File 69906 · October 2017
Al Taqaddum Object (Jellyfish UAP)
Al Taqaddum Air Base, Iraq
Opened 9/20/2026
Sighting photograph. Image pulled from the public post. — All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) / DVIDS
Standing
Unidentified
On the public record, and still open. A claim, paper, or film — not a finding that it was ours, and not a finding that it was not.
Pentagon Declassified: Al Taqaddum Object UAP Footage (Official AARO/DVIDS)
All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) / DVIDS
Original tape · original language kept
English writing · original voice kept
English writing of the original tape. Al Taqaddum Object (Jellyfish UAP) — All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) / DVIDS. The voice on the recording is left as it was spoken.
AARO case resolution: cluster of balloons; no anomalous performance.
What was claimed
U.S. force protection aerostat infrared sensor video showing a jellyfish-like object with dangling appendages near Al Taqaddum Air Base, Iraq.
What is on the record
This file is a working record — a report, not a verdict. Official paper, if any, is linked where we have it.
A U.S. military force protection aerostat equipped with an infrared sensor near Al Taqaddum Air Base in Iraq recorded approximately 17 minutes of footage of an unidentified object. The object, which became popularly known as the 'jellyfish UAP' due to its shape and apparent dangling structures, was tracked as it moved through the field of view. The extended duration and clear sensor data allowed for detailed analysis after the footage was officially released by AARO. The office assessed with high confidence that the object was a cluster of partially and fully inflated balloons. Its appearance matched other documented balloon cluster observations, and it demonstrated no anomalous performance characteristics. Geo-locational data from the aerostat supported the wind-driven trajectory. The full video is publicly available via DVIDS.
Could this have been ours?
The known sky, that night.
The station was flying. Starlink was not. A string of orbs in this year is usually not a train.
1998 —
International Space Station
A bright, steady moving star. A few minutes to cross. No strobe. Occupied since 2000. NASA publishes the pass times. Not unidentified.
Always
Venus and the bright planets
A fixed brilliant point. Does not streak. Does not hover over a street then leave. Often the first misread light in a rural report.
Always
Aircraft, balloons, meteors
Landing lights, flares, lanterns, reentries, fireballs. They are on the known sky. They do not close a file by themselves — they are what a serious look has to hold the claim against.
Orbit · Space — the desks for lights that are already named.
Sources
Related files
Same craft, same place, same years. A neighbor in the catalogue — not a conclusion.
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