USS Nimitz UFO incident: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia
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#REDIRECT [[Pentagon UFO videos]]
{{short description|2004 encounter between US Navy fighters and unknown object.}}
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{{use mdy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{italic title|string=Nimitz}}
{{Infobox event
| title = USS ''Nimitz'' UFO incident
| image = FLIR1 Official UAP Footage from the USG for Public Release.webm
| image_alt =
| caption = Associated video released by the [[Department of Defense]] on April 27, 2020.
| date = {{start and end dates|2004|11|10|2004|11|16}}
| location = [[Pacific Ocean]], off the coast of [[southern California]]
|
}}
The '''USS ''Nimitz'' UFO incident''' was a [[Close encounter#Radar-Visual|radar-visual encounter]] of an [[unidentified flying object]] by US [[fighter pilot]]s of the [[USS Nimitz#Nimitz Carrier Strike Group|''Nimitz'' Carrier Strike Group]] in 2004. Two [[Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet|F/A-18 Super Hornets]] pilots led by the commander of [[VFA-41|Strike Fighter Squadron 41]] communicated that they saw a flying object. Radar signals were seen by [[United States Navy]] ships and aircraft in the area as well.<ref name="LMH">{{cite interview|last=Fravor|first=David|interviewer=[[Linda Moulton Howe]]|title=Ret Navy Com David Fravor|url=https://www.spreaker.com/user/kgra/prs062818kgra-phenomenon-radio-ret-navy-|access-date=20 December 2018|work=Phenomenon Radio|publisher=[[KGRA]]|date=2018-06-28|via=Spreaker}}</ref> An [[infrared]] video recording taken from an F/A-18 that part of the incident has also been released.<ref name="NYMAG-20191219">{{cite news|last=Phelan|first=Matthew|url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/12/tic-tac-ufo-video-q-and-a-with-navy-pilot-chad-underwood.html|title=Navy Pilot Who Filmed the ‘Tic Tac’ UFO Speaks: ‘It Wasn’t Behaving by the Normal Laws of Physics’|date=19 December 2019|work=[[New York (magazine)|New York Magazine]]|accessdate=21 December 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>
The primary encounter occurred during a combat training exercise being conducted in the [[Pacific Ocean]] off the coast of southern California on 14 November 2004, with related sightings supposedly occurring in the days before and after this encounter. A 2015 account of the incident on FighterSweep.com,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://sofrep.com/fightersweep/x-files-edition/|title=There I Was: The X-Files Edition|website=SOFREP|language=en|access-date=2020-02-14}}</ref> interviews with one of the pilots and subsequent news reports describe the sighting of an "unidentified flying object" by four Navy [[Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet|Super Hornet]] fighter jet pilots.<ref name="PM 20171218" />In December 2017 infrared footage of this and [[USS Theodore Roosevelt UFO incidents|another incident in 2014]] involving the [[USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)|USS Theodore Roosevelt]] was published by [[The New York Times|''The New York Times'']] and a company named [[To the Stars (company)|To the Stars.]]<ref name="NYT-20171216-A" /><ref name="NYT-20171216-B" /> In 2018 ''[[Skeptical Inquirer]]'' questioned the accuracy of the pilots' accounts stating that the sightings are more likely explained by equipment malfunction or human error.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Navy Pilot’s 2004 UFO: A Comedy of Errors {{!}} Skeptical Inquirer|url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/2018/05/navy-pilots-2004-ufo-a-comedy-of-errors/|last=Kreidler|first=Marc|date=2018-05-01|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-15}}</ref>
In April 2020 the footage was declassified and officially released by the Department of Defense.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Statement by the Department of Defense on the Release of Historical Na|url=https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2165713/statement-by-the-department-of-defense-on-the-release-of-historical-navy-videos/|website=U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-28}}</ref> According to ''[[The Washington Post]]'', the videos were initially released by former intelligence officer [[Luis Elizondo]] to shed light on a secretive [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] operation to analyze reported UFO sightings, the [[Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program]].<ref name="Politico-20171216">{{cite web|title=The Pentagon's Secret Search for UFOs|url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/12/16/pentagon-ufo-search-harry-reid-216111|last=Bender|first=Bryan|date=December 16, 2017|website=[[Politico]]|access-date=December 17, 2017}}</ref><ref name="WP-20171216" /><ref name="WP-20180309">{{cite news|last=Mellon|first=Christopher|authorlink=Christopher Mellon|date=March 9, 2018|title=The military keeps encountering UFOs. Why doesn’t the Pentagon care?|work=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/the-military-keeps-encountering-ufos-why-doesnt-the-pentagon-care/2018/03/09/242c125c-22ee-11e8-94da-ebf9d112159c_story.html|access-date=March 12, 2018}}</ref>
