Incident · 1 September 2015 · Pantex Plant, near Amarillo, Texas
Pantex nuclear weapons plant incursion
Also known as Pantex 2015, Pantex UAP
The Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, is the main U.S. facility for assembling, disassembling and maintaining nuclear weapons. On the morning of 1 September 2015 its ground surveillance radar picked up an unknown object moving slowly north across open ground west of the plant. Under its plan for unmanned aircraft, the Protective Force locked the gates to the security areas and sent officers after it.
A lieutenant and a Security Police Officer followed the object for several miles and watched it through binoculars; they heard no sound, saw no propulsion and reported that it sped up and changed direction as they pursued it, before they lost it near the county roads north of the plant. Officers in an armoured vehicle tracked it on a remote weapon-system camera at 100–200 feet. Witnesses gave its size as about four feet by two, but disagreed on its colour. The radar video was sent to Sandia National Laboratories and the evidence to the FBI; the report, released by the Department of Energy through PURSUE in 2026, draws no conclusion about what it was.
Sources: Pantex Unidentified Object Incident Report (Department of Energy, 2015; PURSUE releases 02 and 04)
Facts and claims
- documented At about 07:10 on 1 September 2015 the Pantex Ground Surveillance Radar detected an unknown object flying west of the plant on a northerly track at about 10–15 mph; the Protective Force followed it and secured all gates into the security areas. Source: doc-pantex-2015.pdf
- documented A Protective Force lieutenant and a Security Police Officer who watched it through binoculars said “the object did not make any sound” and that they could not identify any type of propulsion system; they followed it for several miles north of the plant, and it seemed to increase speed and change direction as it was followed. Source: doc-pantex-2015.pdf
- documented Officers in a Bearcat tracked it on a CROWS camera for 3–5 minutes at 100–200 ft from 75–100 metres away; others described it as about 4 ft tall and 2 ft wide, “diamond” shaped and rounder at the top, black or silver, red and blue. Source: doc-pantex-2015.pdf
- documented Radar-tower video went to Sandia National Laboratories for study and all evidence to the FBI; the report notes the object never appeared threatening or came close to sensitive assets. Source: doc-pantex-2015.pdf
Connected files
Claims
- UAP show a recurring interest in nuclear weapons sites, at times interfering with the weapons (subject of)
Official records (PURSUE)
- DOE-UAP-D005 — Pantex Unidentified Object Incident Report, 2015 (documented in) — The plant's full incident report, released in PURSUE
- DOE-UAP-D001 — Enhanced PANTEX Imagery (documented in) — Enhanced radar-tower image of the object, released in PURSUE
Organizations
- Department of Energy (investigated by)
Mentioned in this file
- Matt Gaetz (Person)
- PURSUE — Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (Program)
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (Organization)
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