This is a Range Fouler Debrief Form, a standardized Navy reporting form used to document encounters with unauthorized air contacts. On August 24, 2020, a pilot flying in the North Arabian Sea observed three small, unidentified air contacts during routine operations. The contacts had no radar signature, no electronic identification, and no stable radar trackfile.
What is a Range Fouler Debrief Form?
A Range Fouler Debrief Form is a standardized reporting form the U.S. Navy uses to record the circumstances surrounding an unauthorized air contact. Pilots and aircrew complete the form to document what they observed, including location, altitude, speed, direction, and any sensor data. The form includes checkboxes for physical characteristics (shape, markings, propulsion) and sensor indications (radar, electronic warfare, identification friend-or-foe). All identifying information about aircrew and squadron is removed before analysis.
What did the pilot observe?
The pilot initially spotted one unknown air contact while conducting routine operations in the North Arabian Sea. The contact disappeared behind a cloud. When visual contact was regained, two additional unknown air contacts appeared due east of the initial contact's location. All three contacts appeared to maintain their relative course, speed, and altitude. The pilot noted that distance, speed, and precise course of the contacts were unknown, though they appeared to be heading westerly.
What sensor data was available?
The pilot had no radar track, no electronic support (ES) detection, and no identification friend-or-foe (IFF) track on any of the three contacts. The radar was not equipped to maintain a stable trackfile on the contacts. No electronic warfare indications were checked on the form. No interaction took place between the pilot and the unknown air contacts.
What happened after the sighting?
The form instructed the pilot to save display tapes for the entire time of interaction and submit them as video files to a designated repository. Squadron intelligence personnel were responsible for uploading the recorded data. The completed form was to be emailed to the appropriate command within five business days.
Full Document Text
Text extracted directly from the source PDF. Text extraction via abigailhaddad/ufo-releases; original file at war.gov.
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· Form
Range FOU Ier De b ne (see below).
manually
Please complete this form to the best of your ability. If you do have the requested informafion,
please leave the field blank. If there was more than one "group " please report each on a separate
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form for data collection purposes. You should receive a response within ·5 business days.
Last Name, First Name Rank Squadron S/PR Email Address Crew Position
0-3 IHSM-73 Pilot
This information is for contact only. SPEAR sanitizes all reports of identifying information.
Absolutely no identifying information for aircrew or squadrJn will be recorded for analysis.
08/24/20 00:04:30 Night 705 168122 SSC No
Date (mmlddlyy) Time of detection Day I Night Side No. Buno Mission Description (CAS, BFM. etc) LFE?
(hh:mm:ss Z)
21440 21440 1.4a Yes 310 5
Contact Working Area Contact Latitute N/S Contact Longitude Contact Aftitude Altitude WtndDir at Wind
(Ex: W-72 1A) (0D:MM:SS) (DD.MM:SS) ( ' · : 22000) Constant? Contact An Speed
(From)
Please attempt to determine a Lat I Long for the contact at initial detection. We recommend
µsing JMPS to reference the sensor-derived bearing and range relative to the bullseye yo u had Was the contact moving? Yes
in use. If that method is not available, any reasonable derivation of location will wolk, but please
be as specnic as possible and make a note in the comments section. The.se locations may be
used to cue other means of tracking. Direction/Speed 2 ?0/UNK
(Ex. 090/15)
Radar Equipped: Other AIM-9x Self-Track:
□ Please check all that apply:
0
Stable Trackfile?: No A TFLIR Autotrack:
□ Round: [Z]
SQuare: D
Moving Parts:
Metallic: 0
# of Contacts in "Group": 3 Tally Achieved:
□ Bafloon-shapeq: D Markings: D
EA Indications (Check all that apply):
Wings/A irframe: [Z] Translucen t: 0
□ □ □ □ Other Shape:O Opaque: O
ECM Letter
Identifier
False
Trackfiles
Other/
Ambiguous
Apparent Propuls io n:□ Reflective! 0
Art'
Please use the field below to describe the contact and any inte action in your own words with as much
detail as possible. Please be sure to include any detail not inclilided in questions above.
J 1.4a I
!observed 3x possible unidentified small air contact while conducting routine operations in the
North Arabian Sea. Negative ES, radar track, and IFF track. Distf nce to contact was unknown . Speed of
contact was unknown. Precise course of contact was unknown, but appeared to be on a westerly heading .
No interact~on took place betwee~I 1.4a . la~d the ~nknowp ai_r contacts. Initially observed 1x
unknown air contact and tracked It before losing sight as 1t went 9ehInd a cloud. When contact on the
unknown air contact was regained , 2x additional unknown air corytacts were seen due east of the location of
the initial contact. All 3x unknown air contacts appeared to maintain their relative course, speed, and
altitude. I
Don't use the purple "submit" button! Save this form with filename "Date_Squadron_RF.pdf' and email
it t~ 1•>1•> J (Also in the global)j For troubleshooting, cal~ 1•>1•> I
Thank you for your time. Please ensure all display tapes are ripAed for the entire time of interaction and
saved as a .wmv (Example: 4 May VFA-106 HUD. wmv). Squadron intel personnel shall upload those files
to the repository located at this link. I
I (b)(6) I IIIRl ■ :1112 5771 I
USCENTCOM MOR 26-0038 to 26-0046 Approved for Release to MR9 03/27126 000001 View the official fileFrequently Asked Questions
What is a Range Fouler Debrief Form?
A Range Fouler Debrief Form is a standardized reporting form the U.S. Navy uses to record the circumstances surrounding an unauthorized air contact. Pilots complete the form to document location, altitude, speed, direction, sensor data, and physical characteristics of the contact.
What did the pilot observe on August 24, 2020?
The pilot observed three unidentified small air contacts in the North Arabian Sea during routine operations. Initially, one contact was spotted and tracked before disappearing behind a cloud. When visual contact was regained, two additional contacts appeared due east of the initial contact's location. All three maintained their relative course, speed, and altitude.
What sensor data was available on the contacts?
The pilot had no radar track, no electronic support detection, and no identification friend-or-foe track on any of the three contacts. The radar did not maintain a stable trackfile on the contacts.
How is aircrew information handled in these reports?
All identifying information for aircrew and squadron is removed before analysis. The form collects contact information only for follow-up purposes, but SPEAR sanitizes all reports of identifying information.
Congressional Context
No confirmed links between this file and the congressional record yet. Connections are added only when the source text supports them, never inferred.