DOW-UAP-PR36, Unresolved UAP Report, Middle East, May 2020

Evidence media

Open Sky release-file copy of the official PR36 MP4 — verified as a 142,686,223-byte MP4 with SHA-256 5f32ce0126de2c9571f2af368b2629c15b4f1cb3582700641ef31c1d1a8ceac8.
Official source page: DVIDS video 1006083.
Paired report context: DOW-UAP-D38, Range Fouler Debrief, Middle East, May 2020. D38 is a separate one-page form source and should not be collapsed into the video frame reading.

Investigation reading

This page covers the PR36 video item: DVIDS 1006083, released in the WAR.GOV/PURSUE Release 01 corpus and paired in release metadata with DOW-UAP-D38, Range Fouler Debrief, Middle East, May 2020. The release-file copy is a 2 minute 17.37 second H.264 MP4, 1920×1080 pixels at 30 fps, with an AAC stereo audio stream. The source pack does not provide a transcript/OCR body for the MP4; the primary public text for the video is the DVIDS/release description plus the separate D38 form.

The publisher description says the United States Central Command submitted infrared-sensor footage from a U.S. military platform in 2020. It describes an “area of contrast” entering the sensor field of view at 00:05, the sensor panning away while cycling contrast settings and zoom levels from 00:06 to 00:18, the contrast area re-entering near the top-center edge at 00:19, remaining generally in the field of view from 00:20 to 01:15, zoom changes at 01:16 and 01:56, a brief blue reticle at 02:10 without lock, and loss of the contrast area after a modality switch around 02:15–02:17. The source description itself cautions that this is informational wording, not an analytical conclusion.

A frame pass across the official timeline anchors shows a heavily mediated grayscale sensor display. The original scene content is mostly gray, cloudy or water-textured background with variable noise and contrast. The display layer includes black masking/redaction blocks, green reticle and bracket symbology, small colored interface marks, and a later cyan/blue rectangular reticle or box. In sampled frames, the visually notable feature remains a small unresolved contrast feature: darker and more irregular in the first seconds, then faint or point-like near the reticle, and later a small bright speck against a noisier background. The public MP4 samples do not resolve a stable shape, size, range, altitude, speed, or identity.

The paired D38 debrief supplies the report-field context. Its rendered page records 05/14/20, 20:40:00 Z, night, ISR, contact altitude 20000, altitude constant Yes, movement Yes, Stable Trackfile?: Intermittent, one contact, and Round checked while the self-track/autotrack/tally and other appearance boxes appear unchecked. The narrative says that while “preforming” an ISR tasking (ULTN/Black Hot/Lin), a solid white object flew through the field of view, was temporarily lost and reacquired, appeared to make erratic moments above the water, was viewed at 4x zoom, and was lost due to poor track placement while the sensor operator manipulated the sensor to keep eyes on it. Those are report statements, not a completed identification.

What the file appears to contain

Segment	Public reading
File format	Official MP4 video, 142,686,223 bytes, about 137.37 seconds long, 1920×1080, 30 fps, H.264 video with AAC stereo audio.
`00:00`–`00:05`	Grayscale sensor-display view with black masks and green symbology. A larger dark/bright contrast feature is visible left of center in early sampled frames, but it is partly under display graphics and not resolved.
`00:06`–`00:18`	The display changes contrast/brightness while the sensor view shifts. Interface markings and masking dominate. Any contrast feature in the center field is small and difficult to separate from reticle graphics and changing background tone.
Around `00:19`	The top-center crop shows a very small, faint contrast variation near the upper edge/mask boundary, consistent with the publisher's re-entry timing, but the region is heavily constrained by the crop edge, mask, low contrast, and noise.
`00:20`–`01:15`	The contrast area is generally within the field of view according to the publisher. In sampled frames it remains tiny and unresolved, often near reticle/interface elements or against a low-detail gray background.
`01:16`–`01:56`	The field narrows/zooms. Later samples show a small bright unresolved point in the left half of the frame, with strong background grain/noise and no resolved structure.
`02:10`–`02:17`	A blue/cyan reticle or box appears briefly near `02:10`; large masks and contrast changes obscure the scene. The source says the system does not acquire lock and loses the contrast area after a modality switch.

