DOE-UAP-D005, Pantex Unidentified Object Incident Report, 2015
This file contains imagery and a report documenting the circumstances surrounding a September 1, 2015, incident involving an unidentified object intruding the airspace above the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas. The Pantex Plant is a sensitive national security site that contains the primary facility for the assembly, disassembly, maintenance, and life-extension of nuclear weapons. Pages 5 and 6 of this report were originally released under the PURSUE initiative in a more redacted form on May 22, 2026. (See: DOE-UAP-D001, Enhanced Pantex Imagery)
The summary above is sourced from the released file metadata as published to war.gov. The analysis sections below are original to this tracker.
Text of the document
Machine-extracted from the PDF war.gov published (its text layer or OCR), so expect errors, especially in names, numbers and handwriting; the PDF is the authoritative copy. Lines that did not extract as readable text are left out. Showing about 951 words from pages 1, 2, 3, 4 of 7.
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Deputy Assistant Manager for Safeguards & Security NNSA Production Office Post Office Box 2050 Oak Ridge. Tennessee 37831-8009 Pantex Unidentified Object Report Enclosed for your review is the complete report for the Pantex Unidentified Object that occurred on September 2, 2015. If you have any questions a concerns, please contact me at or Sincerely yours, Pantex SS&ES Operations Endosure: As stated contains UCNI. INFOR~l\TIO~ SOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE Unaithonad disscmu,a1KIi subj«t to civil and cnm■ tal sancuons When separated from under :.a:li11n 148 of the: A10m1c Energy Act of 19S4. a.s amended attachments. hand le this (42 USC 2163) Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information
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Pantex Unidentified Object Incident Report Pantex Plant UNCLASSIFIED CONTROLLED NUCLEAR INFORNMATION NOT FO'R PUSLIC RELEASE Unauthorized dlssemlncttlon subject t<> clvll and criminal ~nctions under Section 148 ofthe Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 US.C 2168} Reviewing Official: PT>! VA
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On September 1, 2015 at approximately 0710 hours, the Pantex Ground Surveillance Radar (GSR) detection system identified an unknown object flying in a non-threatening manner west of Pantex facilities in a northerly trajectory. The Protective Force (PF) responded in accordance with the NPO approved ~curity Incident Response to Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS} plan. The object was initially identified just north of Highway 60 and was traveling in a northerly trajectory approximately 10-lSmph. PF personnel were alerted to the object and subsequently dispatched to follow it in an effort to obtain as much information about the object as possible. PF personnel on the ground confirmed the presence ofthe object and maintained observation via PF vehicle. PF personnel followed the object for several miles north of the plant until itwas no longer visible. All plant pedestrian and vehicle gates leading into and out of security areas were immediately secured upon identification of an unknown object by the GSR. Furthermore, PF patrols moved to a position to ensure the protection of assets. A subsequent comprehensive review of the incident was immediately initiated. The following text describes actlons taken by Central Alarm Station (CAS) and Secondary Alarm Station (SAS) GSR operators, PF officers and Security Police Officers (SPOs) during the event. At approximately 0708 hours, the an object approximately 1.75 miles SW of Z-12 South traveling at 10-15 mph (see map below titled, Ground Surveillance Radar Tracks). Several other radar hits were received as the object traversed to the NNW. to attempt to locate the object and report its position and direction of travel. A PF lieutenant (Lt.) and SPO in the area spotted the object and followed it as it traveled north. The Lt. and SPO attempted to intercept the object as it traveled over Pantex Drive in an attempt to view the object directly from below. Although they were unable to catch up to the object, they stopped their vehicle and got out. Once outside, they noted that the object did not make any sound. Furthermore, the Lt. and SPO stated that they were unable to identify any type of propulsion system on the object while using binocuJars to assess the object. After viewing it for 1-2 minutes, the object then continued north offsite. The Lt. and SPO then followed the object for several miles north of Pantex before they lost the object due to lack of roadway access. The location where the object was last seen was near County Road G and F.M. 1342. The Carson County Sherriff's office was notified when the object began to tr.averse off-site and requested to respond to the area and assist in locating the object. A Sherriff's Deputy met the Lt. and SPO at the point where the object was last 'Seen. The Deputy stated that he did not see the object but would perform a search in the area for anything unusual. It was noted that the object seemed to increase in speed and changed direction as it was being followed. The last known direct of the object was that it was heading in an ENE direction. The Lt. and SPO were debriefed upon their return to the UCNI Page 2 of 6
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(Gn$Olod~ltd N\lCln• S,w.,ty UC Pantex Unidentified Object Incident Report plant. Their perspective of the object was that it was a "diamond" type shape with it being more round at the top. Security Police Officers in a Bearcat with a Common Remotely Operated Weapon System (CROWS) unit were also able to locate and track the object via CROWS camera as it traversed the plant. The SPOs stated that it was 100-200 ft. above the ground and they were able to track the object for 3-5 minutes. The SPOs location was approximately 75-100 meters from the Other PF personnel that observed the object, including a SPO that was viewing the object through binoculars described it as being approximately 4 ft. tall and 2 ft. wide at the bottom. The object was also described as being thinner at the top. However, there were some discrepancies in the color of the object. Some personnel stated that it was black in color while others noted that it appeared to be silver, red and blue. Video was obtained from the GSR tower that was closest to the object and subsequently sent to Sandia National labs for further study (see image below titled, Image from Ground Surveillance Radar Tower). The video does not provide much detail of the object due to the distance of the object to the GSR tower. It should be noted that at no time did the object appear to be threatening in nature nor did it come to close proximity to any sensitive assets. The object remained over open unpopulated areas ofthe plant priorto it proceeding offsite. All evidence ofthe incident {i.e. statements, video, etc.) were turned over to FBI agent
Where this file fits in the PURSUE archive
This file is one of Department of Energy's 5 files in the Trump PURSUE disclosure. Within the Department of Energy agency block it ranks #2 of 5 by Anomalousness Index. Across the entire 478-file archive it ranks #305 of 478.
