DISCLOSURE / FILE

FBI Photo B5, Centered Dark Object

FBI Photo B5

FBI-submitted still image from a 2025 U.S. military system showing a crosshair reticle over a grainy monochrome frame, with redactions added before submission to AARO and no accompanying mission report.

Brief

The FBI forwarded a single redacted still image to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, derived from a U.S. military system in 2025 and depicting an indistinct background (possibly mountainous terrain) centered on a crosshair reticle. The operator could not positively identify the object, and no mission report accompanied the submission. The visible timestamp reads 12/31/99 18:12:20, which the FBI attributes to the system date/time not being set. Multiple text fields on the image are redacted before release.

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: still image, crosshair reticle, U.S. military system, western United States, 2025, redacted, operator unable to identify

Key points

The FBI submitted the imagery to AARO; the original was altered with redactions before submission.p.1
Source is a still image derived from a U.S. military system, captured in 2025.p.1
No accompanying mission report was provided with the still.p.1
The operator reported they were unable to positively identify the UAP.p.1
On-image timestamp reads 12/31/99 18:12:20; FBI states the system date/time was not set, so the date is incorrect.p.1
Frame is monochrome with a central crosshair reticle and a horizontal scale marked 15 10 5 + 5 10 15.p.1
Narrative description notes an indistinct background formation, possibly a mountain range, with no distinct object clearly visible in the central frame area.p.1

Verbatim

12/31/99 18:12:20
p.1
15 10 5 + 5 10 15
p.1

Most interesting

The only legible non-redacted text on the released frame is a scale bar (15 10 5 + 5 10 15) and a timestamp the FBI itself flags as wrong because the capture system's clock was never set.
AARO received the still without a mission report, leaving no contemporaneous operator narrative attached to the imagery.
The FBI applied redactions to the original military-system imagery before handing it to AARO, not after.

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 B5, Centered Dark Object?: FBI-submitted still image from a 2025 U.S. military system showing a crosshair reticle over a grainy monochrome frame, with redactions added before submission to AARO and no accompanying mission report.
What does FBI Photo B5, Centered Dark Object reveal?: The FBI submitted the imagery to AARO; the original was altered with redactions before submission. Source is a still image derived from a U.S. military system, captured in 2025. No accompanying mission report was provided with the still.
Which agency produced FBI Photo B5, Centered Dark Object?: FBI Photo B5, Centered Dark Object is a primary-source record from FBI. Its original classification was UNCLASSIFIED.
When is FBI Photo B5, Centered Dark Object dated?: FBI Photo B5, Centered Dark Object is dated 2025. It was declassified 2026-05-08.
What programs and topics appear in FBI Photo B5, Centered Dark Object?: FBI Photo B5, Centered Dark Object references AARO, still image, crosshair reticle, U.S. military system, western United States and redacted.
What does FBI Photo B5, Centered Dark Object say, in its own words?: "12/31/99 18:12:20" (source p. 1).

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Extracted text · Page 1

FBI Photo B5, Centered Dark Object

Page 1

Page 1 · vision OCR

[REDACTED]

[REDACTED]                                                    [REDACTED]

15        10        5        +        5        10        15

[REDACTED]                                              [REDACTED]    [REDACTED]



[REDACTED]                                                              [REDACTED]

12/31/99 18:12:20

Full transcript1 pages · 17 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]

15        10        5        +        5        10        15

[REDACTED]                                              [REDACTED]    [REDACTED]



[REDACTED]                                                              [REDACTED]

12/31/99 18:12:20

DISCLOSURE / FILE

FBI Photo B5, Centered Dark Object

Brief

Key points

The FBI submitted the imagery to AARO; the original was altered with redactions before submission.p.1

Source is a still image derived from a U.S. military system, captured in 2025.p.1

No accompanying mission report was provided with the still.p.1

The operator reported they were unable to positively identify the UAP.p.1

On-image timestamp reads 12/31/99 18:12:20; FBI states the system date/time was not set, so the date is incorrect.p.1

Frame is monochrome with a central crosshair reticle and a horizontal scale marked 15 10 5 + 5 10 15.p.1

Narrative description notes an indistinct background formation, possibly a mountain range, with no distinct object clearly visible in the central frame area.p.1

Most interesting

The only legible non-redacted text on the released frame is a scale bar (15 10 5 + 5 10 15) and a timestamp the FBI itself flags as wrong because the capture system's clock was never set.

AARO received the still without a mission report, leaving no contemporaneous operator narrative attached to the imagery.

The FBI applied redactions to the original military-system imagery before handing it to AARO, not after.

Common questions

What is FBI Photo B5, Centered Dark Object?

What does FBI Photo B5, Centered Dark Object reveal?

The FBI submitted the imagery to AARO; the original was altered with redactions before submission. Source is a still image derived from a U.S. military system, captured in 2025. No accompanying mission report was provided with the still.

Which agency produced FBI Photo B5, Centered Dark Object?

FBI Photo B5, Centered Dark Object is a primary-source record from FBI. Its original classification was UNCLASSIFIED.

When is FBI Photo B5, Centered Dark Object dated?

FBI Photo B5, Centered Dark Object is dated 2025. It was declassified 2026-05-08.

What programs and topics appear in FBI Photo B5, Centered Dark Object?

FBI Photo B5, Centered Dark Object references AARO, still image, crosshair reticle, U.S. military system, western United States and redacted.

What does FBI Photo B5, Centered Dark Object say, in its own words?

"12/31/99 18:12:20" (source p. 1).

[REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] 15 10 5 + 5 10 15 [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] 12/31/99 18:12:20

FBI Photo B5, Centered Dark Object

Brief

Metadata

Key points

Verbatim

Most interesting

Cross-references

Related research

Related topics

Common questions

FBI Photo B5, Centered Dark Object

FBI Photo B5, Centered Dark Object

FBI Photo B5, Centered Dark Object

Brief

Metadata

Key points

Verbatim

Most interesting

Cross-references

Related research

Related topics

Common questions

FBI Photo B5, Centered Dark Object