The Department of Defense (DoD) has denied a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking records connected to the review, redaction, and release of a UAP video published by the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) earlier this year.
The request, filed May 19, 2025, sought internal communications, review logs, classification guidance, legal opinions, and technical documentation tied to the public posting of the video titled “Middle East 2024.” The video, showing more than six minutes of infrared footage from a U.S. military platform, was released in May 2025 and remains unresolved by AARO.
The DoD confirmed that responsive documents exist, but a September 19, 2025, final response stated that all records are being withheld in full.
The denial cited multiple FOIA exemptions, including:
- Exemption (b)(5): covering deliberative inter- and intra-agency material.
- Exemptions (b)(7)(A), (B), (C), and (E): law enforcement provisions shielding records that could interfere with enforcement proceedings, risk an unfair trial, invade personal privacy, or reveal law enforcement techniques.
AARO described the video as depicting “an apparent thermal contrast within the sensor’s field of view” that may be consistent with a physical object, but noted that without corroborating data, “the available data does not support a conclusive analytic evaluation.”
The Pentagon’s decision continues a recurring pattern in UAP transparency efforts: footage may be released for public viewing, but records explaining the deliberations and analysis behind such releases remain withheld.
As The Black Vault has previously reported, the DoD has increasingly invoked FOIA’s law enforcement exemption, commonly used to protect criminal investigations, in connection with AARO and UAP-related records. This practice has drawn criticism for applying investigative secrecy provisions to matters that are presented to the public as unresolved anomalies.
The Black Vault has appealed the decision, and the result will be posted, when available.
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