ODNI-UAP-D001, USPER Narrative, Senior USIC Official
This two-page first-person narrative by a self-described senior U.S. intelligence officer recounts a late-2025 helicopter mission and a sequence of reported orb encounters. This analysis presents the account as unverified testimony, preserving its distinctions among naked-eye, night-vision, radar, and FLIR reporting and its explicit statement that no photographs were taken.
- File
- Document · Release 02
- Date
- 2025
- Location
- Western United States
- Extent
- 2 pages
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Probed Assessment
Key takeaways
- The narrator says a helicopter crew launched in late 2025 to investigate thuds and prior orb reports on a test range.
- The crew inspected several debris sites and identified the material as remnants of rockets and other projectiles from weapons testing.
- The crew reported finding a large cave entrance but could not land because the surrounding terrain was unsafe.
Why it matters
ODNI-UAP-D001, USPER Narrative, Senior USIC Official is an officially released 2-page record with searchable page text, page-specific claim locators, dated events where supported, and document-level provenance.
Corroboration
The release establishes official provenance for ODNI-UAP-D001, USPER Narrative, Senior USIC Official, but its reported observations, judgments, and interpretations remain source claims unless supported by independent records.
Open questions
- • Which companion records or contemporaneous sources, if any, independently corroborate the document’s key claims?
Probed separates this editorial assessment from the source claims below. It summarizes what the released artifact supports; it is not independent verification.
Official Description from War.gov
This document is a first-hand account written by a currently serving (May 2026) senior U.S. intelligence official. The official was part of a team investigating reports of unusual noises and sightings of unidentified anomalous phenomena in and near a sensitive U.S. military facility in late 2025. From the official’s vantage point as a helicopter passenger, the official recounts encountering unidentified “glowing orbs” both at close range and at a distance. The account describes an apparent high-speed object moving low to the ground, which appeared to split in two and accelerate away in two different directions. It also describes numerous higher-altitude “orbs,” some of which the official assessed to be in close proximity to the helicopter. This account is accompanied by infrared imagery taken during the same exercise by other federal officials from the ground, originally released on war.gov/UFO on May 8, 2026. May 26, 2026, correction: The document originally posted to the PURSUE collection of UAP-related records on May 22, 2026, under the name “ODNI-UAP-D001, USPER Narrative, Senior USIC Official,” contained a typographic error in the second paragraph, describing a helicopter flight profile as “map-of-the-earth.” The correct military aviation term for this profile is “nap-of-the-earth.” This document has been updated to reflect this correction.
Preserved verbatim as source metadata. This wording is separate from Probed’s file-specific description and assessment.
File Context
Related entities
Tracker findings
Senior intelligence officer reported stationary orange orbs near helicopter
The first-person narrative says the witness and pilots observed two stationary oval orange orbs with white or yellow centers just above the helicopter’s rotor disk.
Radar hits redirected helicopter toward UAP area
The Joint Operations Center reported radar hits in the same area as previous UAP activity, prompting the helicopter crew to alter course.
Crew found rocket debris and a large cave entrance
During the search, the crew reported rocket or projectile remnants and a large cave entrance that could not be accessed by landing.
Helicopter search followed UAP-linked mountain thuds
The ODNI narrative says a senior USIC official and crew launched a helicopter search after loud thuds in the mountains coincided with recent UAP sightings.
Ground team reported super-hot FLIR target
Ground teams reported a super-hot target on FLIR moving low to the ground east and then south at high speed.
Orbs formed a T formation near helicopter
The ODNI account says four or five orbs formed a T formation near the helicopter for about 10 to 15 seconds.
Helicopter crew saw swarming orange orbs
While hovering at about 700 feet AGL, the crew reported countless orange orbs swarming in all directions against the mountain.
Large orbs appeared near the rotor disk
The crew reported two large orange-white oval orbs stationary near the helicopter above the rotor disk.
Orbs matched fighter-jet paths before dimming
The crew reported orbs above fighter jets matching their speed and path, flaring one at a time and dimming sequentially.
Orbs formed a triangle around the helicopter
The ODNI narrative also says orbs formed a triangle around the helicopter before vanishing.
Release provenance
- Release
- Release 02
- Official ID
- release-02-file-064-odni-uap-d001-usper-narrative-senior-usic-official
- Cleared
- May 22, 2026
Related coverage
Referenced Timeline
Ground team and close-approach reports
The account says the close encounters began after the crew switched to FLIR and night vision.
LinkedInfrared SensorOrb formations reported near helicopter and fighter jets
The account describes formations near the helicopter and above training aircraft.
LinkedMission HelicopterHelicopter investigation mission
The first-person account places the mission in late 2025.
Source Claims
Claims are attributed to the released source and remain distinct from Probed’s assessment and tracker findings.
The narrator says a helicopter crew launched in late 2025 to investigate thuds and prior orb reports on a test range.
Our mission was to investigate loud thuds heard in the mountains on the test range, which coincided with Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) sightings reported over the previous several nights.
The crew inspected several debris sites and identified the material as remnants of rockets and other projectiles from weapons testing.
Each time, we determined it was remnants from rockets and other projectiles that had crashed during years of weapons testing on the range.
The crew reported finding a large cave entrance but could not land because the surrounding terrain was unsafe.
we discovered a large cave entrance with no visible end in sight. The terrain around the entrance offered no safe landing spot
The narrator says radar detections in an area of prior UAP activity caused the crew to alter course.
radar had detected hits several miles up range from our position – the same area where UAP activity had been observed on prior nights. ... we altered course to intercept.
Ground teams reportedly tracked a “super-hot” object on FLIR moving low to the ground before it split into two.
ground teams reported spotting a UAP on FLIR, describing it as “super-hot,” low to the ground, and moving east then south at high speed. The object then split into two
The narrator says the ground team reported an object within ten feet of the helicopter and the pilots saw a smaller object emerge before accelerating away.
the object had risen from the ground, approached within ten feet of the helicopter ... the pilots observed it through NVGs and saw it split into two as a smaller object emerged
From a hover near 700 feet AGL, the crew reported countless orange orbs moving against the mountain backdrop.
hovering position at approximately 700 feet above ground level (AGL). In the distance, we saw countless orange orbs swarming in all directions against the backdrop of the mountain.
The narrator and pilots reported two stationary oval orange orbs with white or yellow centers just above the rotor disk.
observed two large orbs flare up side-by-side, close to the helicopter – stationary and just above the rotor disk ... oval-shaped, orange with a white or yellow center
Additional orbs reportedly formed a T formation and dimmed in reverse order after 10 to 15 seconds.
forming a total of four or five in a “T” formation ... they dimmed in reverse order ... The entire event lasted 10-15 seconds.
The narrator says similar orbs appeared above fighter jets and matched their speed and flight path before dimming sequentially.
the same type of orbs appeared directly above the fighters ... matching the jets’ speed and flight path ... they dimmed sequentially and disappeared
The narrator states that no photographs were taken during the close encounter.
I didn’t take photos, as I was focused on assessing what it was and whether it posed a threat.
The crew reported orange orbs forming a triangle before disappearing.
orange orbs flaring up and down around us for several minutes, forming a distinct triangle before vanishing
Source Material & Evidence
Research Map
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