As of April 2020 the aerial phenomena observed in the videos is characterised as "unidentified" by the Department of Defense.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web|title=Statement by the Department of Defense on the Release of Historical Na|url=https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2165713/statement-by-the-department-of-defense-on-the-release-of-historical-navy-videos/|website=U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-01}}</ref> Although the Navy has given no explanation or identification for the incidents, skeptics, experts and commentators say the sightings likely have mundane explanations such as equipment malfunction or human error.<ref>{{Cite web|title='UFO' videos declassified by US Navy|url=https://www.space.com/ufos-videos-declassified-navy-release.html|last=April 2020|first=Mindy Weisberger 28|website=Space.com|language=en|access-date=2020-05-04}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Navy Pilot’s 2004 UFO: A Comedy of Errors {{!}} Skeptical Inquirer|url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/2018/05/navy-pilots-2004-ufo-a-comedy-of-errors/|last=Kreidler|first=Marc|date=2018-05-01|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-15}}</ref>
== Encounter ==
[[File:USS Princeton at sea.jpg|thumb|[[USS Princeton (CG-59)|USS ''Princeton'' (CG-59)]] with [[AN/SPY-1]] radar antenna visible with its distinctive white [[octagon]] shape]]
Prior to the incident, in early November 2004, the {{sclass-|Ticonderoga|cruiser|0}} [[Cruiser#Late 20th century|guided missile cruiser]] {{USS|Princeton|CG-59|6}}, part of [[Carrier Strike Group 11]], started recording intermittent radar tracks on an advanced [[AN/SPY-1|AN/SPY-1B]] [[Passive electronically scanned array|passive scanning phased array radar]].<ref name="NYT-20171216-A">{{cite news|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/16/us/politics/unidentified-flying-object-navy.html|title=2 Navy Airmen and an Object That 'Accelerated Like Nothing I've Ever Seen'|last1=Cooper|first1=Helene |authorlink1=Helene Cooper|last2=Kean|first2=Leslie|authorlink2=Leslie Kean|last3=Blumenthal|first3=Ralph|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 16, 2017|access-date=December 21, 2017}}</ref><ref name="PM 20171218">{{Cite news |last=Mizokami|first=Kyle |url= http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a14456936/that-time-the-us-navy-had-a-close-encounter-with-a-ufo/ |title=That Time the U.S. Navy Had a Close Encounter With a UFO |date=December 18, 2017 |work=[[Popular Mechanics]] |access-date=December 21, 2017}}</ref> Thinking the brand new radar was malfunctioning, the ''Princeton'' sailors restarted and recalibrated the system but the tracks became sharper and clearer.<ref name="PM 20191112" /> On or around 10 November, Navy Chief Petty Officer (E-7) Kevin Day, stationed on ''Princeton'', noticed groups of five to 10 radar traces that were travelling southwards in a loose though fixed formation at {{convert|28,000|ft|m}} in the immediate vicinity of [[Santa Catalina Island (California)|Catalina]] and [[San Clemente Island|San Clemente]] islands.<ref name="PM 20191112">{{Cite news |last=McMillan |first=Tim |url= https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/research/a29771548/navy-ufo-witnesses-tell-truth/ |title=The Witnesses |date=November 12, 2019 |work=[[Popular Mechanics]] |access-date=November 15, 2019}}</ref> He was startled by their slow speed of {{convert|100|kn|lk=in}} at such an altitude,<ref name="PM 20191112" /> but received confirmation of their presence from radar operators on other vessels.{{Citation needed|date=March 2020}} The returns continued showing up continuously for almost a week, with sailors observing something moving erratically in the distance through the ship's magnified binoculars.<ref name="PM 20191112" />
=== Visual sighting ===
