{
 "slug": "dow-uap-d077",
 "title": "DOW-UAP-D077 Unresolved-Case-Analysis-Update Western-United-States-Event",
 "agency": "DoW",
 "year": null,
 "page_count": 4,
 "source_page": "https://wearenotalone.space/document/dow-uap-d077/",
 "original_file": "https://wearenotalone.space/Season 03/release_03_documents/DOW-UAP-D077_Unresolved-Case-Analysis-Update_Western-United-States-Event.pdf",
 "license": "U.S. Government work — public domain. Text is machine OCR from the original scan; the page image is authoritative.",
 "pages": [
  {
   "n": 1,
   "image": "https://wearenotalone.space/transcripts/dow-uap-d077/p01.jpg",
   "text": "UNCLASSIFIED\nOFFICE OF THE UNDER SECRETARY OF WAR\n5000 DEFENSE PENTAGON\nWASHINGTON, DC 20301-5000\nINTELLIGENCE\nAND SECURITY\n05 JUNE 2026\nMEMORANDUM FOR RECORD\nSUBJECT: All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) Unidentified Anomalous\nPhenomena (UAP) Case Analysis Update: Western U.S. Event “Orbs Launching\nOrbs”\nReferences: (a) https://www.war.gov/ufo/#Western-US-Event, Incident 1 of 4, VIRIN: 260508­\nD-D0360-1052, 08-MAY 2026.\n1. Executive Summary.\nThis memorandum summarizes the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office’s (AARO)\nongoing analysis of a reported incident near a sensitive national security site in the western\nUnited States involving unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) over a period of two days in\nOctober 2023. As of June 2026, the case remains unresolved.\n2. Incident Summary.1\nOver a period of two days in October 2023, six federal law enforcement special agents\nreported observing “orbs launching other orbs,” near a sensitive national security site in the\nwestern United States at approximately dusk. Each team of two agents reported observing\nphenomena with similar morphological features and performance characteristics from multiple\nviewing angles.\nThe phenomena’s most distinctive reported feature was the repeating nature of their\npattern of behavior, in which a luminous orange “mother orb” appeared to produce smaller red\n“orbs,” one after another, multiple times over a period of several hours. Reporters described the\norange “mother orbs” as appearing for one to two seconds, releasing a cluster of two to four red\n“orbs,” and subsequently disappearing. The reporters characterized the behavior of the red\n“orbs” as anomalous, describing varied kinematic profiles including seemingly coordinated\nhorizontal motion and apparent changes in altitude. The red “orbs” reportedly persisted for\nseveral seconds before disappearing, however, in at least one instance, the agents described a red\n“orb” as remaining stationary above a ridgeline for several hours. The reporters also described\nthe phenomena as “silent.” The agents provided consistent accounts using similar language to\ncharacterize their experiences and the apparent behavior of both the red and orange “orbs.”\n3. Analytic Factors.\n1 AARO’s use of source-derived descriptive and evaluative language in this summary is intended to preserve the\nintegrity of narrative testimony as provided by first-hand observers.\n1\nUNCLASSIFIED"
  },
  {
   "n": 2,
   "image": "https://wearenotalone.space/transcripts/dow-uap-d077/p02.jpg",
   "text": "UNCLASSIFIED\na. The reporting agents did not collect video footage, photographic imagery, or other\ntechnical data during the incident. Human capacity for optical estimation regarding the\ndistance, size, speed, and direction of travel of unreferenced phenomena in low-light\nconditions is constrained by intrinsic biological and perceptual limitations. As a standard\nanalytic practice, AARO considers the influence of such limitations when assessing\nnarrative descriptions of a phenomenon’s morphological and performance characteristics.\nIn this case, AARO assesses that contextual factors supersede those limitations, and that\nthe nature of the reported incident warrants further investigation. These factors include:\ni.\nThe close alignment of the phenomena’s reported morphological features and\nkinematic profiles with those of other reported incidents in the western United\nStates region.\nii.\nAARO’s favorable assessment of the reporting agents’ contextual awareness of\nthe operational environment and overall familiarity with U.S. military systems.\niii.\nThe high degree of consistency in the agents’ narrative descriptions of potentially\nanomalous features, as seen from multiple viewing angles.\nb. Due to a lack of instrument-measured distance data, AARO cannot determine whether the\nphenomena’s reported silence corresponds to an inherent characteristic or to acoustic\nattenuation.\nc. The total number of orange “mother orbs” is unclear based upon the narrative reporting.\nAs described, AARO finds two interpretations plausible:\ni.\nA single orange “mother orb” periodically “launching” smaller red “orbs.”\nii.\nMultiple orange “mother orbs” periodically “launching” smaller red “orbs.”\n4. Current Case Disposition and Hypotheses.\nApproximately 40 percent of the reported phenomena lack a plausible explanation after\nfirst stage analysis and thus remain unresolved. To evaluate this incident, AARO cross-\ncorrelated the agents’ narrative accounts against commercial and military flight logs, radar data,\nspatial estimates, and Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data. AARO\nconsidered several hypotheses to account for the currently unresolved component of the\nphenomena.\na. Misidentified Military Aircraft Exhaust (Ruled Out): The reported characteristics do not\nalign with those of military aircraft exhaust. Though military aircraft were present in the\nairspace, their altitudes were too high for standard exhaust to appear as orange “orbs.”\nThis hypothesis is also inconsistent with the agents’ characterization of the phenomena as\n“silent,” the reported loitering behavior, and the apparent “launching” of red “orbs.”\nb. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) (Unlikely): Agents reported that, in at least one case,\nred “orbs” persisted over a period of several hours. A loitering time of several hours\n2\nUNCLASSIFIED"
  },
  {
   "n": 3,
   "image": "https://wearenotalone.space/transcripts/dow-uap-d077/p03.jpg",
