PURSUE Record — FBI Photo B5: FBI · Western United States · Late 2025

FBI Photo B5 is a declassified PDF submitted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) and released publicly on May 8, 2026, as part of PURSUE Release 01. The record documents an unidentified anomalous phenomenon observed over the Western United States in late 2025, captured as a still image derived from a U.S. military system. The FBI operator who recorded the image reported being unable to positively identify the object or phenomenon in question. The record consists of a single file part.

What this record contains

This is a one-part PDF document released by the FBI. The underlying imagery originates from a U.S. military system and was captured during an encounter in late 2025 somewhere over the Western United States — the release does not specify a more precise location or a narrower date within that window. Before the FBI submitted the record to AARO, the original imagery was altered with redactions; no accompanying mission report was provided alongside it.

The official narrative description notes that the image is monochrome with a grainy texture. A central crosshair reticle is visible in the frame — a common feature of military targeting, surveillance, or sensor display systems — but no distinct objects are clearly visible in the central area around it. The background shows what the description characterizes as an indistinct formation, possibly a mountain range. Additionally, the date stamp embedded in the image is flagged as incorrect, attributed to the system's date and time not having been properly configured at the time of capture. That metadata irregularity is noted in the release but not explained further.

Historical & documentary context

Although the FBI has historically been associated with UAP investigation going back to the late 1940s — its files from that era form a significant portion of the PURSUE release — this record is squarely contemporary. It reflects the post-2022 reporting framework under which federal agencies, including law enforcement and intelligence bodies, are expected to channel UAP encounters through AARO. The FBI's submission of this image represents that institutional pipeline in action: an operational encounter processed through chain-of-custody protocols before reaching the central clearinghouse for anomaly resolution.

The technical characteristics described in the narrative are consistent with imagery produced by military electro-optical or sensor-display systems, which routinely overlay crosshair reticles to indicate field of view, track points, or targeting reference. Such systems vary widely — from airborne surveillance platforms to ground-based installations — and their output is often monochrome, particularly in low-light or near-infrared modes. The grainy quality and indistinct background described suggest either a degraded source image, significant compression, or that the phenomenon was simply not resolvable at the available image quality. The applied redactions further constrain what can be observed in the public version of the record.

What this does and does not prove

What the record documents unambiguously is that a U.S. military imaging system captured something over the Western United States in late 2025 that the operator could not identify, and that the FBI found the encounter significant enough to formally submit to AARO. That is the full extent of what the public release establishes. The unreliable date stamp means the image's embedded timestamp cannot be used to cross-reference other records or narrow the encounter window independently. The absence of a mission report removes the operational context — altitude, platform type, heading, duration, crew observations — that would ordinarily accompany imagery of this kind. The redactions, while legally standard, limit any independent analysis of the imagery itself. "Unresolved" in PURSUE's framing means this case has not been explained, not that it constitutes confirmed anomalous activity.

How it fits PURSUE Release 01

FBI Photo B5 is part of the FBI's contribution to the 162-document PURSUE Release 01 set — a release that spans historical FBI correspondence from 1947 through contemporary agency submissions like this one. The range of FBI materials in the release illustrates how the bureau's role in UAP matters has evolved from mid-century field reports to formal AARO submissions decades later. You can browse the full FBI series and compare it against Department of War sensor records and NASA archival imagery on the SkyLens UAP files page, or read broader analysis of what the release's contemporary military records reveal in PURSUE coverage on this site.

Editorial note: This analysis is independent commentary on a publicly released document. The original record, source links, and full release metadata are catalogued on the SkyLens UAP files page alongside every other case in the PURSUE Release 01 set.