PURSUE Release 03 — Analysis Colorado Springs UAP Incident (ICA-UAP-D001)

Source: U.S. Department of War, PURSUE (Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters) — Release 03 (third tranche), published 12 June 2026. Document ICA-UAP-D001.
URL: release portal https://www.war.gov/UFO/release/03/ · bundle https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/061226/release_03/release_03_documents.zip (file: ICA-UAP-D001_Analysis_Colorado-Springs-UAP-Incident.pdf)
Captured: 2026-06-12. Text below is the clean born-digital / OCR text extracted from the released PDF (4 pages).
What this is: Analysis Colorado Springs UAP Incident. Index/analysis: ../../../sources/pursue-release-03-uap-records.

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SUBJECT:

USA/Colorado:
An Airborne Object Over Cheyenne Mountain in February 2022 was
Possible Backscattering of Sunlight

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An airborne object over Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado
/was observed by five U.S. Army service members at Fort Carson,
/Colorado at 0935 MNT on 15 February 2022, was possibly
/backscattering of sunlight.
has low confidence in this
/assessment based on uncertainty in the field of view of each
/witness, amount of snow cover, and exact elevation and amount of
/cloud cover. No anomalous data or characteristics were recorded or
/assessed, and the event did not represent an unknown adversarial
/capability.
/
/
According to the accounts of five U.S. Army service
/members On 15 February 2022, an airborne object was observed
/approximately 6 miles to the west over and slightly behind the
/Cheyenne Mountain silhouette for approximately 30 - 180 seconds.
/The witnesses describe the object as roughly the size of a large
/jet and resembling an angular, non-symmetrical potato made of
/uneven panels, which was completely stationary about 300-500 feet
/above Cheyanne Mountain while slowly changing shape. It had a
/slightly translucent, shimmering white appearance, with defined
/edges and a milky shimmer that reflected sunlight. The witnesses
/noted that the sky was clear, and despite keeping their eyes on the
/object, it suddenly disappeared.
/
/
At 0945 MST on February 15, 2022, in Colorado Springs,
/the sun was positioned at an altitude of about 27.5 over the
/horizon in the southeast sky and roughly at an azimuth of 125,
/casting shadows toward the northwest and providing soft, angled
/light. According historical the National Water and Climate Center
/reporting, snow depth on Cheyenne Mountain likely ranged from 6 to
/12 inches. Although witnesses reported clear, blue skies, multiple
/weather reports, including those from AFWA and Weather Underground,
/indicated the presence of clouds, suggesting that the skies were
/partly to mostly cloudy that morning.
/
/
Analysis possibly indicates that the positioning of the
/sun in relation to Cheyenne Mountain would allow for backscattering
/of sunlight reflecting off snow-covered ground. This reflection
/could illuminate low-level clouds in the vicinity, which might
/account for the visibility of the object followed by its sudden
/disappearance. It is possible that either the clouds or the sun
/shifted slightly, causing the reflection to vanish.
has low
/confidence in this assessment based on uncertainty in the field of
/view of each witness, and exact level of cloud cover.
/
/
Analyst Note: Altostratus clouds are a kind of mid-level cloud
/known for their consistent gray or blue-gray appearance. These
/clouds usually develop at altitudes ranging from 6,500 to 23,000

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/feet (about 2,000 to 7,000 meters) and can create a dense, uniform
/layer across the sky or thin and wispy. While they often appear
/opaque, altostratus clouds can permit some sunlight to pass
/through, resulting in a luminous effect. Typically, the presence of
/altostratus clouds suggests that precipitation is imminent, as they
/may bring light rain or snow.
/
/
Analyst Note: Backscattering is the phenomenon where sunlight
/reflects off the snow-covered ground and reflects upwards,
/scattering through the atmosphere and illuminate low-level clouds.
/This is especially noticeable when the sun is low over the horizon.
/
No aircraft or balloons were noted active in or around
/Cheyenne Mountain during the time the witnesses saw the airborne
/object.
/

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