DISCLOSURE / FILE

FBI Photo B4, Dark Circle, Indistinct Backdrop

FBI Photo B4

FBI-submitted still image from a 2025 U.S. military system, redacted before delivery to AARO, showing an unidentified dark circular object near a crosshair reticle.

Brief

The FBI forwarded a single redacted still frame to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, derived from a U.S. military system in 2025 over the western United States. The original imagery was altered with redactions before submission and no mission report accompanied it. A monochrome frame shows a crosshair reticle with tick marks at 5, 10, and 15 and a small dark circular object in the center-right quadrant against an indistinct landscape. The operator could not positively identify the object, and the on-image timestamp of 12/31/99 18:12:16 is incorrect because the system date and time were not set.

Metadata

Agency: FBI
Release: 5/8/26
Incident: Late 2025
Location: Western United States
Type: PDF • .pdf
Length: 1 pages
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Programs: AARO
Tags: circular object, reticle imagery, military sensor, western United States, 2025, FBI-to-AARO submission

Key points

FBI submitted the still image to AARO; the source was a U.S. military system used in 2025.p.1
The original imagery was altered with redactions before being submitted to AARO.p.1
No mission report accompanied the still image.p.1
Operator was unable to positively identify the UAP.p.1
Frame shows a central crosshair reticle with tick marks reading 15, 10, 5, +, 5, 10, 15.p.1
A small, dark, circular object sits in the center-right quadrant near the center of the frame.p.1
The on-image timestamp 12/31/99 18:12:16 is incorrect because the system date/time was not set.p.1

Verbatim

15 10 5 + 5 10 15
p.1
12/31/99 18:12:16
p.1

Most interesting

The system clock default of 12/31/99 18:12:16 indicates the recording device was never set to the correct date before capture.
The reticle scale (15/10/5/+/5/10/15) is consistent with a calibrated targeting or sensor optic rather than a general-purpose camera.
The FBI delivered the frame to AARO with redactions already applied and without the accompanying mission report that would normally provide context.

Cross-references

Related research

PAPERThe New Science of Unidentified Aerospace-Undersea Phenomena (UAP)Knuth et al. · 2025
PAPERUnidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena (UAP) status and outlookPlatzer · 2025
PAPERGalileo Project Observatory Class System ArchitectureBridgham et al. · 2025
PAPERThe UFO Enigma: A Call for US Government DisclosureNell · 2025

Common questions

What is FBI Photo B4, Dark Circle, Indistinct Backdrop?: FBI-submitted still image from a 2025 U.S. military system, redacted before delivery to AARO, showing an unidentified dark circular object near a crosshair reticle.
What does FBI Photo B4, Dark Circle, Indistinct Backdrop reveal?: FBI submitted the still image to AARO; the source was a U.S. military system used in 2025. The original imagery was altered with redactions before being submitted to AARO. No mission report accompanied the still image.
Which agency produced FBI Photo B4, Dark Circle, Indistinct Backdrop?: FBI Photo B4, Dark Circle, Indistinct Backdrop is a primary-source record from FBI. Its original classification was UNCLASSIFIED.
When is FBI Photo B4, Dark Circle, Indistinct Backdrop dated?: FBI Photo B4, Dark Circle, Indistinct Backdrop is dated 2025. It was declassified 2026-05-08.
What programs and topics appear in FBI Photo B4, Dark Circle, Indistinct Backdrop?: FBI Photo B4, Dark Circle, Indistinct Backdrop references circular object, reticle imagery, military sensor, western United States and FBI-to-AARO submission.
What does FBI Photo B4, Dark Circle, Indistinct Backdrop say, in its own words?: "15 10 5 + 5 10 15" (source p. 1).

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Extracted text · Page 1

FBI Photo B4, Dark Circle, Indistinct Backdrop

Page 1

Page 1 · vision OCR

[REDACTED]

[REDACTED]                                                    [REDACTED]

[REDACTED]                                                    [REDACTED]

15    10    5    +    5    10    15

[REDACTED]                                                    [REDACTED]

12/31/99 18:12:16

Full transcript1 pages · 16 words›

Concatenated page-by-page transcript. Born-digital pages came through pdf.js; scanned pages were transcribed by Claude vision OCR. Pages marked unreadable failed multiple OCR retries (heavy redaction, microfilm artifacts, or blank separators) and are kept in place for audit.

Page 1vision OCR

[REDACTED]

[REDACTED]                                                    [REDACTED]

[REDACTED]                                                    [REDACTED]

15    10    5    +    5    10    15

[REDACTED]                                                    [REDACTED]

12/31/99 18:12:16

DISCLOSURE / FILE

FBI Photo B4, Dark Circle, Indistinct Backdrop

FBI-submitted still image from a 2025 U.S. military system, redacted before delivery to AARO, showing an unidentified dark circular object near a crosshair reticle.

Brief

Key points

FBI submitted the still image to AARO; the source was a U.S. military system used in 2025.p.1

The original imagery was altered with redactions before being submitted to AARO.p.1

No mission report accompanied the still image.p.1

Operator was unable to positively identify the UAP.p.1

Frame shows a central crosshair reticle with tick marks reading 15, 10, 5, +, 5, 10, 15.p.1

A small, dark, circular object sits in the center-right quadrant near the center of the frame.p.1

The on-image timestamp 12/31/99 18:12:16 is incorrect because the system date/time was not set.p.1

Most interesting

The system clock default of 12/31/99 18:12:16 indicates the recording device was never set to the correct date before capture.

The reticle scale (15/10/5/+/5/10/15) is consistent with a calibrated targeting or sensor optic rather than a general-purpose camera.

The FBI delivered the frame to AARO with redactions already applied and without the accompanying mission report that would normally provide context.

Common questions

What is FBI Photo B4, Dark Circle, Indistinct Backdrop?

FBI-submitted still image from a 2025 U.S. military system, redacted before delivery to AARO, showing an unidentified dark circular object near a crosshair reticle.

What does FBI Photo B4, Dark Circle, Indistinct Backdrop reveal?

FBI submitted the still image to AARO; the source was a U.S. military system used in 2025. The original imagery was altered with redactions before being submitted to AARO. No mission report accompanied the still image.

Which agency produced FBI Photo B4, Dark Circle, Indistinct Backdrop?

FBI Photo B4, Dark Circle, Indistinct Backdrop is a primary-source record from FBI. Its original classification was UNCLASSIFIED.

When is FBI Photo B4, Dark Circle, Indistinct Backdrop dated?

FBI Photo B4, Dark Circle, Indistinct Backdrop is dated 2025. It was declassified 2026-05-08.

What programs and topics appear in FBI Photo B4, Dark Circle, Indistinct Backdrop?

FBI Photo B4, Dark Circle, Indistinct Backdrop references circular object, reticle imagery, military sensor, western United States and FBI-to-AARO submission.

What does FBI Photo B4, Dark Circle, Indistinct Backdrop say, in its own words?

"15 10 5 + 5 10 15" (source p. 1).

[REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] 15 10 5 + 5 10 15 [REDACTED] [REDACTED] 12/31/99 18:12:16

FBI Photo B4, Dark Circle, Indistinct Backdrop

Brief

Metadata

Key points

Verbatim

Most interesting

Cross-references

Related research

Related topics

Common questions

FBI Photo B4, Dark Circle, Indistinct Backdrop

FBI Photo B4, Dark Circle, Indistinct Backdrop

FBI Photo B4, Dark Circle, Indistinct Backdrop

Brief

Metadata

Key points

Verbatim

Most interesting

Cross-references

Related research

Related topics

Common questions

FBI Photo B4, Dark Circle, Indistinct Backdrop