FBI Photo B21 is one of the FBI PDF records in Department of War PURSUE Release 01, released on May 8, 2026. The release metadata places the underlying incident in the Western United States in late 2025 and identifies the file as FBI material provided to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).1
The PDF is a single image-only page rather than a narrative report. It shows a monochrome, grainy targeting-display frame with a central reticle and numerical scale. Several black redaction blocks obscure display information, and a small dark mark appears just above and right of the reticle center.2 The Department of War metadata describes the image as a still derived from a U.S. military system and says the original imagery was altered with redactions before submission to AARO.1
The release context is narrower than the image may suggest. The metadata says no accompanying mission report was provided, the operator was unable to positively identify the UAP, and the date printed in the image is incorrect because the system date/time was not set.1 That means the visible timestamp cannot establish the event date, and the photo alone does not establish altitude, speed, range, sensor mode, platform, direction of travel, or object identity.2
The record matters because it preserves the difference between observation and interpretation. It documents that an FBI-submitted AARO record existed for a late-2025 Western United States UAP report, while also showing how little can be concluded from a redacted still image when the mission report and sensor context are absent.12