[[File:The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN_68), foreground, and the guided missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG_59) transit the Indian Ocean June 1, 2013 130601-N-AZ866-512.jpg|thumb|USS ''Nimitz'' ahead of the USS ''Princeton'']]When a similar event occurred again around 9:30 [[Pacific Time Zone|PST]] on 14 November 2004, an operations officer aboard ''Princeton'' contacted a [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marine Corps]] [[McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet|F/A-18 Hornet]] and two [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets from {{USS|Nimitz}}, flying in the area at the time. The Marine Hornet was piloted by the [[Commanding officer|commanding]] officer of squadron [[VMFA-232]], Lieutenant Colonel Kurth, that was completing a post-maintenance check. The Navy aircraft were two-seat variants, and each pilot was accompanied by a [[weapon systems officer]] (WSO). The lead Super Hornet was piloted by [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] David Fravor, [[commanding officer]] of [[VFA-41|Strike Fighter Squadron 41]]. The second fighter, flying as [[wingman]], included [[Lieutenant commander (United States)|Lieutenant Commander]] Jim Slaight as WSO.<ref name="NYT-20171216-A" />
''Princeton''{{'}}s radio operator directly instructed the pilots to change their course and investigate the unidentified radar spot observed by ''Princeton''{{'}}s own radar.<ref name="PM 20171218" /> An [[E-2C Hawkeye]] [[Airborne early warning and control|airborne early warning]] (AEW) aircraft in flight at the time was contacted to conduct the intercept but the signals could only be detected after ''Princeton'' sent them coordinates and were too faint to obtain a precise target track.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://fightersweep.com/1460/x-files-edition/|title=There I Was: The X-Files Edition|last=Chierici|first=Paco|date=March 14, 2015|website=FighterSweep.com|accessdate=2019-09-25}}</ref><ref name="PM 20191112" /> A radio operator on ''Princeton'' asked the pilots if they were carrying operational weapons, to which the pilots replied that they were not.<ref name="PM 20171218" /> The weather conditions for that day showed excellent visibility with a blue sky, no cloud cover, and a calm sea.
As the aircraft approached the intercept location ''Princeton'' instructed Lieutenant Colonel Kurth to leave the area as the Navy planes were approaching. The pilot noticed a round section of turbulent water about 50-100 meters in diameter before returning to ''Nimitz'' without seeing any source for the disturbance and without picking up any unknown radar contact.<ref name=":1" /> The Navy pilots reached the intercept location without any contact on their new [[APG-73]] radars.<ref name=":1" /> They looked down at the sea and also noticed a turbulent oval area of churning water with foam and frothy waves "the size of a [[Boeing 737]] airplane"<ref name="Boston Globe 20180216" /> with a smoother area of lighter color at the center, as if the waves were breaking over something just under the surface.<ref name="Boston Globe 20180216">{{cite news |last=Finucane|first=Martin |title=This former Navy pilot, who once chased a UFO, says we should take them seriously |work=Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/01/16/this-former-navy-fighter-pilot-who-once-chased-ufo-says-should-take-them-seriously/MtfbLrDhNJRrO0MEzJRbDM/story.html |date=January 16, 2018 |access-date=February 7, 2018}}</ref> A few seconds later, they noticed an unusual object hovering with erratic movements at a height they estimated to be about {{convert|50|ft|m}} above the churning water. Both Fravor<ref name="CNN 20171218">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1THwiaXZfzA |title=Secretive program tracked UFOs for 5 years|time=0:33|publisher=CNN|via=YouTube|date=December 18, 2017|accessdate=2019-09-23|quote=It looks like a 40-foot-long [[Tic Tac]], with no wings.}}</ref> and Slaight later described the object as a large bright white [[Tic Tac]], {{convert|30|to|46|ft}} long, with no [[windshield]] nor [[porthole]], no [[wing]] nor [[empennage]], and no visible [[engine]] nor [[Exhaust gas|exhaust plume]].<ref name="ABC 20171218">{{cite news|last=McCarthy|first=Kelly |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/navy-pilot-recalls-encounter-ufo-unlike/story?id=51856514|title=Navy pilot recalls encounter with UFO: 'I think it was not from this world'|publisher=[[ABC News]]|date=December 18, 2017|accessdate=2019-09-25}}</ref><ref name="CNN 20171218" /><ref name="CNN 20171219">{{cite interview|last=Fravor|first=David|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdieHccGqLs&t=33m0s|title=Navy Pilot on Encounter with UFO: "Not from This World"|interviewer=[[Jim Sciutto]]|work=[[Erin Burnett OutFront]]|publisher=CNN|via=YouTube|date=December 19, 2017 |accessdate=2019-09-25}}</ref><ref name="Fox News 2017120">{{cite interview|last=Fravor|first=David |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDj9ZZQY2kA|title=Navy pilot recalls 'out of this world' encounter|interviewer=[[Tucker Carlson]]|publisher=Fox News|date=December 20, 2017|accessdate=2019-09-25}}</ref>
