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Pantex Unidentified Object Incident Report
Incident report containing imagery from a ground surveillance radar tower at the Pantex nuclear weapons facility showing an unidentified object, along with Sandia National Labs enhanced images of the object. The enhanced images show a dark, roughly mushroom-shaped object against a light background.
Analysis
Ground surveillance radar at Pantex -- where the U.S. assembles and disassembles nuclear warheads -- picked up something that triggered a formal incident report. Sandia National Labs enhanced the imagery and found two distinct spherical or ovoid objects with dark centers and lighter halos. The classification (UCNI, Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information) confirms the detection was considered relevant to nuclear security. Multiple objects, one event, America's only nuclear weapons assembly plant.
Key Findings
- Ground surveillance radar at Pantex detected unidentified objects warranting a formal incident report
- Sandia National Labs performed enhanced image analysis of the radar data
- Enhanced imagery shows two distinct spherical/ovoid objects with dark centers and lighter peripheral halos
- Multiple objects detected in the same incident near a nuclear weapons facility
- Document classified as UCNI indicating nuclear security relevance
Page Extractions 2 pages
Page 1
View PDF ↗statushas_content
doc_typereport
classificationUCNI (Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information)
page_descriptionPantex Unidentified Object Incident Report with ground surveillance radar tower image showing a marked object in upper right portion of radar return display.
datesIncident date not visible on this page
peopleNot specified on this page
organizations
- Pantex | Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC | Facility where incident occurred
- Sandia National Labs | Referenced for enhanced image analysis
locations
- Pantex | Nuclear weapons manufacturing facility
- Ground Surveillance Radar Tower | Location of imaging equipment
observations
- Ground surveillance radar tower image showing terrain/area with bright return in upper right quadrant marked with red circle
- Radar image appears to show object of interest detected by ground surveillance system
- Designation as "Unidentified Object Incident" indicates unknown contact
- Page 5 of 6 document
sensor_details
- Ground Surveillance Radar Tower | Imaging source
- Radar return image | Type of imagery
redactions"(b)(3) (UCNI)" marking indicates nuclear information redaction
references
- Pantex Unidentified Object Incident Report | Full title of document
- Sandia National Labs enhanced imaging | Referenced for next page
Page 2
View PDF ↗statushas_content
doc_typereport
classificationUCNI (Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information)
page_descriptionPantex Unidentified Object Incident Report showing Sandia National Labs enhanced images of the unidentified object detected on ground surveillance radar, displaying two distinct dark objects with light halos against white background.
datesIncident date not specified on this page
peopleNot specified on this page
organizations
- Pantex | Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC | Facility where incident occurred
- Sandia National Labs | Performed image enhancement analysis
locationsPantex | Nuclear weapons manufacturing facility location
observations
- Two enhanced radar/imaging objects visible: upper object shows dark center with lighter peripheral halo, lower object shows similar dark object with lighter surrounding area
- Objects appear spherical or ovoid in shape based on visual characteristics
- Enhanced imagery produced by Sandia National Labs from original Pantex ground surveillance radar data
- Objects displayed against white background indicating contrast-enhanced presentation
- Distinct separation between the two objects visible in enhanced imagery
- Page 6 of 6 (final page of document)
sensor_details
- Sandia National Labs enhanced imaging | Image processing/analysis capability
- Original: Ground Surveillance Radar Tower | Source of original detection
assessments
- Objects deemed worthy of incident report classification and enhanced analysis by Sandia National Labs
- Multiple distinct objects detected in same incident
redactions"UCNI" (Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information) classification marking visible