On an infrared screen above the Yellow Sea, an area of contrast looked like a six-pointed star. The U.S. government’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office included that description in an official UAP video entry released in July 2026. The source footage came from a military platform in 2025.
What the government actually released
AARO identifies the case as DOW-UAP-PR104 and describes an approximately 18-second infrared clip. Its account says the sensor pans to keep a star-like area near the screen’s center between roughly 00:01 and 00:15. The official DVIDS page hosts a playable copy of the video and lists the Yellow Sea location.
What the shape does not prove
Stars and geometric patterns in sensor imagery can result from how light, heat, optics, processing and display interact. This case file does not provide enough independently verified geometry, distance, sensor characteristics and environmental measurements to make a confident identification. An unresolved label means analysis has not yielded a documented conclusion; it does not mean an extraterrestrial origin has been established.
The missing pieces
Investigators would want native video, calibration data, platform movement, sight lines and corroboration from other sensors. The published summary should also be distinguished from an eyewitness narrative: AARO is describing a recorded contrast pattern, not issuing a final finding about a craft’s identity or capabilities.
Featured photo shows a genuine U.S. Navy F/A-18 aircraft for military aviation context, not the sensor platform or photographed object in this case.
