Senior USIC Official USPER Narrative

This source record, catalogued as ODNI-UAP-D001, USPER Narrative, Senior USIC Official, is a first-hand narrative recorded on 2026-05-26 within the PURSUE collection of UAP-related records. It documents the account of an anonymous US intelligence official, described in the record as “[senior US intelligence officer],” concerning a helicopter mission during the Late 2025 UAP encounter at a U.S. weapons test range. [senior US intelligence officer] said that they departed the Joint Operations Center (JOC) by helicopter in early evening daylight, accompanied by a colleague and two pilots.¹ The stated purpose of the flight was to investigate loud thuds heard in the mountains of the test range,² which [senior US intelligence officer] said had coincided with Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) sightings reported over the preceding nights.³ The crew’s aim was to search remote mountain areas for debris or objects that might account for orb-like sightings on the range.⁴

According to the narrative, the helicopter flew a low-altitude, nap-of-the-earth route through the mountains for several hours.⁵ The crew repeatedly spotted debris on the ground and descended to inspect it, each time identifying the material as remnants of rockets and other projectiles from years of weapons testing.⁶ They also came across a large cave entrance with no visible end, which [senior US intelligence officer] had the pilot orbit several times for observation, as the surrounding terrain offered no safe place to land.⁷⁸ Low on fuel, the crew proceeded to a prearranged rendezvous point where the colleague disembarked,⁹ after which the two pilots and [senior US intelligence officer] flew to a prepositioned tanker on the range to refuel before planning to return to base.¹⁰ The Joint Operations Center (JOC) then radioed a request for the crew to search a nearby mountain for debris reported by a ground team.¹¹ After sunset, the pilots switched to Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) and Night Vision Goggles (NVG), while [senior US intelligence officer] continued observing with the naked eye.¹² That search turned up nothing, and the crew began heading back toward the JOC to end the mission.¹³

The narrative describes the JOC then reporting radar hits several miles up range, in the same area where UAP activity had been observed on prior nights,¹⁴ prompting the helicopter to alter course and begin what [senior US intelligence officer] described as a series of close encounters lasting over an hour.¹⁵ Ground teams reported a contact on FLIR described as “super-hot,” low to the ground and moving east then south at high speed,¹⁶ which split into two objects and changed direction.¹⁷ On arrival at the location, the crew scanned the area with NVG, FLIR, and the naked eye.¹⁸ The ground team radioed that the object had risen from the ground, approached to within approximately 3 metres of the helicopter, dropped below it, and sped away.¹⁹ Through NVG, the pilots observed the object split into two, with a smaller object emerging before accelerating out of sight.²⁰ The crew briefly pursued but broke off, unable to match its speed.²¹ The JOC subsequently reported that fighter jets had launched on a training mission in the area and asked for assistance identifying the UAP.²²

Directed to further radar detections, the crew took up a hover at approximately 210 metres above ground level.²³ While hovering, [senior US intelligence officer] said the crew saw countless orange orbs swarming in all directions against the mountain backdrop, a display lasting several minutes before fading.²⁴ On fresh radar hits, the JOC redirected the crew back to the same position, where they again hovered at approximately 210 metres.²⁵ Through NVG and the naked eye, [senior US intelligence officer] and the pilots watched two large orbs flare up side-by-side, stationary just above the rotor disk,²⁶ oval-shaped, orange with a white or yellow centre, emitting light in all directions.²⁷ A third orb flared up below the pair, followed by a fourth, forming a total of four or five orbs in a “T” formation,²⁸ which then dimmed in reverse order and vanished, the entire event lasting 10-15 seconds.²⁹ [senior US intelligence officer] did not photograph the display, saying their attention was on assessing what it was and whether it posed a threat.³⁰ The pilots briefly considered landing given the objects’ proximity but opted to keep hovering at approximately 210 metres for further observation.³¹

The crew then spotted fighter jets entering visual range at approximately 700 metres above ground level, identifiable by their blinking navigation lights.³² As the jets were observed from afar, orbs of the same type previously encountered appeared directly above them, flaring up one at a time in a horizontal formation that matched the jets’ speed and flight path.³³ These orbs dimmed sequentially and disappeared after 10-15 seconds, a pattern that repeated several times as the jets transited the airspace and eventually landed.³⁴ [senior US intelligence officer] said it appeared that the same orbs encountered earlier were “chasing” the fighter jets.³⁵ Orange orbs were also observed flaring up and down around the helicopter for several minutes, forming a distinct triangle before vanishing.³⁶ Low on fuel, the pilots then returned to the JOC, ending the encounter.³⁷ After landing, [senior US intelligence officer] briefly spoke with the pilots, mostly to thank them, and said the crew were “virtually speechless” following the observations.³⁸ [senior US intelligence officer] then entered the Joint Operations Center (JOC) for a quick debrief before driving home.³⁹