Fravor began a circular descent to approach the object.<ref name="Boston Globe 20180216" /> As Fravor further descended, he reported that the object began ascending along a curved path, maintaining some distance from the F-18, mirroring its trajectory in opposite circles.<ref name="Boston Globe 20180216" /><ref name="CNN 20171218" /> Fravor then made a more aggressive maneuver, plunging his fighter to aim below the object, but at this point the UFO apparently accelerated and disappeared in less than two seconds, leaving the pilots "pretty weirded out".<ref name="Boston Globe 20180216" /><ref name="Fox News 2017120" />
Subsequently, the two fighter jets began a new course to the [[combat air patrol]] (CAP) rendezvous point. "Within seconds" ''Princeton'' radioed the jets that a radar target had appeared {{convert|60|mi}} away at the predetermined rendezvous point. According to ''[[Popular Mechanics]]'', a physical object would have had to move greater than {{convert|2,400|mph}} to reach the CAP ahead of the Navy fighters. Their jets have a maximum speed of Mach 1.8 ({{convert|1,190|mph}}). To actually get there "within seconds" would have required an air speed of at least {{convert|42,000|mph}}.
Two other jets went to investigate the new radar location, but "By the time the Super Hornets arrived [...] the object had already disappeared." Both F-18s then returned to ''Nimitz''.<ref name="PM 20171218" /> Commander Fravor reflected on his sighting: "I have no idea what I saw. It had no plumes, wings or rotors and outran our F-18s. But I want to fly one."<ref name="NYT-20171216-A" /> In a 2017 interview with the Washington Post he stated "It was a real object, it exists and I saw it" and when asked what he believes it was he speculated it was "Something not from the Earth."<ref name="rosenberg" /> In may 2019, Fravor was a featured speaker at the "UFOfest" in McMinnville, Oregon. Fravor and UFO conspiracy theorist [[Bob Lazar]] reportedly "spent a lot of time comparing notes", and Fravor has speculated the UFO used "gravity propulsion" claimed by Lazar to be part of a US government coverup of alien technology.<ref name="Knapp">{{cite web |last1=Knapp |first1=George |title=I-Team: UFO Fest means close encounters of a different kind |url=https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/i-team-ufo-fest-means-close-encounters-of-a-different-kind/ |website=8newsnow.com |publisher=KLAS-TV Las Vegas |accessdate=4 May 2020}}</ref>
<ref name="Ufofest">{{cite web |title=Cmdr. David Fravor |url=https://ufofest.com/dave-fravor/ |website=Ufofest.com |publisher=McMenamin's UFO Festival. |accessdate=4 May 2020}}</ref>
=== Infrared footage ===
[[File:AN ASQ-228 ATFLIR mounted on US Navy FA-18E Super Hornet (NF300, 166859) of VFA-115 CAG bird static display at NCAS Iwakuni Base May 5, 2016 01.jpg|alt=|thumb|A [[Raytheon]] [[AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR|ATFLIR]] Targeting Pod mounted on an [[Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet]]]]
After the return of the first team to ''Nimitz'', a second crew took off at approximately 12:00 PST, this time equipped with an advanced infrared camera ([[Forward-looking infrared|FLIR pod]]). This camera recorded what appeared to be a moving object. The footage was publicly released by [[the Pentagon]] more than 13 years later, on 16 December 2017, alongside the revelation of the funding of the [[Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program]].<ref name="NYT-20171216-B">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/16/us/politics/pentagon-program-ufo-harry-reid.html|title=Glowing Auras and 'Black Money': The Pentagon's Mysterious U.F.O. Program|last1=Cooper|first1=Helene|last2= Blumenthal|first2=Ralph|last3=Kean|first3=Leslie|work=The New York Times|date=December 16, 2017 |access-date=December 17, 2017}}</ref><ref name="WP-20171216">{{Cite news |last=Warrick|first=Joby |authorlink=Joby Warrick|url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/head-of-pentagons-secret-ufo-office-sought-to-make-evidence-public/2017/12/16/90bcb7cc-e2b2-11e7-8679-a9728984779c_story.html |title=Head of Pentagon's secret 'UFO' office sought to make evidence public |date=December 16, 2017 |work=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=December 21, 2017}}</ref><ref name="Politico-20171216" />
