Colorado Springs 2022 — The FBI's "Fish-Scale" UAP File the Government Calls Low-Confidence

Among the FBI files in PURSUE Release 03 is a short, strange case that the official assessment cannot fully explain. FBI-UAP-D001 (FD-302) and FBI-UAP-D002 (FD-1057) document a 2022 observation in Colorado Springs of a "potato"-shaped object with articulating panels resembling fish scales. The FBI's own digital rendering of the object — FBI-UAP-D003 — is included. So is a standalone ICA-UAP-D001 analysis: the first time the Intelligence Community Agency appears as a contributing PURSUE source.

What the witness reported

The FD-302 interview record (D001) and the FD-1057 supplemental document (D002) describe an object that did not match standard aircraft profiles. The articulating-panel detail — surfaces visibly moving relative to each other, likened to fish scales — is unusual. Most reported objects in the PURSUE catalog are described as smooth, featureless, or shaped like familiar geometric primitives (orbs, triangles, ovals). A surface with moving overlapping plates is closer to structure than to artefact.

The FBI digital rendering — FBI-UAP-D003

The FBI's own digital rendering accompanies the documents — a 3D reconstruction generated from witness description rather than a photograph. This is consistent with how the Bureau handled the Western US Event 2023 case: digital reconstructions instead of source-sensor video.

ICA's PURSUE debut

ICA-UAP-D001 — "Analysis: Colorado Springs UAP Incident 2022" is the first PURSUE file from the Intelligence Community Agency. Until Release 03, the program's contributing sources were the Department of War, FBI, NASA, and the State Department. ICA's appearance broadens the institutional footprint of PURSUE and signals that more agencies may participate in future releases.

For Release 03's full file index, see the SkyLens overview. Documents are on war.gov/ufo.