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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) submitted a report to the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of a single still image of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP), according to official records released by the U.S. Department of War. The document, titled “FBI Photo B4,” was made public on May 8, 2026, as part of the government’s PURSUE archive, and depicts a grainy, monochrome image captured by a U.S. military system in late 2025.
The FBI document, released via the war.gov portal, states that the original imagery was altered with redactions before being submitted to AARO. An accompanying mission report was not provided. The operator who captured the image reported that they were unable to positively identify the UAP. The official description notes that the date listed in the image is incorrect due to the system’s date and time not being set.
According to the narrative description included in the release—which the government explicitly states should not be interpreted as reflecting an analytical judgment or investigative conclusion—the monochrome image displays a grainy texture with a central crosshair reticle. A small, dark, circular object is visible in the center right quadrant, close to the center of the frame. An indistinct, possibly natural, landscape is visible in the background. The incident is listed as having occurred in the Western United States.
Context from the PURSUE Archive and Wikipedia
The release of “FBI Photo B4” is part of a broader initiative by the administration of Donald Trump, which began on May 8, 2026, to declassify and release United States government records concerning UFOs, also called unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs). Per a Wikipedia summary of the “United States UFO files,” these materials are being released as repeated, ongoing, expanding collections of UFO materials. The Wikipedia entry notes that the files are also referred to as the UFO files or the UAP files.
The FBI’s submission to AARO represents a formal channeling of law enforcement intelligence into the Pentagon’s primary UAP investigation body. AARO was established to standardize the reporting and analysis of UAP incidents across the U.S. government. The fact that the FBI submitted a redacted still image without a mission report suggests that the bureau’s involvement may have been limited to forwarding a piece of military-derived imagery, rather than conducting its own field investigation.
The record’s official summary offers limited detail beyond the basic facts of the submission. The government does not specify what type of military system captured the original imagery, nor does it explain the nature of the redactions applied to the photo before it was sent to AARO. The operator’s inability to positively identify the UAP leaves the object’s origin, behavior, and physical characteristics entirely unknown.
What Remains Unanswered
Several key questions remain unanswered following the release of “FBI Photo B4.” The lack of a mission report means that there is no official narrative describing the UAP’s flight path, speed, altitude, or any unusual maneuvers it may have performed. The incorrect date stamp on the image further complicates efforts to correlate the sighting with other reported incidents or known aerial activity in the Western United States during late 2025.
Readers should watch for future PURSUE releases to see if additional documentation—such as the missing mission report, unredacted versions of the image, or corroborating sensor data—is made available. The government has announced that these releases will continue as an ongoing process, meaning that more records from agencies like the FBI, the Department of Defense, and other federal bodies could shed light on the nature of the object photographed. Until then, the “FBI Photo B4” document stands as a sparse but intriguing entry in the growing public record of U.S. government UAP files.