This footage is known as the ''2004 USS Nimitz FLIR1 video''. Aside from a 2015 secondhand story on FighterSweep.com, the 2017 release was the first time the story was made public.<ref name="PM 20171218" /> A second film of infrared footage, known as the ''GIMBAL video'', was released by the Pentagon alongside the 2004 FLIR1 footage. Although the media often present the two videos together to illustrate the 2004 USS ''Nimitz'' UFO incident, the GIMBAL video is unrelated, and was filmed on the [[East Coast of the United States]] during the [[USS Theodore Roosevelt UFO incidents]].<ref name="Boston Globe 20180216" /><ref name=":12">{{Cite news|last=Cooper|first=Helene|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/26/us/politics/ufo-sightings-navy-pilots.html|title=‘Wow, What Is That?’ Navy Pilots Report Unexplained Flying Objects|date=2019-05-26|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-02-24|last2=Blumenthal|first2=Ralph|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|last3=Kean|first3=Leslie}}</ref> In May 2019, journalists from Las Vegas station KLAS 10 determined that the videos were indeed released by the Pentagon, and not by any private individuals or organizations.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.news10.com/news/national/confirmed-pentagon-did-release-ufo-videos/1970446677|title=Confirmed: Pentagon did release UFO videos|date=May 1, 2019|accessdate=2019-09-25|publisher=[[WTEN]]}}</ref> In April 2020, this footage and footage of the ''Theodore Roosevelt'' incidents was declassified and officially released by the Department of Defense, and is available for public viewing at the Naval Air Systems Command FOIA Reading Room.<ref name=":2">[https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2165713/statement-by-the-department-of-defense-on-the-release-of-historical-navy-videos/ "Statement by the Department of Defense on the Release of Historical Navy Videos"], Department of Defense. Retrieved April 27, 2020.</ref>
=== Aftermath ===
According to a story in Popular Mechanics, multiple ''Princeton'' sailors allegedly claimed that once the incident was over, a [[blackhawk helicopter]] landed on the ship and took all the information regarding the encounters from the top secret rooms, all the data was erased, and “men in suits” showed up.<ref name="PM 201911122">{{Cite news|last=McMillan|first=Tim|url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/research/a29771548/navy-ufo-witnesses-tell-truth/|title=The Witnesses|date=November 12, 2019|work=[[Popular Mechanics]]|access-date=November 15, 2019}}</ref> In 2015, Fravor reported that a government agency had conducted an investigation into the event and had exhaustively interviewed all parties involved.<ref name=":1" />
In September 2019, the Navy confirmed the authenticity of the videos, stating only that they depict what they consider to be "[[unidentified aerial phenomena]]".<ref name=":022">{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2019/09/18/those-ufo-videos-are-real-navy-says-please-stop-saying-ufo/|title=Those UFO videos are real, the Navy says, but please stop saying ‘UFO’|last=Epstein|first=Kayla|date=|website=Washington Post|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-02-25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://time.com/5680192/navy-confirms-ufo-videos-real/|title=Navy Confirms Existence of 'Unidentified' Flying Objects Seen in Leaked Footage|website=Time|language=en|access-date=2020-02-25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/navy-confirms-videos-did-capture-ufo-sightings-it-calls-them-n1056201|title=Yep, those are UFOs, Navy says about 3 videos of strange sightings|website=NBC News|language=en|access-date=2020-02-25}}</ref> Susan Gough, a [[The Pentagon|Pentagon]] spokeswoman, confirmed that the three videos were made by naval aviators and that they are "part of a larger issue of an increased number of training range incursions by unidentified aerial phenomena in recent years."<ref name=":82">{{Cite news|last=Taylor|first=Derrick Bryson|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/26/science/tom-delonge-ufo-research.html|title=How Blink-182’s Tom DeLonge Became a U.F.O. Researcher|date=2019-09-26|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-03-27|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
