Al Taqaddum Object
In October 2017, an infrared sensor onboard a force protection aerostat near Al Taqaddum Air Base, Iraq, captured 17 minutes of video of an unidentified object. AARO assesses that the object was a cluster of partially and fully inflated balloons. The object's appearance is consistent with other recorded observations featuring balloon clusters. AARO employed full-motion video analysis and pixel examination techniques to inform its assessment. AARO assesses that the object did not demonstrate anomalous performance characteristics. AARO used geo-locational data from the aerostat to assess the object's speed and direction of travel. Al Taqaddum Case Resolution
Scope and Content
In October 2017, an infrared sensor onboard a force protection aerostat near Al Taqaddum Air Base, Iraq, captured 17 minutes of video of an unidentified object. AARO assesses that the object was a cluster of partially and fully inflated balloons. The object's appearance is consistent with other recorded observations featuring balloon clusters. AARO employed full-motion video analysis and pixel examination techniques to inform its assessment. AARO assesses that the object did not demonstrate anomalous performance characteristics. AARO used geo-locational data from the aerostat to assess the object's speed and direction of travel. Al Taqaddum Case Resolution
Digital Objects
- Open
Al Taqaddum Object
Video · Hosted by the government
Raw Government Record
Our normalized interpretation never replaces the government's original metadata. Both are kept.
Source Provenance
- Source Institution
- aaro
- Agency
- All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office
- Collection
- Released UAP Imagery
- Record Group
- AARO Released Imagery
- NAID
- AARO-DVIDS-960331
- Parent NAID
- —
- Original Title
- Al Taqaddum Object
- Record Date
- —
- Access Restriction
- Unrestricted
- Use Restriction
- DoD Visual Information — public release
- Level of Description
- Item
- Ingested
- 8/13/2026