That places it in the lower-scoring band of the archive (305 of 478 by score), typical of investigative-record style files where the report is paper-based rather than instrumented.
For the broader cluster context, this file is part of DOE Nuclear UAP Files - the 5 Department of Energy files tying the U.S. nuclear weapons complex to UAP (PANTEX, Los Alamos, the Pajarito Astronomers, and a 1949 Los Alamos conference record). The cluster page walks through all 5 member files with regional grouping, sensor breakdown, and standout analysis.
Anomalousness Index: 55/100
Evidentiary weight that this encounter remains unexplained after conventional analysis. Not a probability of extraterrestrial origin - that number is not honestly computable from the released files and this tracker refuses to publish it.
🤖 AI-ASSISTED SCORING · methodology
The six rubric components break down for this file as follows. Each component has a weighted contribution to the final score; the per-component explanation below describes what this file's particular value on that component means in the rubric's framework.
Reported by a witness with no instrumented record. The lowest tier in the rubric's sensor axis. Eyewitness perception in field conditions, even when the witness is highly credentialed, scores below capture by any instrumented modality. This report reached the federal record through the Department of Energy.
Federal agency personnel (Department of Energy investigators or equivalent) recording the report into the federal investigative system. Investigative credentials, but typically operating in a reactive rather than mission-active posture.
Single-witness or single-instrument capture. This is the corroboration tier for the overwhelming majority of the PURSUE archive on the released metadata - the rubric records the honest limit of the underlying record rather than inferring multi-witness corroboration that the released summaries do not establish. A small number of files with an independent second witness or instrument score on the multi-witness/multi-instrument tier above this one.
No kinematic measurements - speed, acceleration, vector - are published in the released file with sufficient precision to score on the kinematic axis. The rubric does not infer kinematic anomaly from narrative observer estimates. Every file in the archive carries this value, which is itself an observation about the disclosure: kinematic-grade telemetry was not part of what was released.
A conventional candidate explanation has been considered but is not dispositive. Every file in the archive scores this way - reflecting that the underlying release metadata systematically caveats strong determinations in either direction. The released summaries warn against reading them as conclusive analytical judgments, and the rubric respects that.
Catalogued as unresolved with no formal review process having concluded. This is the disposition for a large share of the archive's military infrared captures - the reports are logged into the system as unresolved, but no formal review has finalized. The rubric distinguishes this from 'open after review' because the absence of review is itself a status signal.
Bottom line on the score: the Anomalousness Index of 55/100 reflects evidentiary weight that this specific file's encounter remains structurally unexplained by the rubric's six axes - it is not a claim that the underlying event involved anything non-conventional, and it is not comparable across rubrics that use different weights. For the full per-axis weights and the rubric JSON, see /methodology.
Related files in Department of Energy
Other PURSUE files in the same category, ranked by Anomalousness Index.
ODNI-UAP-D001, USPER Narrative, Senior USIC Official
CIA-UAP-002, Scientific Advisory Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects, Report, 1952-1953
CIA-UAP-003, The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance; The U-2 and OXCA…
CIA-UAP-004, CASE 17708 (CLOSED) and DR. Leon Davidson
CIA-UAP-005, German Scientist's Article on 'Flying Discs'
CIA-UAP-006, Sighting Of Unconventional Aircraft
Verification
SHA-256:
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