A newly declassified document from the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been added to the Pentagon’s growing collection of records on unidentified anomalous phenomena, though the release comes with significant limitations. The item, designated “FBI Photo B15,” forms part of the PURSUE archive, a government declassification initiative that has been gradually releasing materials over recent months. The image, dated May 8, 2026, shows two small, dark circular shapes positioned in the upper right quadrant near a simplified crosshair.
The photograph is grainy and monochrome, with a texture suggesting it was captured by a military system that was not properly calibrated. According to the accompanying documentation, the system’s clock was never set, resulting in an incorrect date stamp.
The operator who captured the image reported being unable to identify what they were seeing. The FBI submitted the still image to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, known as AARO, in 2025. The incident took place in the Western United States later that same year.
The original imagery underwent redactions before reaching the Pentagon’s UAP investigators. No mission report accompanied the submission, leaving analysts without crucial contextual information.
The narrative description included with Photo B15 contains explicit warnings. It instructs readers not to interpret any portion of the document as an analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination regarding the event’s validity, nature, or significance. This legal language effectively cautions that the material should not be fully trusted as evidence.
The PURSUE archive represents a declassification effort that has been releasing records piecemeal for months. Each release carries its own caveats and limitations.
The Western United States has been a frequent location for such incidents, with its combination of wide open skies, military test ranges, and commercial air corridors providing numerous opportunities for unidentified sightings. The operator of the military system that captured the original footage stated they could not positively identify the UAP. This core fact underscores the uncertainty surrounding the image.
The FBI subsequently took that footage, redacted portions of it, and transmitted the result to AARO without the accompanying mission paperwork. Congressional and public pressure has driven the push for greater UAP transparency, leading to the establishment of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office.
However, the pace of disclosure has been slow. The May 8, 2026 release date comes years after the initial calls for openness began. Each document in the PURSUE archive follows a similar pattern: a fragment of information, accompanied by caveats, with significant portions redacted. Photo B15 does not stand alone but joins many other files in the archive.
The question remains whether these partial releases, which raise as many questions as they answer, constitute sufficient transparency from the government regarding its handling of unidentified anomalous phenomena.
