Department of War PURSUE File
DOW-UAP-D55, Mission Report, Syria, November 2016
Syria·11/18/16
Editorial summary
On November 18, 2016, a U.S. Navy P-8A aircraft monitoring activity in the Eastern Mediterranean detected an unidentified low-flying object approximately 55 nautical miles northwest of Latakia, Syria. The pilot observed the object via the aircraft's electro-optical and infrared sensor at 1310 Zulu time. According to the file, the object was traveling at approximately 500 knots on a southeasterly heading and appeared to be in "sea skim mode," a descriptive term used by the aircrew. The P-8A maintained a position roughly 26 nautical miles south of the object during the observation.
The encounter lasted approximately two minutes before the pilot lost visual contact with the object at 1312 Zulu time, at which point it was located near other vessels in the area. The mission commander characterized the interaction as safe. Weather conditions were clear with no range limitations reported.
According to the file, the mission commander assessed the activity as standard and consistent with assessed operations of a regional task group, though the report notes this was the first observed occurrence of possible missile activity by P-8 aircraft in the Eastern Mediterranean. Video footage of the observation was recorded. The document was declassified in May 2026 as part of the Department of War PURSUE release series on unidentified anomalous phenomena.
Editorial summary written by govweird from the declassified document text. The official government description follows below.
Government description
This document is a mission briefing summarizing an observation of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) by a U.S. military platform near Latakia, Syria. A U.S. military pilot flying a P-8A aircraft reported observing an object via the aircraft’s EO/IR sensor, which they characterized as appearing to be in “sea skim mode,” traveling at approximately 500 knots (575 mph) on a southeasterly heading. The P-8A lost visual contact with the object after two minutes. 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
11/18/16
Incident location
Syria
Release tranche
Release 01 (May 8, 2026)
Distribution
Cleared for public release