UNCLASSIFIED // PUBLIC RELEASERELEASE 01 · MAY 8, 2026
PENTAGON UFO FILE · IMAGEFBI Photo A001
This is the first of a numbered series of still images, A001 to A008, that the FBI passed to AARO. Each was taken from a U.S. government system and each shows something the operator could not identify. The release gives no date or location for this frame; the collection’s index lists it only as late 2025.
What this frame shows
The image is monochrome, with an even, grainy texture and a crosshair reticle at its center — the aiming or tracking marker that sensor displays overlay on the scene. The object sits a little low and right of the crosshair: small, dark and not quite regular in outline. Most of the other frames in the series show a dark, circular object; in A002, for instance, it sits on the crosshair. A008 is described in almost the same terms as this one: a small, dark, irregular object just below and right of center.
The picture was redacted before AARO received it, and no mission report came with it, so there is nothing on the sensor, the range, the altitude or what the operator was doing at the time.
What a single still can and cannot tell you
One frame cannot show motion, speed or size, and the file offers no scale. The only judgment on record is the operator’s: that they could not positively identify the object. AARO’s narrative is a description, not an analysis, and it proposes no explanation. The FBI submitted a second, longer series from a U.S. military system, which starts at B001 and is placed in the western United States.
The official description
From war.gov/UFO, released May 8, 2026, quoted in full
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) submitted a report of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP) to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) consisting of a still image derived from a U.S. government system. The date and location of the event have not been provided. The original imagery was altered with redactions before being submitted to AARO. An accompanying mission report was not provided. The operator reported that they were unable to positively identify the UAP.
Narrative Description: The monochrome image displays a uniform, grainy texture with a central crosshair reticle. A small, dark, and slightly irregular object is visible just below and to the right of the center of the reticle. This narrative description is provided for informational purposes only. Readers should not interpret any part of this description as reflecting an analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination regarding the described event’s validity, nature, or significance.