The key distinction is between scene content and display content. Black rectangles, colored reticles, brackets, arrows, review timestamps, and other interface marks are not physical objects in the scene. The visible contrast feature remains source-relevant but unresolved.

Source custody and provenance

Official DVIDS URL: https://www.dvidshub.net/video/1006083/dow-uap-pr36-unresolved-uap-report-middle-east-may-2020
Official MP4 media URL preserved in release metadata: https://d34w7g4gy10iej.cloudfront.net/video/2605/DOD_111689030/DOD_111689030.mp4
Open Sky release-file view: /api/explore/war-gov/release-file/war-gov-dow-uap-pr36-unresolved-uap-report-middle-east-may-2020-1006083
SHA-256: 5f32ce0126de2c9571f2af368b2629c15b4f1cb3582700641ef31c1d1a8ceac8
File size checked: 142,686,223 bytes
Media metadata checked: 137.37 seconds, 1920×1080, 30 fps, H.264 video, AAC stereo audio.
DVIDS video ID: 1006083; graph asset ID: official:video:war-pursue-uap-release:dvids-1006083.
Paired D38 PDF source: official WAR.GOV PDF dow-uap-d38-range-fouler-debrief-middle-east-may-2020.pdf, verified separately as a one-page, 342,668-byte PDF with SHA-256 90b353682ba2181149054d0911b7553e58e959438dd4de531a06fc387a332f85.
Provenance cleanup lead: video metadata and graph records surface row references around 53, 90, and 93, while D38's PDF page uses rows 50 and 90. D44 also appears near the same graph neighborhood. Treat row-number and neighbor differences as a CSV/graph audit issue, not as evidence that separate items are the same event.
Review status for this page: graph_investigation_draft; investigation status: needs_human_review; finding status: not_a_finding.

Graph context

The evidence graph has an exact VideoEvidence node for DVIDS 1006083 and release-record context for PR36 and the paired D38 form. The semantic layer for this PR36 video item currently reports 21 extracted claim records, 11 entity mentions, no extracted sensor-event records, and no extracted table rows.

The extracted PR36 claims are dominated by the official release description: Department of War / DVIDS / AARO references, the DOW-UAP-PR36 and DOW-UAP-D38 identities, Middle East / Arabian Gulf location language, the two-minute-and-seventeen-second infrared footage statement, and the source caution that the description should not be read as an investigative conclusion. These graph records are useful navigation cues, not findings.

The graph also surfaces related records including D38, D44, PR39, PR33, and broad candidate crosslinks to older UFO collections, AARO/NASA documents, DVIDS records, and prosaic-correlation sources. Most of those candidate crosslinks appear to be broad anchor matches such as “Middle East” or other shared release language. They require manual review before being used as corroboration.

Leads to check

Compare the continuous PR36 video against the D38 form's specific narrative: solid white object, temporary loss/reacquisition, water-background visibility, 4x zoom, poor track placement, and sensor manipulation.
Resolve D38 transcription tension in public metadata: the rendered source page reads 4x zoom and erratic moments, while OCR/release summaries may normalize one or both phrases.
Seek any underlying display tape, original .wmv, exploitation notes, platform track, range, sensor mode/polarity, stabilization, or collection geometry referenced by the Range Fouler form but not included in the public MP4.
Run prosaic/media checks before escalation: sea-surface glint, wave/whitecap contrast, birds, airborne debris, sensor gain/polarity changes, zoom/track-placement behavior, compression, masking/redaction effects, platform parallax, and weather/visibility over the reported area and time.
Reconcile release-row and pairing metadata across the current CSV, PR36 video record, D38 PDF record, and nearby D44/PR39 graph records.