After the incidents became public, classified [[United States congressional hearing|congressional hearings]] were conducted with the goal of understanding and identifying the potential threat to the safety and security of aviators.<ref name=":422">{{Cite web|url=https://politi.co/2WUq6eb|title=Senators get classified briefing on UFO sightings|last=Bender|first=Bryan|date=2019-06-19|website=POLITICO|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-02-24}}</ref><ref name=":322">{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/ufo-sightings-pentagon-us-navy-congress-senators-oceana-a8968256.html|title=Congress receive classified briefing on 'UFO encounters with US navy'|date=2019-06-20|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=2020-02-24}}</ref><ref name=":922">{{Cite web|url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/research/a30916275/government-secret-ufo-program-investigation/|title=Inside the Pentagon's Secret UFO Program|last=McMillan|first=Tim|date=2020-02-14|website=Popular Mechanics|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-25}}</ref> The Navy has confirmed that, in response to inquiries by members Congress, they have provided a series of briefings by senior [[Office of Naval Intelligence|naval intelligence]] officials as well as testimony from "aviators who reported hazards to aviation safety".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://politi.co/2USYNjd|title=U.S. Navy drafting new guidelines for reporting UFOs|last=Bender|first=Bryan|website=POLITICO|language=en|access-date=2020-03-26}}</ref> The contents of those briefings are classified, but Senator [[Mark Warner]], the vice chairman of the [[Senate Intelligence Committee]], who participated to one of those briefings released a statement requesting further research into "unexplained interference in the air" that could pose safety concerns for naval pilots.<ref name=":422" /> According to Popular Mechanics, "insiders also say" Brigadier General Richard Stapp, Director of the DoD Special Access Program Central Office, testified to the Senate Intelligence Committee that "mysterious objects being encountered by the military were not related to secret U.S. technology".<ref name=":922" /> President [[Donald Trump]] has also been briefed on the issue and has stated "I did have one very brief meeting on it. But people are saying they're seeing UFOs. Do I believe it? Not particularly."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://politi.co/2MPYsdx|title=Trump says he was briefed on Navy sightings of UFOs|last=Choi|first=Matthew|date=2019-06-15|website=POLITICO|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-03-26}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=America|first=Good Morning|title=Trump says he doesn't particularly believe in UFOs|url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/News/video/trump-ufos-63732301|language=en|access-date=2020-03-26}}</ref>
Following the hearings, the Navy announced it had updated the way pilots were to formally report [[Unidentified flying object|UFO]] incidents, in order to encourage pilots to flag disturbances which "have been occurring regularly since 2014."<ref name=":032">{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2019/09/18/those-ufo-videos-are-real-navy-says-please-stop-saying-ufo/|title=Those UFO videos are real, the Navy says, but please stop saying ‘UFO’|last=Epstein|first=Kayla|date=2019-09-19|website=Washington Post|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-02-25}}</ref> According to Joseph Gradisher, spokesman for the deputy [[Chief of Naval Operations]], the new guidance was an update of instructions that went out to the fleet in 2015, after the [[USS Theodore Roosevelt UFO incidents|USS ''Theodore Roosevelt'' UFO incidents]] and stated that: "we don’t know who’s doing this, we don’t have enough data to track this. The intent of the message to the fleet is to provide updated guidance on reporting procedures for suspected intrusions into our airspace."<ref name=":132">{{Cite news|last=Cooper|first=Helene|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/26/us/politics/ufo-sightings-navy-pilots.html|title=‘Wow, What Is That?’ Navy Pilots Report Unexplained Flying Objects|date=2019-05-26|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-02-24|last2=Blumenthal|first2=Ralph|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|last3=Kean|first3=Leslie}}</ref> Regarding the new guidelines, he said that one possible explanation for the increase in reported intrusions could be the rise in availability of unmanned aerial systems such as [[Quadrocopter|quadrocopters]].<ref name="WaPo20192">{{cite news|last1=Epstein|first1=Kayla|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2019/09/18/those-ufo-videos-are-real-navy-says-please-stop-saying-ufo/|title=Those UFO videos are real, the Navy says, but please stop saying ‘UFO|date=September 18, 2019|accessdate=25 March 2020|publisher=[[The Washington Post]]|agency=The Washington Post}}</ref> The footage was publicly released in April 2020 by the Department of Defense.<ref name=":23" />
== Analysis and possible explanations ==
[[File:TIC TAC UFO EXECUTIVE REPORT 1526682843046 42960218 ver1.0.pdf|thumb|An unclassified and redacted summary of the event released by the US military]]