   "text": "UNCLASSIFIED\nexceeds the standard battery capacity and operational limits of typical military and\ncommercially available multi-rotor UAV systems.\nc. Military Aircraft Dispensing Flares (Partially Plausible):\ni.\nSupporting Factors: Historical flight logs confirm that U.S. military aircraft\noperating in the area were equipped with, and actively deployed, infrared\ncountermeasure flares as a component of a standard exercise. The reported\nmorphology and behavior of these phenomena align with known characteristics of\ncertain military infrared flares. The phenomena’s position relative to the\nobservers, perceived direction of travel, and time of observation strongly align\nwith historical radar and ADS-B data, suggesting that approximately 60 percent of\nthe reported activity is plausibly attributable to military aircraft. The agents, who\nare professionally familiar with the visual characteristics of military flares, stated\nthat the phenomena did not exhibit those characteristics. However, the visual and\nbehavioral characteristics of the specific types of flares carried by the military\naircraft operating in the area differ from those of standard illumination flares.\nii.\nContradictory Factors: For the remaining 40 percent of reported observations,\nradar and ADS-B data indicate that no known aircraft were active within the\nobservers’ estimated line-of-sight from the ground. In at least one case, the\nagents’ report of a red “orb” remaining stationary for several hours is physically\nincompatible with the burn-time and descent rate of any known military flare.\nd. U.S. Capability Deconfliction (Blue Force) (Plausible, inconclusive): AARO conducted\na comprehensive review of programs and activities across the Department of War and the\nIntelligence Community to ascertain whether the time, date, location, and reported\nfeatures of the phenomena align with those of any U.S. developmental program, test\nevent, or operational capability. AARO assesses that the characteristics described in the\nagents’ narrative account align with those of certain U.S. military technologies. However,\nhistorical records are inconclusive regarding whether those technologies were present at\nthe time and place of the reported incident. Furthermore, while each reported\ncharacteristic shares features with known U.S. military systems, no single Blue Force\ncapability fully accounts for all the phenomena’s reported characteristics.\ne. Foreign Intelligence Activity (Red Force) (Highly Unlikely): AARO consulted with\npartners in the Intelligence Community to assess the likelihood that the reported\nphenomena indicate the presence of foreign intelligence activities. While AARO cannot\ndefinitively rule out the deployment of entirely novel foreign collection platforms, the\nreported kinematic profiles diverge significantly enough from those of known adversary\nsystems that AARO assesses this hypothesis as highly unlikely.\nf. Phenomenological & Environmental Factors (Unlikely): AARO consulted with subject\nmatter experts to explore possible natural phenomena whose characteristics may account\nfor those of the reported phenomena. Potential attributions included:\ni.\nMeteorological phenomena. Weather conditions were generally inconsistent with\nthose necessary to produce rare phenomena such as ball lightning or sprites.\n3\nUNCLASSIFIED"
  },
  {
   "n": 4,
   "image": "https://wearenotalone.space/transcripts/dow-uap-d077/p04.jpg",
   "text": "UNCLASSIFIED\nii.\nAtmospheric anomalies, (e.g., temperature inversion and refractive effects).\nWeather conditions were generally clear, with seasonable temperatures and\ntypical levels of light pollution for the area. AARO assesses as unlikely that such\nconditions would contribute to misperceptions of a phenomenon’s physical or\nkinematic features.\niii.\nSpace-based phenomena, (e.g., stars, planets, meteors, satellite flaring, rocketry).\nThe agents’ diverse viewing angles make it highly unlikely that misidentified\ncelestial bodies account for the phenomena. In instances in which reporters\ndescribed stationary “loitering” behavior, misidentified celestial bodies are more\nplausible, though still unlikely. Attribution to meteors or other ephemeral space-\nbased phenomena, including satellite flaring, is inconsistent with the reported\npersistence of at least one of the red “orbs” over a period of several hours.\nBolides, for example, typically exhibit a characteristic tail, which is inconsistent\nwith the reported morphology of the “mother orbs.”\ng. Unrecognized Technology (Pending): AARO’s preliminary exclusion-based hypothesis\nis that, given the otherwise unexplained kinematic and physical characteristics described\nin narrative reports, unrecognized technology may account for up to 40 percent of the\nphenomena associated with this incident. However, this provisional assessment is based\nsolely upon narrative testimony, as well as the elimination of competing hypotheses, and\nis unsubstantiated by technical data or physical evidence.\n5. Next Steps.\nAARO assesses that the features described by the reporting agents are sufficiently\nanomalous to warrant continued investigation into the nature of the underlying incident. AARO\nintends to integrate scientific modeling capabilities from partner agencies within the Federal\nGovernment, expertise from scientific and academic institutions, and insights from multi-\ndomain, multispectral data exploitation techniques to inform its assessment of this and other\nreported UAP cases in the western United States region. AARO will continue to update its\nanalytic tradecraft to incorporate the best scientific and intelligence analysis practices to resolve\nanomalies with higher confidence.\nAARO will also seek opportunities to broaden its relationships with partners possessing\nrelevant technical and domain expertise to enhance its ability to efficiently deconflict Blue and\nRed Force programs and activities, as well as to optimize data collection protocols to incorporate\nmore diverse sources. AARO may revise its assessment and provide updates if additional\nintelligence and data sources become available.\nJon T. Kosloski\nDirector, AARO\n4\nUNCLASSIFIED"
  }
 ]
}