Lead check notes

Partial — PR36/D38 comparison: The PR36 MP4 and its DVIDS/release description are present and hash-verified, and the description's timeline is consistent with a small unresolved contrast feature entering, re-entering, remaining generally in view, being zoomed on, and then being lost after a modality switch. The D38 wording (solid white object, water background, temporary loss/reacquisition, 4x zoom, and poor track placement) is paired source context, but the public MP4 alone does not provide range, size, independent motion, or collection geometry needed to resolve those statements.
Checked — D38 transcription tension: The paired D38 page render favors 4x zoom and the unusual phrase erratic moments above the water; the release description normalizes the latter to erratic movements. Keep both as source-text/transcription notes rather than treating them as separate observations.
Blocked — original display-tape / geometry trail: The current Release 01 materials expose the PR36 MP4 and paired D38 one-page form, but not the original display tape or .wmv, exploitation notes, platform track, range, sensor calibration, stabilization data, or collection geometry. Those items require a separate authoritative source.
Needs external source — prosaic and media checks: The public MP4 supports only bounded visual/media review: masks, reticles, polarity/contrast changes, zoom behavior, compression, and scene-background ambiguity remain visible constraints. Sea-surface glint, wave/whitecap contrast, birds, airborne debris, weather, traffic, platform parallax, and exact visibility checks need unredacted time/location/geometry or independent environmental records.
Partial — row and pairing cleanup: Current release metadata and graph records tie PR36/DVIDS 1006083 to D38, while row references surface around PR36 rows 53, 90, and 93 and D38 rows 50 and 90; D44/PR39 appear nearby as graph/navigation context. Treat this as provenance cleanup, not evidence that the neighboring records are the same item.

Deep investigation — graph + web reconnaissance

Source reread and media check

The live DVIDS page for video 1006083 was reachable during this check and still identifies the item as DOW-UAP-PR36, Unresolved UAP Report, Middle East, May 2020. DVIDS lists the video as B-roll, VIRIN 200502-D-D0360-5343, filename DOD_111689030, length 00:02:17, location (UNDISCLOSED LOCATION), date taken 05.01.2020, date posted 05.08.2026 07:48, and courtesy video from the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office. The official media URL returned a ranged MP4 response for 142,686,223 total bytes, matching the Open Sky release-file copy and SHA-256 5f32ce0126de2c9571f2af368b2629c15b4f1cb3582700641ef31c1d1a8ceac8. Local media metadata reads as H.264 1920×1080, 30 fps, about 137.37 seconds, with an AAC stereo stream.

A representative frame-and-crop pass at approximately 00:05, 00:19, 01:16, 01:56, 02:10, and 02:16 did not materially strengthen the visual case beyond the existing page reading. The 00:05 crop makes the dark irregular contrast feature more noticeable, but it remains crossed by display symbology and does not resolve into a reliable shape or identity. Later samples are dominated by mottled gray sensor texture, black masks/redactions, green reticles and scale marks, cyan/blue box symbology, colored interface marks, and a mostly blank or masked view near the modality switch. The public MP4 still does not support a physical-size, range, speed, altitude, or object-class inference.

The paired D38 form remains the key source-text context, not a separate resolution. A reread of its rendered page supports 05/14/20, 20:40:00Z, night, ISR, compact coordinate-like entries 28314 and 49524 E, contact altitude 20000, altitude constant Yes, moving Yes, Stable Trackfile?: Intermittent, one contact, and Round checked while AIM-9X self-track, ATFLIR autotrack, tally, EA, and most appearance boxes appear unchecked. The rendered narrative favors 4x zoom and the source phrase erratic moments above the water; stored OCR can misread that zoom phrase as 2x, and DVIDS/release prose normalizes the wording to erratic movements.

Graph connections and provenance checks

The evidence graph has an exact VideoEvidence node for official:video:war-pursue-uap-release:dvids-1006083, with two manifest-description text chunks, 21 machine-extracted claims, 11 entity mentions, and no PR36 sensor-event nodes. Those claims mainly preserve source identity, DVIDS/Department of War/AARO references, Middle East/Arabian Gulf language, and the publisher's video-description timeline. They remain machine_extracted_needs_human_review and not_a_finding.

