FD-302, “Thermally Elevated Aerial Object,” 2026
- Date
- 2026
- Place
- Western United States (sensitive site, redacted)
- Record
- Pentagon file
- Assessment
- Not assessed
- Evidence strength
What was reported
FBI FD-302 attaching a written statement from a Special Agent describing a second night's observation (the night after the event in a related, unlisted document) of a thermally 'hot' aerial object roughly two ridgelines farther west than the prior night's sighting, heading southbound. The agent also recorded video of a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter operating nearby to use as a size/scale reference, and estimated the unidentified object at about half the size of the Black Hawk. He could not determine make, model, propulsion type, or whether it was fixed-wing, rotary-wing, or an uncrewed system, and lost it to terrain and distance.
What officials concluded
No conclusion stated
The file gives no official explanation.
- Agency
- FBI
- Released in
- 123456
Evidence profile
- No: Visual
- Yes: Infrared
- No: 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
- No: Orb or sphere
- No: Disc
- No: Triangle
- No: Cylinder
- No: Cube
- Yes: Other shape
- No: Physiological
- No: Physical trace
- No: Electromagnetic
- No: Sound
- No: Silent
Why this rating Single sensor (thermal only), single witness, at increased distance with explicitly reduced ability to resolve shape or configuration; the agent himself states he could not determine basic characteristics.
As described in the file
- Witnesses
- 1 witness (Special Agent, firsthand written statement)
- Sensors
- Thermal imaging device
- Shape
- Not determined; only a thermal 'hot' signature was resolved
- Size
- Estimated at about half the size of a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter, used as a scale reference
- Motion
- Flying southbound, consistent with the prior night's sighting direction
- Duration
- Not specified
- Altitude or range
- Approximately two ridgelines farther west than the previous night's sighting location
Pentagon files
FBI-UAP-D033, FD-302, “Thermally Elevated Aerial Object,” 2026
Open the original on war.gov
What the file claims
- Unverified
The agent used a nearby Black Hawk helicopter as a thermal/visual size reference and estimated the unidentified object at about half the Black Hawk's size.
On the map
39.50° N, 115.00° W, plotted at the centre of the region named in the record
Show on the map