlighting a geographic concentration of recent sightings in the Indo-Pacific alongside historical files that languished in military archives for decades.

The Geographic Pattern: INDOPACOM and the China Seas

A significant portion of the newly declassified video files originates from the United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), specifically highlighting incidents in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea in 2025. These waterways are known zones of high geopolitical tension, and the presence of unidentified anomalous phenomena in these areas presents unique challenges for military sensor operators.

One notable example is a five-minute infrared video captured in 2025 over the East China Sea (DOW-UAP-PR105). According to the official video description, the sensor pans to track an area of contrast that intermittently loses distinctiveness against the background. At one point, the sensor adjusts and the image is "momentarily overlaid with black rectangular areas" before the object exits the right edge of the frame several times. The archive does not explain whether these black rectangular areas are sensor artifacts, digital redactions applied prior to AARO's receipt of the file, or a byproduct of the tracking software.

PR104: The Six-Pointed Star over the Yellow Sea

The most prominent visual from the INDOPACOM theater in this release is designated as DOW-UAP-PR104 (DOW-UAP-PR104). Captured in 2025 over the Yellow Sea, this 18-second infrared video features a distinct, highly unusual visual signature.

The official summary notes that the sensor pans to track an "area of contrast resembling a six-pointed star, keeping it generally centered within the center of the screen." The footage maintains this lock for the duration of the short clip. As with all videos in Release 4, AARO attaches a strict disclaimer stating that the description is for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as an "analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination regarding the described event’s validity, nature, or significance." The documentation leaves it entirely unresolved whether the six-pointed star shape is the physical structure of the object itself or a complex optical artifact generated by the infrared sensor's aperture and glare.

PR113: The Lost Tape from 1996

While much of Release 4 focuses on recent encounters, AARO also declassified a historical anomaly: a nearly 30-year-old video captured over the Western United States in 1996 (DOW-UAP-PR113). This two-minute and 57-second infrared video was only transferred to AARO by the Navy Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF) in 2022.

The documentation surrounding this video highlights the severe archival and chain-of-custody issues that plague historical UAP research. AARO explicitly notes that "No formal data handling practices for UAP-related records existed at the time this media was reported to the UAPTF." Furthermore, the agency states that the media was "digitally altered before being reported to the UAPTF, and is presented as it was received by AARO."

The footage itself shows an area of contrast entering near the upper right corner and exiting near the lower left. Because of the digital alterations made by unknown parties prior to 2022, the video repeats frame-by-frame, then repeats again at a slower playback speed, and finally holds on a single extracted frame for the last 42 seconds. This file serves as a prime example of how degraded chain-of-custody prevents definitive analysis.

Range Foulers: Pilots Interrupted in Training

Beyond the video files, Release 4 includes a series of "Range Fouler Debrief Forms"—standardized reports filed by military aviators when an unidentified object intrudes upon restricted training airspace. These forms provide vital context, pairing pilot testimony with sensor data.

In a 2019 debrief from the Eastern United States (DoD UAP Reporting Form), a witness with 28 years of experience performing duties for the USAF and Navy reported an encounter from a civilian King Air aircraft. The witness noted an object with "flight characteristics unlike anything I had seen." The report describes a "SMALL object" traveling in a "straight line opposite our direction at high speed." The witness tracked it for roughly 12–15 seconds before the crew turned on the recorder; when they zoomed in to achieve more resolution, "the object's speed took it out of my FOV" and they were unable to reacquire it, even at a lower zoom. Post-flight analysis determined that the "object appeared to be rectangular."

A separate 2020 debrief (Department of the Navy Range Fouler Debrief Form) details an encounter with an object where the pilot checked the boxes for "Metallic" and "Reflective." The narrative states the speed appeared constant and the object continued in a constant direction. While the overall shape was indiscernible to the pilot, they noted that "the bottom was reflective."

Not all Range Foulers describe high-speed or metallic objects. A 2020 debrief from the Atlantic Ocean (US Military Range Fouler Debrief Form) describes an encounter at dusk with an object that the pilot categorized as "Balloon-shaped," "Opaque," and "Reflective." The pilot wrote that the object was a "darker, maroonish color, approximately 12-15ft in height." Structurally, it appeared as a "large, somewhat deformed balloon," which traveled with the wind and exhibited "no maneuvers or change in direction."

Sensor Artifacts and Auto-Gain Control

Understanding the technical limitations of military sensors is a recurring theme in AARO's documentation. This is explicitly addressed in the release of DOW-UAP-PR115, an eight-second infrared video captured over the Gulf of America in 2019 (DOW-UAP-PR115).

In the video, an area of contrast is partially obscured by the aircraft's heads-up display (HUD). As the sensor zooms and pans, the object "visually flickers in the display." Rather than attributing this to a physical property of the UAP, AARO provides a technical comment on the nature of infrared systems. The agency explains that when a tracked source's temperature is similar to 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." This context is vital for researchers attempting to separate anomalous physical behavior from standard optical equipment limitations.

What the document does not say

To maintain strict adherence to the archival record, it is necessary to outline exactly what these newly declassified files do not contain:

• None of the videos or Range Fouler debriefs identify the objects as extraterrestrial in origin, nor do they confirm the objects as foreign adversary technology.
• The documents do not explain the physical nature of the "six-pointed star" seen in the Yellow Sea video, leaving it ambiguous whether it is a structural shape or a sensor artifact.
• The files do not provide the unredacted identities, exact coordinates, or specific squadron names of the pilots who filed the Range Fouler debriefs.
• The archive does not confirm if the digital alteration of the 1996 Western United States footage was intentional, malicious, or simply a byproduct of outdated format conversion.
• The documents do not explain the origin of the "black rectangular areas" overlaying the 2025 East China Sea video.

Read it yourself

Explore the primary source documents referenced in this article directly at UAP Archives:

• DOW-UAP-PR104, Unresolved UAP Report, Yellow Sea, 2025
• DOW-UAP-PR105, Unresolved UAP Report, East China Sea, 2025
• DOW-UAP-PR113, Unresolved UAP Report, Western United States, 1996
• DOW-UAP-PR115, Unresolved UAP Report, Gulf of America, 2019
• Department of the Navy Range Fouler Debrief Form (2020)
• DoD UAP Reporting Form (2019)
• US Military Range Fouler Debrief Form (2020)