The paired D38 Document node is an exact hash/URL match for the one-page PDF and carries six text chunks, 50 machine-extracted claims, one Source, and one SensorEvent. The single D38 RADAR sensor-event extraction is a form-label/source-quote artifact around Radar Equipped, Stable Trackfile?: Intermittent, and unchecked self-track/autotrack boxes; it is not a positive radar return unless a cleaner source confirms that reading. Direct PR36 graph neighbors include D44 and PR39 release records, but in this check those are row/neighborhood provenance-cleanup leads rather than corroborating evidence. No PR36 CANDIDATE_CROSSLINK records were returned from the exact asset query.

External provenance and context

The official DVIDS page and CloudFront MP4 are live provenance anchors for PR36. Direct WAR.GOV landing and CSV requests returned 403 Access Denied during this check, but Internet Archive CDX records show archived 200 captures for the DVIDS page, the DVIDS MP4 URL, the WAR.GOV UFO landing page, and the uap-release001.csv path in May 2026. Those archive hits support custody/history leads; they do not replace the hash-verified release-file copy or the live DVIDS page.

There is a date-provenance tension that matters before environmental correlation: DVIDS lists Date Taken: 05.01.2020, while the paired D38 debrief form states 05/14/20 20:40:00Z. The release text itself ties PR36 to D38, but time-sensitive astronomy, weather, traffic, satellite, or maritime checks should not treat the DVIDS date and D38 date as reconciled without the original display tape, mission record, or release-row explanation.

Prosaic checks, limits, and follow-up leads

Graph context labels for launches, astronomy/fireballs, satellites, and weather were checked narrowly around the D38 date. The graph had no modeled launch rows for 2020-05-12 through 2020-05-16, no modeled astronomy/fireball row on 2020-05-14, no same-day WeatherEvent row from the available date field, and a Satellite label count of zero. These are graph-coverage limits only, not external exclusions.

The first prosaic/media lanes remain display and collection effects: black-hot/IR contrast handling, gain and polarity cycling, zoom/FOV changes, track-placement loss, sensor/platform motion, stabilization, redaction masks, reticle/box overlays, compression, sea-surface glint, waves/whitecaps/foam, birds, airborne debris, distant traffic, and parallax. The strongest follow-up items are the original display tape or .wmv, exploitation notes, platform track, unredacted coordinates, sensor model/settings/FOV, range/calibration data, sea state/weather, traffic/maritime context, and a row/date reconciliation for PR36/D38/D44/PR39.

Audit note

This deep check adds provenance, graph, web, and media-review context only. It does not identify the feature, resolve the event, or create a finding/hypothesis. Source statements, witness/report language, machine-extracted graph claims, and unresolved prosaic checks remain separated.

Limits

This draft does not identify the feature, resolve the event, or assert a hypothesis. It records a source-level reading of the official MP4 and the release-stated D38 pairing.

The video is short, compressed, and mediated by sensor display symbology, black masks/redactions, contrast or modality changes, zooming, and missing platform/sensor geometry. The sampled contrast feature is visually unresolved. Apparent movement cannot be separated from sensor pan, platform motion, stabilization, background texture, or display processing using the public MP4 alone.

The D38 debrief supplies report statements and form fields, including altitude and track wording, but those fields are not independently verified by the video page. The public release does not provide raw telemetry, radar plots, range data, full coordinates, sensor calibration, weather/traffic context, or an adjudicated technical analysis.

Sources

Department of War / DVIDS: DOW-UAP-PR36, Unresolved UAP Report, Middle East, May 2020, DVIDS video 1006083, official URL above.
Open Sky verified release-file copy for PR36, SHA-256 5f32ce0126de2c9571f2af368b2629c15b4f1cb3582700641ef31c1d1a8ceac8.
Official MP4 media URL preserved in source metadata: https://d34w7g4gy10iej.cloudfront.net/video/2605/DOD_111689030/DOD_111689030.mp4.
Paired Open Sky page: DOW-UAP-D38, Range Fouler Debrief, Middle East, May 2020.
Official WAR.GOV D38 PDF: https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/dow-uap-d38-range-fouler-debrief-middle-east-may-2020.pdf.
Release 01 CSV/DVIDS metadata and graph records for official:video:war-pursue-uap-release:dvids-1006083 and associated D38/PR36 records.