Department of War PURSUE File
DOW-UAP-D12, Mission Report, Iraq, May 2022
Iraq·5/20/22
Editorial summary
On May 20, 2022, a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance aircraft operating over Iraq observed an unidentified object in flight and was unable to determine its identity. The aircraft, which had taken off from a base in the region and was conducting a planned intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance mission in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, made visual contact with the object at approximately 2043 UTC. According to the file, the operator observed the unidentified object flying in a northerly to northeasterly direction and attempted to follow it for as long as operationally feasible.
The mission report indicates that the observer could not obtain a positive identification of the object despite the pursuit attempt. The document provides minimal technical detail regarding the encounter. No altitude, velocity, or trajectory measurements for the object are recorded in the available sections of the report. The aircraft was equipped with a targeting pod and signals intelligence collection systems during the mission and had been on station conducting full-motion video and signals intelligence collection since 0927 UTC. The aircraft departed the area at 2121 UTC and returned to base at 0036 UTC on May 21, 2022. The total mission duration was approximately 18 hours and 54 minutes.
The report was filed by the 196th Attack Squadron and processed through the 609th Combined Air Operations Center under U.S. Central Command. Personnel names and some technical specifications have been redacted in the declassified version. The document was originally classified at the SECRET level with distribution limited to USA and Five Eyes partners before being approved for public release through the Department of War's PURSUE declassification initiative on October 17, 2025.
This mission report has been cleared for public release and is now part of the official record on unidentified anomalous phenomena observations by U.S. military personnel.
Editorial summary written by govweird from the declassified document text. The official government description follows below.
Government description
This document is a Mission Report (MISREP), a standardized reporting form the U.S. Military uses to record the circumstances surrounding its operations. U.S. military services often use MISREPs to report Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) to AARO. The GENTEXT, or “general text” section of these reports often contains important qualitative, contextual information, distinguishing it from the more quantitative, or numerical, data found elsewhere in the report. A U.S. military operator reported observing one UAP flying north to northeast. The observer reported following the UAP for as long as possible but was unable to positively identify it. All descriptive and estimative language contained in this report reflects the reporter’s subjective interpretation at the time of the event. Such characterizations should not be interpreted as a conclusive indication of the presence or absence of any intrinsic object features or performance characteristics.
Caption issued by the U.S. Department of War on war.gov/ufo. Verbatim, unedited.
Originating agency
Department of War
Record type
Incident date
5/20/22
Incident location
Iraq
Release tranche
Release 01 (May 8, 2026)
Distribution
Cleared for public release