Notional Map of the Western U.S. Event: Four Reported UAP Incidents, October 2023
Notional Map of the Western U.S. Event: Four Reported UAP Incidents, October 2023
Source file: DOW-UAP-D078_Notional-Map_Western-United-States-Event.pdf Originating agency: Office of the Under Secretary of War for Intelligence and Security — All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) Document type: Notional map / illustration (artificially generated) Date: October 2023 (incident); released May 2026 Classification: UNCLASSIFIED Page count: 1 (read) VIRIN: 260508-D-D0360-1060 PURSUE Release: 3
Summary
This document is the visual orientation key to the Western U.S. Event — the multi-witness UAP cluster that anchors PURSUE Release 3. It is an official AARO illustration, described as "a notional representation of four incidents reportedly involving unidentified anomalous phenomena in the western United States, as seen from above." It depicts the incidents "reported by U.S. federal law enforcement special agents over a period of several days in October 2023," plotting each one relative to a marked "observer position."
The map's chief value is that it gives names and a rough spatial relationship to the four incidents that recur across the witness narratives (DOW-UAP-D079 through D083) and the AARO case analysis (DOW-UAP-D077). Crucially, AARO frames it with heavy caveats: the images were "artificially generated using https://genai.mil/," the "phenomena are enlarged for illustrative purposes and are not to relative scale," "distances are not to scale," and "all locations are notional, and do not accurately represent the relative position of the observers or reported phenomena."
Research Article
What the map shows
The illustration is built over a grayscale aerial/satellite-style terrain backdrop of mountainous desert. Four labeled callouts, each tied by a line to a blue "observer position" marker, identify the incidents:
- Incident 1: "Orbs Launching Orbs." "Agents reported observing multiple instances of an orange 'mother orb' 'launching' smaller red 'orbs.'" This is the signature behavior analyzed in detail in DOW-UAP-D077.
- Incident 2: "Fiery Orb." "Agents reported observing a large 'fiery orb' projected against a ridgeline at an approximate distance of 1,000 yards."
- Incident 3: "Dark Kite." "Agents reported observing a 'thin or dark kite-shaped object' featuring one red light and one white light at a close estimated range."
- Incident 4: "Translucent Kite." "Agents reported observing a 'translucent kite-shaped object' at a close estimated range."
The "Dark Kite" and "Translucent Kite" descriptions correspond closely to the close-range "object" encounters described by Witnesses 1, 2, 3 and 5 — the red-and-white "light pair" that drifted off-road, hovered, and appeared partly see-through, with a star visible through it.
A document that is honest about its own limits
What distinguishes this illustration from a typical UFO depiction is the unusually explicit disclaimer. AARO does not present the map as photographic truth. It states plainly that the imagery is AI-generated (via the government's own genai.mil tool), that sizes and distances are not to scale, and that the plotted locations are notional placeholders rather than the real geometry of the event. This is consistent with the broader Western U.S. Event file, in which AARO repeatedly stresses that no photographic, video, or instrument data was captured during the incidents and that the entire case rests on narrative testimony.
Significance
As a standalone piece of evidence the notional map is weak — by design, it is an artist's-aid reconstruction, not a record of the phenomena. Its significance is organizational and interpretive: it is the only document in the cluster that enumerates and names all four incident types in one place, and it makes clear that the "orbs launching orbs" behavior (the focus of the formal case analysis) was just one of four distinct anomalies the agents reported across several days. Read alongside the witness narratives, it helps a reader assemble the otherwise scattered first-hand accounts into a coherent picture of a sustained, multi-incident event near a sensitive national security site.
Key People
| Role | Identity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Originating office | AARO | Produced the notional map |
| Reporting witnesses | U.S. federal law enforcement special agents | Provided the descriptions the map illustrates |
Locations
| Location | Details |
|---|---|
| Western United States (notional) | Mountainous desert terrain; exact location withheld and "all locations are notional" |
Incidents
| Incident | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Orbs Launching Orbs" | Orange "mother orb" "launching" smaller red "orbs" |
| 2 | "Fiery Orb" | Large "fiery orb" against a ridgeline, ~1,000 yards |
| 3 | "Dark Kite" | "Thin or dark kite-shaped object," one red + one white light, close range |
| 4 | "Translucent Kite" | "Translucent kite-shaped object," close range |
Notable Quotes
"This image is a notional representation of four incidents reportedly involving unidentified anomalous phenomena in the western United States, as seen from above." — map text
"Incident 1: 'Orbs Launching Orbs.' Agents reported observing multiple instances of an orange 'mother orb' 'launching' smaller red 'orbs.'" — map callout
"Note: All images were artificially generated using https://genai.mil/. Phenomena are enlarged for illustrative purposes and are not to relative scale. Distances are not to scale. All locations are notional, and do not accurately represent the relative position of the observers or reported phenomena." — map disclaimer
Related Articles
- DoW/DoD · 2023
AARO Unresolved Case Analysis Update: The Western U.S. "Orbs Launching Orbs" Event, 2023
A signed All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) Memorandum for Record, dated 05 June 2026 and signed by Director Jon T. Kosloski, summarizing the agency's ongoing analysis of a reported incident near a sensitive national security site in the western United States. Over two days in October 2023, six federal law enforcement special agents reported "orbs launching other orbs" at dusk. After cross-correlation against flight logs, radar, and ADS-B data, AARO ruled out aircraft exhaust, found UAVs and natural phenomena unlikely, and attributed roughly 60 percent of the activity to military flares — leaving approximately 40 percent unresolved, with "unrecognized technology" carried as a pending, exclusion-based hypothesis. As of June 2026 the case remains open.
- DoW/DoD · 2023
Witness 1 Narrative: The Western U.S. Event, October 2023
The first-hand, free-form narrative of Witness 1 — one of several U.S. federal law enforcement special agents who reported unidentified anomalous phenomena over two days near a sensitive site in the western United States in October 2023. Witness 1 describes a large glowing "circle of light" like "a swirly pattern of bright lava" near a hillside, an orange light that appeared to release three red lights, and a close-range encounter with a hovering, vehicle-like object that mimicked a car, made no sound, kicked up no dust, and was partly transparent — "I could see a star through the object." Provided to AARO and signed by Director Jon T. Kosloski.
- DoW/DoD · 2023
Witness 2 Narrative: The Western U.S. Event, October 2023
The longest and most detailed first-hand narrative in the Western U.S. Event, from Witness 2 — a U.S. federal law enforcement special agent who, with a partner, was tasked to survey an area for people launching drones. Across three incidents Witness 2 describes a bright "orb-like" light that "expelled three or four red lights" which "maneuvered with perfect, smooth coordination," objects that mimicked vehicles and a box truck and "toyed" with the agents, motion "inconsistent with physics," a comparison to the 1990s Phoenix Lights, and a striking analogy to "the opening and closing of a portal." Provided to AARO and signed by Director Jon T. Kosloski.
- DoW/DoD · 2023
Witness 3 Narrative: The Western U.S. Event, October 2023
The first-hand narrative of Witness 3 — a U.S. federal law enforcement special agent — describing a large orange orb that alternated between clear and orange before expelling three smaller red orbs "like grapes being expelled from a basketball," and, on a second night, four red lights that hovered in a square over an airfield while a vehicle below flashed its headlights, kept its distance as the agents approached, then "floated off the road" across rough terrain leaving no tire tracks. Provided to AARO and signed by Director Jon T. Kosloski.