DOW-UAP-D077 to D083: Western US Event

[Mick West]

Part of Release 3, this seems largely explained as flares. 60% definitely identified as such, but 40% indeterminate. The problem there is that it's all eyewitness accounts. Nothing really stands out as anomalous. The "Kite" sounds like an aircraft, but it's really pointless to speculate without real evidence.


Here's an AI-generated (Claude Fable) summary with links

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1. Western US Event, October 2023 — the case file

DOW-UAP-D077, AARO Unresolved Case Analysis Update: Western United States Event
AARO Case Analysis Update memo, signed Jon T. Kosloski, Director, AARO, dated 05 June 2026. Six federal law enforcement special agents (three teams of two), two days in October 2023, dusk, near a "sensitive national security site" in the western US. Pattern: an orange "mother orb" appears 1-2 s, releases 2-4 red "orbs," disappears; in one account a red orb stayed "stationary above a ridgeline for several hours." No video, photos, or sensor data — narrative only.

AARO's own disposition: flight logs confirm military aircraft were dispensing IR countermeasure flares in the area as part of a standard exercise, and radar/ADS-B correlation "strongly aligns" with ~60% of the reported activity. The residual ~40% is carried as "Unrecognized Technology (Pending)" — explicitly exclusion-based and "unsubstantiated by technical data or physical evidence." Celestial misidentification is rated "more plausible, though still unlikely" for the stationary-loitering subset. The Blue Force section notes the described characteristics "align with those of certain U.S. military technologies," with records "inconclusive" on presence.

DOW-UAP-D078, Notional Map: Western United States Event

Notional overhead map of four incidents "over a period of several days" (the D077 memo says two days): 1 "Orbs Launching Orbs," 2 "Fiery Orb" (~1,000 yd, against a ridgeline), 3 "Dark Kite" (thin dark kite-shaped object, one red and one white light, close range), 4 "Translucent Kite" (close range). genai.mil disclosure bottom-right.

Witness narrative statements (each a first-person memo to AARO):

• DOW-UAP-D079, Narrative Statement 1, Western United States Event, 2023 (Western United States, October, 2023) — This memorandum presents the first-hand narrative from Witness 1 provided to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). Witness 1 was one of several United States (U.S.) federal law enforcement special agents who reported observing unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) over a period of two days in October 2023 in the western United States. Note: also describes "thick spider web looking material" floating in the air — classic "angel hair," and October is peak ballooning-spider season.
• DOW-UAP-D080, Narrative Statement 2, Western United States Event, 2023 (Western United States, October, 2023) — This memorandum presents the first-hand narrative from Witness 2 provided to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). Witness 2 was one of several United States (U.S.) federal law enforcement special agents who reported observing unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) over a period of two days in October 2023 in the western United States. Note: includes car headlights "morphing" into an orb-like light and an "orb-like-disc" gliding to the roadside that was gone when they reached it; compares the experience to "portals."
• DOW-UAP-D081, Narrative Statement 3, Western United States Event, 2023 (Western United States, October, 2023) — This memorandum presents the first-hand narrative from Witness 3 provided to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). Witness 3 was one of several United States (U.S.) federal law enforcement special agents who reported observing unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) over a period of two days in October 2023 in the western United States. Note: NVG-equipped; orange orb crossed ~20° of sky in 3-5 s, expelled three red orbs "mechanical[ly]" "like grapes being expelled from a basketball," red orbs ran south in a line at ~1 s spacing; orbs were gone when a nearby vehicle left.
• DOW-UAP-D082, Narrative Statement 4, Western United States Event, 2023 (Western United States, October, 2023) — This memorandum presents the first-hand narrative from Witness 4 provided to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). Witness 4 was one of several United States (U.S.) federal law enforcement special agents who reported observing unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) over a period of two days in October 2023 in the western United States.
• DOW-UAP-D083, Narrative Statement 5, Western United States Event, 2023 (Western United States, October, 2023) (redacted) — This memorandum presents the first-hand narrative from Witness 5 provided to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). Witness 5 was one of several United States (U.S.) federal law enforcement special agents who reported observing unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) over a period of two days in October 2023 in the western United States. Note: two red orbs released simultaneously, one steady and horizontal; all lights out in ~10 s — consistent with sequential flare burn-out.

