In May 2022, a U.S. military aircraft during Operation ! operating over Iraq recorded an unidentified object its crew could not explain.
The encounter is documented in an official USEUCOM mission report, declassified and released through AARO — the Pentagon's UAP office.
The report confirms the crew observed. 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//NOFORNMay 2022
UAP Mission Report — Iraq (May 2022)
Narrative
(S//REL) AT 13552, ██████ TOOK OFF FROM SIGONELLA AIRBASE (LIC2). AT 14242, ██████ HANDED OVER FROM THE LRE. FROM 15072 TO 09062, ██████ COLLECTED SIGINT VIA AIRHANDLER. AT 15512, ██████ WAS ON STATION IN SRO TRACK (41EMD). FROM 19382 TO 02302, ██████ CONDUCTED IMINT ISO 603 AOC\OP HUMMER SICKLE IYO 41EMD IYO EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN. SEE ISR LINE 1. AT 21472, ██████ WAS REACTED TO BY 1-3 ACFT, INCLUDING POSS RFAF SU-30. SEE REACTION LINE 1. AT 01172, ONE POSSIBLE SMALL UAP WAS OBSERVED. SEE UAP LINE 1. AT 00112, ████████1.4a OBSERVED ONE PROBABLE SU-27/35 LANDING IYO AL ASSAD AFLD. SEE OBS LINE 1. AT02302, AT 06162, AT09342, AT 10252, ████████1.4a WAS CLEARED TO RTB. WAS OFF STATION. HANDED BACK TO THE LRE. LANDED AT LRCT. FMV WAS EXPLOITED BY DGS-IN AND DGS4 (S/RELIDO)
Admin
OPERATION: !
COCOM: USEUCOM
UNIT: 50ATKS
Declassified 2047 — AARO release · USEUCOM Mission Report — Approved for Release to AARO
Where It Happened
Full Transcript
One military mission. Two unexplained encounters. A possible UAP — and a possible Russian Su-30.
In May 2022, over Iraq, a crew observed a small, unidentifiable object. The same mission logged reaction from one to three aircraft, including one possible Russian Su-30.
The report was declassified and released through AARO. But nearly every operational detail is blacked out — redacted under national security and privacy exemptions.
Dozens of lines hidden. The object's behavior, the intercept details, the timeline — all obscured. The Pentagon's own files keep the full picture from view.
This exact document was quoted in TIME's coverage of the Pentagon's 2026 UFO files release. Search Case D-14 at ufodata.org to read what remains. Subscribe to UFO Data.