CASE FILE D-18
Iraq, December 2022: The UAP the Pentagon Won't Fully Explain
2026-08-08 · Declassified UAP records
In December 2022, a U.S. military aircraft during Operation Inherent Resolve operating over Iraq recorded an unidentified object its crew could not explain.
The encounter is documented in an official USCENTCOM mission report, declassified and released through AARO — the Pentagon's UAP office.
The report confirms the crew observed possible uap. But the specifics — position, sensors, identities — are withheld under national-security and privacy exemptions.
Below is the document itself, reconstructed with the redactions preserved, followed by the full narration transcript and the approximate location of the encounter.
The Document
SECRET//NOFORN December 2022
UAP Mission Report — Iraq (December 2022)
Narrative
██████ AT 1206Z, ████████1.4a TOOK OFF FROM OKAS. AT 1220Z, ██████ HANDED OVER FROM THE LRE. FROM 1323Z TO 0626Z, ████████1.4a COLLECTED SIGINT VIA AIRHANDLER. FROM 1518Z TO 0426Z, ████████1.4a SUPPORTED OH ████████1.4a (OBJ ████████1.4a ████████1.4a IVO BAGHDAD, IRAQ. SEE ISR LINE 1. AT 1620Z, ████████1.4a OBSERVED POSSIBLE UAP. SEE UAP LINE 0426Z, ██████ WAS CLEARED TO RTB. AT 0655Z, ██████ HANDED BACK TO THE LRE. AT 0723Z, ██████ LANDED AT OKAS. FMV WAS EXPLOITED BY DGS-AR
Admin
- OPERATION: INHERENT RESOLVE
- COCOM: USCENTCOM
- UNIT: 482ATKS
Declassified 2047 — AARO release · USCENTCOM Mission Report — Approved for Release to AARO
Where It Happened
Full Transcript
At 1620 Zulu, a military crew over Iraq logged three words that would outlive the mission: 'Observed possible UAP.'
It was December 2022, during Operation Inherent Resolve. The crew had taken off from OKAS at 1206Z, and for hours they'd been collecting signals intelligence via Airhandler.
But the declassified report—released through AARO as Case D-18—is riddled with redactions. Dozens of details are blacked out, under national security and privacy exemptions.
What was the object? What did they see? The report gives no description, no shape, no speed—just that sighting, logged between two redacted blocks.
That's the mystery. What do you think they saw? Tell me in the comments. Search Case D-18 at ufodata.org to read the full file. Subscribe to UFO Data.
Sources
All documents and footage are authentic, public-domain U.S. government releases. Narration is AI-generated text-to-speech.