Dept. of DefenseExplainedConventional
1 possible balloon observed — Shaddadi area, Syria, 21 February 2023
Feb 21, 2023Shaddadi area, Syria (ESSA killbox) (approx.)
Analysis — our summary
On 21 February 2023 at 0135Z, the same 2-ship of F-15E aircraft observed 1 possible balloon IVO Shaddadi at FL210. A weapon sight video (WSV) was produced. The object was reported as a possible balloon and is assessed as likely a conventional aerial object, though not positively confirmed.
As reported — verbatim from the document
“"0135Z [REDACTED] OBS 1X POSS BALLOON IVO SHADDADI [REDACTED] AT FL210. WSV PRODUCED. NFTR."”
Analyst notes — caveats & confidence
Assessed as probable conventional balloon; recorded here as a separate incident per the document structure (separate AIRSIGHT entry). Coordinates redacted. Context of nearby radar jamming and 3 UAP observation 70 minutes prior. Report ID: MDR 25-0094.
Provenance
Source documentDOW-UAP-D19-Mission-Report-Syria-February-21-2023.pdf
Document typeMISREP
Reporting agencyDept. of Defense
Source pages10
Redaction markers in doc15
Declassified2025
Held classified~2 years
Extraction confidence ModerateHow cleanly this record could be parsed from the source — driven by legibility & redaction. It is not a measure of how credible or anomalous the sighting is.