Pantex Unidentified Object Incident Report, 2015
- Date
- 1 Sep 2015
- Place
- Pantex Plant, Amarillo, Texas, United States
- Record
- Pentagon file
- Assessment
- Not assessed
- Evidence strength
What was reported
A DOE/National Nuclear Security Administration incident report on a September 1, 2015 object detected by Pantex Plant's Ground Surveillance Radar (GSR) traveling 10-15 mph on a changing trajectory near the nuclear-weapons assembly/disassembly facility. Protective Force personnel visually tracked the object by vehicle and CROWS camera for several minutes at close range (75-100 meters), describing a silent, roughly 4-foot-tall diamond-shaped object, 100-200 feet above ground, with conflicting color reports (black vs. silver/red/blue) among observers; no propulsion system was visually identifiable through binoculars. The object was followed for several miles before being lost; GSR video was sent to Sandia National Labs for enhancement but yielded little additional detail given distance.
What officials concluded
Unresolved
The file gives no official explanation.
- Agency
- Department of Energy
- Released in
- 123456
Evidence profile
- Yes: Visual
- No: Infrared
- Yes: Radar
- No: Video
- No: Photo
- No: Film
- No: Audio
- No: Night vision
- No: Other sensor
- No: Civilian
- No: Military aircrew
- No: Military ground
- No: Airline crew
- No: Sensor operator
- Yes: Law enforcement
- No: Scientist
- No: Astronaut
- No: Intelligence official
- No: Other
- No: Light only
- Yes: Orb or sphere
- No: Disc
- No: Triangle
- No: Cylinder
- No: Cube
- No: Other shape
- No: Physiological
- No: Physical trace
- No: Electromagnetic
- No: Sound
- No: Silent
Why this rating A rare multi-sensor case at a sensitive nuclear site (radar plus a remote camera plus multiple direct human witnesses at close range over several minutes), but the described behavior (low altitude, low speed, followed roads/terrain, silent, small size, lost when pursuers could not keep up) is also broadly consistent with a small consumer or hobbyist drone, which the report itself does not rule out or confirm.
As described in the file
- Witnesses
- Multiple Protective Force officers, a Lieutenant, Security Police Officers (SPOs) with a CROWS-equipped vehicle, and a Sheriff's Deputy (who did not personally see the object)
- Sensors
- Ground surveillance radar (GSR), CROWS remote weapon-system camera, visual, binoculars
- Shape
- Diamond-shaped, rounder at top, thinner at top per one witness pair
- Size
- Approximately 4 feet tall, 2 feet wide at the bottom
- Lights and colour
- Disputed among witnesses: black by some, silver/red/blue by others
- Motion
- 10-15 mph initially, later 'seemed to increase in speed and changed direction' while being followed
- Duration
- Tracked several minutes at close range, followed by vehicle for several miles total
- Altitude or range
- 100-200 feet above ground, closest approach 75-100 meters
- Effects
- None reported; explicitly silent ('did not make any sound') and no identifiable propulsion system
Pentagon files
DOE-UAP-D005, Pantex Unidentified Object Incident Report, 2015
Open the original on war.govDOE-UAP-D001, Enhanced PANTEX Imagery
A two-page excerpt consisting only of an enhanced ground-surveillance-radar-tower image and Sandia National Labs-enhanced images of an unidentified object, taken from the September 2015 Pantex Plant incident report. No narrative text accompanies these two image pages in this file.
Open the original on war.gov
What the file claims
- Unverified
Multiple Protective Force personnel visually tracked a silent, diamond-shaped object near a nuclear-weapons facility for several minutes and several miles without identifying its propulsion or resolving its color.
On the map
35.31° N, 101.56° W, plotted at the site
Show on the map