Department of War PURSUE File
DOW-UAP-D58, Range Fouler Debrief, NA, October 2020
10/27/20
Editorial summary
On October 27, 2020, at 01:12 UTC, a military operator on a nighttime training mission detected two unidentified aerial phenomena in a controlled range area. The operator achieved visual contact with both objects, which appeared as red blinking strobes against the night sky. According to the Range Fouler Debrief form filed with the Department of War, the operator characterized the objects as balloon-shaped, metallic, and reflective in appearance.
The most striking detail in the operator's account concerns the relative motion between the two objects. The witness reported that one of the phenomena was circling around the other, completing what was described as approximately one rotation every 1,130th of a second, after which both objects disappeared from view. The operator was equipped with radar and targeting pod systems during the encounter. A radar lock was established on the contacts, and target pod video was obtained, which registered two infrared-significant returns. However, the operator was unable to close within 16.9 nautical miles of the objects to obtain a more definitive identification.
The report notes that electronic countermeasures activity was detected coincident with the visual sighting, indicated by noise jamming characterized as two chevrons on the operator's display. Initial detection of the objects occurred at a bearing and range relative to the operating area's reference point. The operator submitted this account on a standardized U.S. Navy form designed to capture circumstances surrounding unauthorized intrusions into active military airspace, noting that the witness's characterizations reflect subjective interpretation at the time of the encounter.
This document was declassified and released to the public in May 2026 as part of the Department of War PURSUE Release 01.
Editorial summary written by govweird from the declassified document text. The official government description follows below.
Government description
This document is a Range Fouler Debrief, a standardized reporting form the U.S. Navy uses to record the circumstances surrounding an unauthorized intrusion into controlled airspace during active military operations or training. These reports contain a narrative description of the observer’s experiences. A U.S. military operator reported an encounter with a group of two UAP. The operator described the UAP as “balloon-shaped,” metallic, and reflective, characterizing them as “2x red blinking strobes.” The report states that “one range fouler was circling around the other.” 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
10/27/20
Incident location
Unspecified
Release tranche
Release 01 (May 8, 2026)
Distribution
Cleared for public release