News / May 27, 2026
DOW-UAP-PR098: the Persian Gulf formation video and the grain problem
DOW-UAP-PR098 has one of the most clickable titles in PURSUE Release 02. The official description is narrower: areas of contrast, repeated zoom changes, and a long stretch where the target is hard to separate from video grain.
The file
DOW-UAP-PR098 is the Persian Gulf "formation" video in PURSUE Release 02.
DVIDS lists the uploader-defined title as "UFOs in formation over Persian Gulf?" The question mark matters, and so does the phrase "uploader-defined." AARO's description does not present the clip as a finished identification or a finished debunk.
The released video runs 17 minutes and 36 seconds. DVIDS gives the date taken as January 1, 2019, the date posted as May 22, 2026, the video ID as 1007737, the VIRIN as 191002-D-D0360-8259, and the filename as DOD_111719833.
What the record says
AARO says the video is likely derived from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform operating in the United States Central Command area of responsibility. A user uploaded it to a classified network in October 2019.
The broader release note attached to these records says AARO identified responsive materials on a classified network after a March 2026 request from eight members of the U.S. House of Representatives. It also says many of the materials lack a substantiated chain of custody.
For PR098, the public description tracks the video as sensor footage. It repeatedly uses the phrase area of contrast. It does not say craft. It does not give range, altitude, weather, platform geometry, or the original sensor file.
Where the formation reading starts
The first key change comes at 00:22-01:59. AARO says the sensor zooms in on one area of contrast and that, at higher magnification, the area appears as multiple distinct areas of contrast.
That is the part that makes the public title understandable. At some moments, the image looks less like one point and more like a small cluster. That is enough for "formation" to travel quickly in reposts and short video captions.
It is also where the clip stays narrow. AARO describes what appears in the sensor view. It does not give the distance to the target, the sensor mode, the aircraft motion, the object size, or the number of physical objects.
Where the video gets weaker
The long middle section is where the clip gets thin. From 06:30 to 13:17, AARO says the area of contrast is at times indistinguishable from the grain of the video. The sensor then makes several contrast adjustments to compensate.
That does not erase the earlier cluster-like appearance. It does change what can be said from the public file. Once the target and the video texture start competing, the clip becomes less a clean object video and more a sensor-reading problem.
Late in the video, from 16:23 to 17:23, AARO says the area of contrast repeatedly exits and enters the frame. At 17:24-17:27, the sensor zooms out to track it. The record ends without an analytical conclusion.
What others are doing with it
Public reposts and mirrors mostly keep the headline shape: "UFOs in formation over Persian Gulf." Some social posts shorten that into a cleaner claim about multiple UFOs in formation.
That is not surprising. The title is strong, the video is long, and a few frames look more organized than the usual gray blur. The additional public chatter does not add the missing parts: original metadata, range, platform details, chain of custody, or a named analysis product.
The stronger public reading is not "nothing happened." It is narrower: PR098 is a released infrared video with a formation-like moment, a long grain problem, and a public description that stops short of identification.
Where it ends
The viewer gets the DVIDS video, AARO's timestamped description, the uploader-defined title, and the March 2026 congressional request that preceded the release. The original sensor package and any final assessment are not there.
That leaves PR098 in a useful but uncomfortable place: a released infrared video with a formation-like moment, a long grain problem, and no clean ending.
Related UAP Logbook notes
- PURSUE Release 02 adds a 2025 orb narrative and old Sandia green-fireball files
- NewsNation panel sorts PURSUE Release 02
- DOW-UAP-PR067: the "USO near submarine" title is stronger than the public record
- The Syrian "instant acceleration" UAP video is messier than the label
- DOE-UAP-D001: the Pantex unidentified object image in PURSUE Release 02