Western US Infrared UAP Sighting
A black-hot infrared image captured a dark object — a small dot — moving over the western United States in December 2025. Released as part of the May 8 2026 Pentagon UFO file disclosure with redacted location data.
In December 2025, military infrared sensor systems over the western United States captured a still image of an unidentified object that appeared as a small dark dot moving through the airspace. Parts of the released image have been redacted to protect source and method information. The encounter is documented in the May 8, 2026 first tranche of declassified UAP records released by the Department of War under the Trump-era executive order on UAP transparency.
The image is one of a paired sequence — the September 2025 helicopter encounter (also released in the May 8 tranche) and the December 2025 incident are now both part of the documented record of recent US-airspace UAP cases. AARO classified the case as anomalous and open, meaning the object was detected and tracked but not positively attributed.
The redacted material includes the operating platform identifier, the time-of-day stamp, and partial elements of the location data. The released frame shows the object against terrain background at sufficient resolution to confirm motion but insufficient resolution to confirm form. The trade-press analysis has been provisional in the absence of the accompanying incident report — which is presumed to exist in the AARO holdings but was not part of the May 8 release.
The case is among the approximately two thousand active AARO cases as of February 2026, the highest caseload count since the office was established in 2022.
Documentation
- Released through the May 8, 2026 Pentagon UFO file release
- AARO open-case classification
- Black-hot infrared still, parts redacted
- Date: December 2025
- Location: Western United States (specifics redacted)