The operator couldn’t identify what appeared in the image. Parts of the original photograph were redacted before it was sent for review.
The FBI sent an image from a government system for review. It shows a dark circle near the crosshairs. The operator couldn’t identify it, and parts of the original photograph were redacted.
Monochrome still image submitted by the FBI to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) as part of a UAP report. The frame shows a wide central crosshair reticle with horizontal and vertical tick marks overlaid on a mottled, low-contrast background; a small dark circular object sits just below and slightly right of the reticle center. Multiple opaque black rectangular bars have been applied as redactions along the top, sides, and bottom of the image, and the entire left third of the frame is masked white. No readable text, timestamps, sensor labels, or operator markings are visible. The release narrative states the date and location of the event were not provided and that the operator was unable to positively identify the UAP.
FBI-submitted still image of an unidentified anomalous phenomenon derived from a U.S. government system. A small dark circular object appears just below and right of a crosshair reticle against a mottled background. Date and location were not provided in the submission and no accompanying mission report was furnished.
Multiple solid black rectangular bars overlaid along the top edge, both sides, and bottom edge of the image; entire left ~third of the frame is masked with a solid white block.
Likely reason: Redactions applied to the original imagery prior to submission to AARO, per the release description; likely to obscure on-screen sensor labels, classification banners, system identifiers, or operator/platform-identifying HUD elements.
Photographic evidence with no readable on-image text. Visible imagery confirms a sensor/HUD-style frame with a crosshair reticle and a small dark circular object below-right of center; remaining context (sensor type, platform, location, time) is fully redacted by black bars and a left-side white mask. Pair with sibling fbi-photo-a* and fbi-photo-b* releases for series-level analysis.
A dark circle near the crosshairs, against a mottled background.
No. The operator couldn’t identify it, and the report offers no other explanation.
The report does not explain why it was sent.
The black-and-white image shows a dark circle just below and to the right of the center of the crosshairs. The crosshairs are the aiming marks at the center of the image. The FBI sent the image for review, but the operator couldn’t identify the object with certainty.
It’s a single photograph, not a video. There’s no movement to track, and the mottled background reveals no further detail. What the image does show is a fairly clear shape: a dark circle close to the crosshairs. But there isn’t enough information to tell what was photographed or why the image was sent for review.
The official description says the image came from a U.S. government system. The crosshairs appear at its center, with the dark circle visible against a mottled background. That is the full visual description provided. No details were given about the circle’s size, its distance, or any movement.
The FBI sent the image as part of a report about an unidentified phenomenon. The report says the operator couldn’t identify what appeared in the image. It does not say exactly what the operator was trying to identify or what other information was available when the photograph was taken.
Parts of the original photograph were redacted before it was sent for review. As a result, readers of the report cannot see the entire image. The mission report was not included either. That report would document the mission associated with the photograph, but the source does not specify what it might have contained.
The report does not give the date or location of the incident. It also does not explain why the image was sent for review. Those details could have provided context, but they are absent from the published information.
The circle’s identity is unknown, as are the time and place the image was taken. The report offers no possible conventional explanation and does not say why the image was sent for review.
A dark circle remains near the center of the crosshairs. The image shows it, but not the answer.