[[George Knapp (journalist)|George Knapp]] published for [[KLAS-TV]] copies of unclassified documents related to the encounters with analysis by the U.S. Government compiled in 2009 with input from multiple agencies.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.8newsnow.com/news/i-team-exclusive-confidential-report-analyzes-tic-tac-ufo-incidents/|title=I-Team Exclusive: Confidential report analyzes Tic Tac UFO incidents|date=2018-05-19|website=KLAS - 8 News Now|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-05}}</ref><ref name="NYMAG-20191219" /><!-- Commons link to the full report included in KLAS article https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/TIC_TAC_UFO_EXECUTIVE_REPORT_1526682843046_42960218_ver1.0.pdf
Following statements taken from the "Key assessments" in the report --> The key assessments in the report state that the AAV "was no known aircraft or air vehicle currently in the inventory of the United States or any foreign nation" and that it displayed "advanced low observable characteristics" that rendered "U.S. radar based engagement capabilities ineffective." The AAV also displayed "advanced aerodynamic performance" and greater velocities "than any known aerial vehicle" with no detectable means of producing lift or visible control surfaces. The vehicle was also capable of operating underwater undetected by the Navy's most advanced sensors.
Defense and security writer Kyle Mizokami suggested three possibilities that could explain the sightings. The first is simultaneous equipment malfunction or misinterpretation; USS ''Princeton''{{'}}s radars and the Super Hornets' electro-optical sensors and radars could have malfunctioned, or the crew could have misinterpreted a number of natural phenomena. The second is classified government technology. Mizokami's third possibility was that the sightings were caused by objects of extraterrestrial origin.<ref name="PM 20171218" /><ref name="WP-20171216" /> ''[[The New York Times]]'' included a disclaimer in its reporting of the incident: "Experts caution that earthly explanations often exist for such incidents, and that not knowing the explanation does not mean that the event has interstellar origins".<ref name="NYT-20171216-A" />
Physicist [[Don Lincoln]] suggested that it was "very unlikely that what these pilots are reporting turns out to be an unfriendly superweapon or an alien craft," however he explained that he would like to see the reports investigated "under the premise that the best science is done when as many opinions are considered as possible, preferably in the open and subject to peer review." According to Lincoln, "unidentified doesn't mean flying saucer or a Russian superweapon. It merely means unidentified."<ref name="Lincoln">{{cite web|last=Lincoln|first=Don|authorlink=Don Lincoln|title=Keep looking for UFOs|url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/20/opinions/keep-looking-for-unidentified-flying-objects-opinion-don-lincoln/index.html|publisher=CNN|date=December 20, 2017|access-date=December 22, 2017}}</ref><ref name="WNYC">{{cite web|title=The Modern Search for U.F.O.s|url=https://www.wnyc.org/story/physicist-likelihood-ufos|work=[[The Takeaway]]|publisher=[[WNYC]]|date= December 22, 2017|access-date= December 22, 2017}}</ref>
Science journalist [[Dennis Overbye]] argued a "stubborn residue" of unexplained aerial phenomena remain after review. Overbye highlighted that some of these accounts are obtained from respected observers such as military pilots. However, he cautioned, "as modern psychology and neuroscience have established, the senses are an unreliable portal to reality, whatever that is."<ref name="overbye">{{cite news |last=Overbye |first=Dennis |authorlink=Dennis Overbye|title=U.F.O.s: Is This All There Is? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/29/science/ufos-aliens-space-travel.html |work=The New York Times |date=December 29, 2017|access-date=December 31, 2017}}</ref>
[[Raytheon]] has confirmed those videos have been captured by one of their [[AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR|ATFLIR targeting pods]] mounted on the fighter jets. They stated that "video images are not definitive proof that the jet pilots were chasing an actual UFO." Steve Cummings, vice president of Technology Development and Execution, stated that "To really be sure, we would need the raw data", "visual displays alone are not the best evidence" and that one way to exclude any anomaly would be to observe "the same target, behaving the same way on multiple sensors." Aaron Maestas, director of engineering and chief engineer for Surveillance and Targeting Systems at Raytheon stated: "We might be the system that caught the first evidence of E.T. out there."
