# Iraq, May 2022: The UAP the Pentagon Won't Fully Explain

- Case: D-14
- Published: 2026-08-05
- Canonical URL: https://ufodata.org/library/iraq-may-2022-the-uap-the-pentagon-won-t-fully-explain
- Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc09S-lNlNU
- Location: Iraq
- Source: UFOData.org case library (https://ufodata.org/library/)

> In May 2022, a U.S. military aircraft during Operation ! operating over Iraq recorded an unidentified object its crew could not…

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//NOFORN May 2022

### UAP Mission Report — Iraq (May 2022)

#### Narrative

(S//REL) AT 13552, [redacted] TOOK OFF FROM SIGONELLA AIRBASE (LIC2). AT 14242, [redacted] HANDED OVER FROM THE LRE. FROM 15072 TO 09062, [redacted] COLLECTED SIGINT VIA AIRHANDLER. AT 15512, [redacted] WAS ON STATION IN SRO TRACK (41EMD). FROM 19382 TO 02302, [redacted] CONDUCTED IMINT ISO 603 AOC\OP HUMMER SICKLE IYO 41EMD IYO EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN. SEE ISR LINE 1. AT 21472, [redacted] 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, [redacted] OBSERVED ONE PROBABLE SU-27/35 LANDING IYO AL ASSAD AFLD. SEE OBS LINE 1. AT02302, AT 06162, AT09342, AT 10252, [redacted] 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

## 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.

## Sources

- [PURSUE — U.S. Department of War UAP release portal](https://www.war.gov/ufo/)
- [National Archives — Record Group 615 (UAP records)](https://www.archives.gov/research/topics/uaps/rg-615)
- [AARO — All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office](https://www.aaro.mil/UAP-Records/)

All documents and footage are authentic, public-domain U.S. government releases. Narration is AI-generated text-to-speech.