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DOW-UAP-D055 — Mission Report, Syria, November 2016

File
DOW-UAP-D055
Agency
Department of War
Incident date
11/18/16
Location
Syria
Released in
Release 01 (2026-05-08)
File type
PDF

Topics: Mission reports (MISREPs)

This document is a mission briefing summarizing an observation of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) by a U.S. military platform near Latakia, Syria.

A U.S. military pilot flying a P-8A aircraft reported observing an object via the aircraft’s EO/IR sensor, which they characterized as appearing to be in “sea skim mode,” traveling at approximately 500 knots (575 mph) on a southeasterly heading. The P-8A lost visual contact with the object after two minutes.

All descriptive and estimative language contained in this report reflects the reporter’s subjective interpretation at the time of the event. Such characterizations should not be interpreted as a conclusive indication of the presence or absence of any intrinsic object features or performance characteristics.

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TL;DR

November 2016, when even the paperwork couldn't keep up with the object's speed.

  • DOW-UAP-D055 mission report, Syria, November 2016, Department of War, P‑8A platform.
  • Pilot observed low‑altitude object 55 nm NW of Latakia, sea‑skim mode, ~500 knots, two‑minute track.
  • Report declares encounter safe; no anomalous performance determination.

AI summary

This is a mission report from November 2016, authored by USCENTCOM Chief of Staff MG Richard A. Hamson, detailing an observation by a P-8A aircraft of an unidentified low-flying object 55 nautical miles northwest of Latakia, Syria. The object was detected traveling at approximately 500 knots on a southeasterly heading. The P-8 lost visual contact about 40 nautical miles northwest of Latakia, and the mission commander deemed the encounter safe. The report states the activity was consistent with known KCTG operations.

Full text

Page 1

Declassified by MG Richard A. Hamson
USCENTCOM Chief of Staff
Declassified on: 20 M~

67.1 P-8A OBSERVES UNIDENTIFIED LOW-FLYING OBJECT 55 NM
NORTHWEST OF LATAKIA, SYRIA
18 NOV 2016
FLIGHT PATH

J!!Jlf: Whtie monitoring KCTG activity In the Ea•tem
Mediterranean, P-IA, obe•rved an unidentified low-ftylng
object 86 nm northweet of Latakla from an unknown
origin, traveling at approx SOOK.TS on a •outheut•rly
heading outbound from KCTG, for ~2 minutes.
Timeline (Z):

(D (°ell P'IEl!sto18/131 OZ: P-8 observed a possible missile launch
IVQ
1.4a
I from an origin unknown detected via
the EO/IR sensor. The possible missile appeared to be in
sea skim mode traveling at approximately 500KTS on a
southeasterly heading outbound from KCTG. P-8 position
1.4a
. was 26NM S of object detection at 16121 F~

f2' (911 P't!I!) 18/13122: - P-8 lost visual of the object IVO
~
1.4a
Iapprox. 40 NM northwest of Latakia. The
missile was observed to pass between (RUS) INGUL ARS
and 1x U/1 vessel.
Weather:

Uf P-8 aircrew charactenzeavisioilfty as clear, no range
limitations .

.~!~

US P-8A Location
13102:--

(RUS) INGUL ARS

CTG 67.1 Comment§: The mission commander for P~8 characterized the interaction as safe. VVhile this was the first observed occurrence of
possible missile activity by P-8 aircraft in the Eastern Mediterranean it is assessed to be standard activity consistent with the assessed activity of
fhe KCTG. Video footage can be found at this link.
(b)(6l

81!8PU!!•1~1PU!L ,8 UOilt, UM8
USCENTCOM MOR 26~038 to MOR 26~046

Approved for Release to AARO

03/27/26 000001

Previous: DOW-UAP-D054 — Mission Report, Mediterranean Sea, NA · Next: DOW-UAP-D056 — Range Fouler Debrief, Arabian Sea, August 2020

Same topic: title & summary match

Same location: Syria

Same period: 2016

Same release: Release 01

Same agency: Department of War