''[[The Washington Post]]'' identified David Fravor as "the commanding officer of the [[VFA-41]] Black Aces," at the time of the 2004 incident.<ref name="rosenberg">{{cite news |last=Rosenberg |first=Eli |title=Former Navy pilot describes UFO encounter studied by secret Pentagon program |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2017/12/18/former-navy-pilot-describes-encounter-with-ufo-studied-by-secret-pentagon-program/ |access-date=16 June 2018 |work=[[The Washington Post]] |date=18 December 2017}}</ref> ''[[The Blade (Toledo, Ohio)|The Blade]]'' of [[Toledo, Ohio]] stated Fravor retired from military service in 2006, after a 24-year career, including 18 years as a Navy pilot and deployments in [[Iraq]] that began during [[Operation Desert Storm]]. Fravor stated the identities of other Naval officers aboard the two fighter jets during his mission on 14 November 2004 had not been released publicly as they were still active in the military at the time of ''The Blade'' publication in 2018.<ref name="bladefollowup">{{cite news |last=Henry |first=Tom |title=Close encounters of the Toledo kind: Fravor pursued UFO in 2004 |url=http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2018/03/31/Toledo-native-David-Fravor-recalls-close-encounter-with-UFO.html |access-date=16 June 2018 |work=The Blade |date=1 April 2018}}</ref>
[[Joe Nickell]] writing for the ''[[Skeptical Inquirer]]'' reports that there are differing versions of Fravor's account, including a "truly curious document that tells Fravor's story in the form of a military-style briefing" designed to create a "pseudo top-secret appearance". Nickell identified the document as "a third-person account of an interview with Fravor, produced by a fringe-ideas group called [[To the Stars (company)|To the Stars]] Academy of Arts and Science". Regarding the visual sightings reported by Fravor, Nickell questioned how he could see "what a forty-foot object was doing from forty miles away" and characterized the "confusion and incompleteness in the reports" of the training mission as a "comedy of errors".<ref name="Nickell">{{cite magazine|url= https://www.csicop.org/si/show/navy_pilots_2004_ufo_a_comedy_of_errors|title=Navy Pilot’s 2004 UFO: A Comedy of Errors |last=Nickell|first=Joe|authorlink=Joe Nickell|magazine=Skeptical Inquirer|date=May–June 2018 |volume=42|number=3|access-date=1 June 2018}}</ref> Nickell and astronomer and former Air Force pilot James E. McGaha said that reports of churning water could have been caused by a submerging submarine, the visual sightings could have been of a reconnaissance [[Unmanned aerial vehicle|drone]], and that "one video image showing an object suddenly zooming off screen was likely caused by the plane's banking while the camera was stopped at the end of its sweep".<ref name="Nickell" /> He comments that several reports of the incident mention that when Fravor returned to the USS ''Nimitz'' following the encounter, most of the personnel on the carrier did not take the encounter seriously, reportedly making fun of Fravor and playing alien movies on the ship's onboard closed-circuit TV system, implying that perhaps they knew something Fravor did not. Nickell also notes that the incident had apparently not been considered serious enough to warrant a debriefing of either Fravor, the other pilots, or the radar operator.<ref name="Nickell" />
== In popular culture ==
=== Television ===
* The [[History (American TV channel)|History Channel]] featured the incident in the 2019 television show ''[[Unidentified: Inside America's UFO Investigation]]''.<ref name="HistoryChannel">{{cite web |last=Daugherty|first=Greg |url=https://www.history.com/news/uss-nimitz-2004-tic-tac-ufo-encounter |title=When Top Gun Pilots Tangled with a Baffling Tic-Tac-Shaped UFO |publisher=[[History (American TV channel)|History Channel]] |date=May 16, 2019|accessdate=June 1, 2019}}</ref>
== See also ==
* [[Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program]]
* [[USS Theodore Roosevelt UFO incidents|USS ''Theodore Roosevelt'' UFO incidents]]
== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}
{{UFOs}}
[[Category:2004 in California]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 2004]]
[[Category:2004 in military history]]
[[Category:Accidents and incidents involving United States Navy and Marine Corps aircraft]]
[[Category:Military history of the Pacific Ocean]]
[[Category:November 2004 events in the United States]]
[[Category:United States Navy in the 21st century]]
[[Category:UFO sightings in the United States]]
[[Category:Alleged UFO-related aviation incidents]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]