AI renderings (FBI-prepared, genai.mil): FBI-UAP-D014/D015/D021 illustrate D079 (Incident 1); D016-D020/D022/D023 illustrate D080 (Incident 2). Links:

• FBI-UAP-D014 — (AI image of DOW-UAP-D079)
• FBI-UAP-D015 — (AI image of DOW-UAP-D079)
• FBI-UAP-D016 — (AI image of DOW-UAP-D080)
• FBI-UAP-D017 — (AI image of DOW-UAP-D080)
• FBI-UAP-D018 — (AI image of DOW-UAP-D080)
• FBI-UAP-D019 — (AI image of DOW-UAP-D080)
• FBI-UAP-D020 — (AI image of DOW-UAP-D080)
• FBI-UAP-D021 — (AI image of DOW-UAP-D079)
• FBI-UAP-D022 — (AI image of DOW-UAP-D080)
• FBI-UAP-D023 — (AI image of DOW-UAP-D080)

FBI-UAP-PR005, Digital Recreation, Narrative Statement 3-1, Western United States Event, 2023

(Western United States, October, 2023, 53s)
(AI digital recreation of DOW-UAP-D081)

FBI-UAP-PR006, Digital Recreation, Narrative Statement 3-2, Western United States Event, 2023

(Western United States, October, 2023, 21s)
(AI digital recreation of DOW-UAP-D081)

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[John J.]

Note: NVG-equipped; orange orb crossed ~20° of sky in 3-5 s, expelled three red orbs "mechanical[ly]" "like grapes being expelled from a basketball," red orbs ran south in a line at ~1 s spacing; orbs were gone when a nearby vehicle left.

Do any NVGs show natural colour? (They didn't in the past; usually displaying shades of green).

I was using NVGs to scan the sky when I saw red lights coming from the north, heading south.

https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/0...DoW-UAP-D081_Narrative-3_Western-US-Event.pdf

 

[JMartJr]

Do any NVGs show natural colour? (They didn't in the past; usually displaying shades of green).

I was using NVGs to scan the sky when I saw red lights coming from the north, heading south.

https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/0...DoW-UAP-D081_Narrative-3_Western-US-Event.pdf

Sunds like such a thing exists, it is not clear to me what sprt of quality you get -- but that includes not being sure or unsure if the quality is amazing!

There is a strong opinion that the full-color night vision improves the old technology working in minimal light or starlight. In other words, the night vision system controls the light level, and when it becomes too low for color video, infrared lighting is turned on. Scientists at the University of California, Irvine, have demonstrated the concept of full-color night vision using artificial intelligence. Using infrared light, they could colorize several images into "full-color," which opened up new possibilities in a variety of industries. The researchers created the basis for full-color night vision. In normal light, white light has many colors mixed in. When light falls on something, it absorbs some colors and reflects others. Thus, a pure red object reflects red and absorbs other colors. Although some systems work by amplifying small amounts of light, they do not work in total darkness. They require night vision devices that illuminate the scene with infrared light. Scientists have suggested that different objects can absorb different kinds of infrared light. Teaching the system what colors correspond to specific absorption characteristics allows the computer to reconstruct the image's color.
The difference between color night vision and non-color night vision

A digital night vision device consists of a lens, a light-sensitive sensor, image processing and control electronics, a display, and an eyepiece. The power supply of digital devices The devices are usually equipped with built-in infrared illuminators based on laser or LED sources.

Unlike black and white, the resolution of color sensors is up to forty percent lower, which is due to the complex pixel system, where one pixel of a color sensor consists of several subpixels, each of which is responsible for a strictly defined light spectrum - red, blue, green. In other words, when monochromatic light hits a color camera pixel, only one subpixel registers the signal. A black and white sensor, on the other hand, will write a signal at every pixel that receives the radiation. This is one of the reasons why the use of color sensors in night vision devices is limited and often impractical.

... With ultra low light sensor technology, the sensor can process the environment at night in color.

https://www.agmglobalvision.com/blogs/agm-blog/what-is-color-nv

I see some cheap "night vision goggles" claiming to show color images on Amazon, again, how well they might work I can't say.
But it looks possible that somebody looking through such things could conceivably see red lights.