Ground radar and guards at the Pantex nuclear weapons plant track a small unidentified object
September 2015 · Pantex Plant, near Amarillo, Texas · Sighting · Primary document linked
An incident report from the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, a National Nuclear Security Administration weapons site, says that at about 07:08 one morning in early September 2015 the plant's ground surveillance radar detected an unknown object southwest of the plant, moving north at 10-15 mph. Security secured all gates into the security areas and responded under the plant's plan for unmanned aerial systems. A protective-force lieutenant and an officer followed it, found it silent with no visible propulsion through binoculars, and described a diamond shape, rounder at the top; others put it at about 4 ft tall and 2 ft wide and disagreed on its color. Officers in an armored vehicle tracked it on a weapon-system camera at 100-200 ft for 3-5 minutes. It sped up and changed direction while followed, and was lost several miles north of the plant. Radar-tower video went to Sandia National Laboratories, and the evidence to the FBI.
Era: Secret programs · Threads: Nuclear and weapons sites, Military and police witnesses
Why it matters (2/5)
A weapons plant's incident report; the object was not identified and the case drew no wider attention.
Caveats
The cover letter dates the incident 2 September 2015, while the report text says 1 September. The report says the object never appeared threatening or came near sensitive assets, and it does not identify the object; the released pages contain Sandia's enhanced images but no finding from Sandia or the FBI.
Sources
- Pantex Unidentified Object Incident Report 2015 (DOE-UAP-D005) (U.S. Department of Energy (released by the Department of War)), primary