ICA-UAP-D001, Analysis: Colorado Springs UAP Incident, 2022

Official Conclusion

Possibly backscattering of sunlight (low confidence); incident remains unresolved

Official Description

This document contains analysis by an All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) Intelligence Community (IC) partner to account for a 2022 incident involving an airborne object near Colorado Springs, Colorado. U.S. military service members reported the incident to AARO in 2023. AARO’s IC partner assessed, with low confidence, that the reported phenomenon, which observers characterized as resembling an “angular, non-symmetrical potato,” was attributable to sunlight backscattering, where sunlight reflecting from mountain snow cover illuminated the underside of low-altitude clouds. This low-confidence assessment contributes to AARO’s consideration of the incident, which remains unresolved as of June 2026.

Key Findings

• →Five U.S. Army service members at Fort Carson observed an airborne object approximately 6 miles to the west over Cheyenne Mountain at 0935 MST on 15 February 2022, for approximately 30–180 seconds.
• →Witnesses described the object as roughly the size of a large jet, angular and non-symmetrical like a potato made of uneven panels, stationary 300–500 feet above Cheyenne Mountain, with a translucent shimmering white appearance that reflected sunlight before suddenly disappearing.
• →The analyst assessed with low confidence that the phenomenon was backscattering of sunlight reflecting off snow-covered ground illuminating low-level clouds, with the sudden disappearance attributed to a shift in cloud position or sun angle.
• →No anomalous data or characteristics were recorded, and the event was assessed as not representing an unknown adversarial capability.
• →No aircraft or balloons were noted active in or around Cheyenne Mountain during the observation period.

Extracted Entities