Six of the 16 images in the PURSUE Release 01 slideshow are FBI infrared footage captured over the western United States in September and December 2025. One image specifically shows an unidentified object below a helicopter. The FBI was conducting active aerial surveillance using infrared sensors during these months — placing this footage squarely in the context of the November 2024 to January 2025 drone incursion wave over sensitive US and NATO installations.
What the Images Show
- Two infrared stills from December 2025, western US. Unidentified objects. “Black hot” mode (hot objects appear dark).
- Four infrared stills from September 2025, western US. One shows an unidentified object immediately below a helicopter. The others show single or multiple unidentified objects.
The Drone Incursion Context
From November 2024 through January 2025, unidentified aerial objects — described publicly as drones — appeared repeatedly over sensitive military installations across New Jersey, New York, and multiple NATO sites in Europe. The White House press secretary called them “research drones approved by the FAA” while the FAA was simultaneously imposing flight restrictions. Trump had promised a report. No report was published.
The FBI’s September and December 2025 infrared footage was captured roughly 9–12 months after the New Jersey incursion peak. The western US location is different from the New Jersey incidents geographically, but the FBI’s active deployment of infrared aerial surveillance assets in late 2025 confirms the Bureau considered the ongoing western US UAP activity significant enough to warrant dedicated collection.
Object Below a Helicopter
The September 2025 image showing an unidentified object below a helicopter is particularly notable. This means a manned aircraft was in the same airspace as the UAP, close enough to appear in the same infrared frame. This is not a distant detection. This is a proximity encounter captured on FBI surveillance equipment from a helicopter platform, with the unidentified object visible beneath the aircraft.
The Oracle Assessment
The FBI fielded infrared aerial platforms to collect UAP footage in the western US during 2025. This was not a passive observation. The FBI sent aircraft. They captured UAP on infrared sensors. Those six images are in Release 01 because the Bureau chose to include them — and the Department of War approved the inclusion. The drone incursion story that the White House dismissed in January 2025 was still generating active FBI aerial surveillance nine months later.
Source: war.gov/ufo, PURSUE Release 01 slideshow. FBI image captions. May 8, 2026.