Incident · 8 September 2021 · Gulf of Oman
Gulf of Oman AC-130 “cold orbs”
Also known as Gulf of Oman 2021, AC-130J cold orbs
On the night of 8 September 2021, a U.S. special-operations AC-130 gunship was running a live-fire training sortie over the Gulf of Oman. After dropping a water-activated flare as a mock target, the combat systems officer swung the infrared sensor back to the flare and saw two round, "cold" objects about four feet across hovering just above the water beside it, which then sped away without changing altitude.
Over the rest of the sortie the crew logged about 25 similar sightings in infrared, estimating speeds from 250 to 1,300 mph, and reported the objects flying in formations and seeming to react when the gunship's weapons were used. The aircraft's video recorder failed, so the clips released with the report are secondary recordings that limit any analysis.
The report is an unevaluated intelligence information report; it warns that the descriptions are the crew's subjective impressions. It was released in PURSUE in 2026 and is one of many U.S. military reports from the CENTCOM region.
Sources: DOW-UAP-D101 (local copy), DOW-UAP-PR117–PR122 (PURSUE)
Facts and claims
- documented An intelligence information report records that on 8 September 2021 the crew of a U.S. special-operations AC-130 gunship, on a night live-fire training sortie over the Gulf of Oman, saw two "cold orbs" about four feet across hovering 0–20 feet above a water-activated flare they had dropped as a mock target, and some 25 instances of similar phenomena in infrared during the sortie. Source: DOW-UAP-D101 — Intelligence Information Report, Unresolved UAP Report, Gulf of Oman, 2021
- claimed The crew estimated the objects' speeds at 250 to 1,300 mph and described them flying in formations, manoeuvring aggressively and appearing to react to the aircraft's weapons. Source: DOW-UAP-D101 — Intelligence Information Report, Unresolved UAP Report, Gulf of Oman, 2021
- documented The aircraft's digital video recorder failed and its data was corrupted; the six released clips (PR117–PR122) are secondary recordings. The report stresses that its descriptive language reflects the reporter's subjective interpretation and is unevaluated intelligence. Source: DOW-UAP-D101 — Intelligence Information Report, Unresolved UAP Report, Gulf of Oman, 2021
Connected files
Official records (PURSUE)
- DOW-UAP-D101 — Intelligence Information Report, Unresolved UAP Report, Gulf of Oman, 2021 (documented in)
- DOW-UAP-PR117 — Unresolved UAP Report, Gulf of Oman, 2021 (documented in)
- DOW-UAP-PR118 — Unresolved UAP Report, Gulf of Oman, 2021 (documented in)
- DOW-UAP-PR119 — Unresolved UAP Report, Gulf of Oman, 2021 (documented in)
- DOW-UAP-PR120 — Unresolved UAP Report, Gulf of Oman, 2021 (documented in)
- DOW-UAP-PR121 — Unresolved UAP Report, Gulf of Oman, 2021 (documented in)
- DOW-UAP-PR122 — Unresolved UAP Report, Gulf of Oman, 2021 (documented in)