FLIR1

01 Sensor readout

▶Official video · verified linkWatch the FLIR1 video ↗NAVAIR FOIA Reading Room · 76.3 s · 352×264 · 5.6 MBReleased Apr 27, 2020 · checked Oct 4, 2026 · SHA-256 eff0ffa55bca…Opens on the official site. The frames below are taken from this very file; the built-in player arrives in V2.

123456

Annotated

1. 1IRSensor channel: infrared
2. 24° RPod azimuth: 4° right
3. 36°Pod elevation
4. 4|•|Tracked object
5. 519990Aircraft altitude (feet)
6. 64141Sensor clock

12345

Annotated

1. 1TVSensor channel: visible
2. 22° RPod azimuth: 2° right
3. 3▬Tracked object
4. 419990Aircraft altitude (feet)
5. 54202Sensor clock

02 Timeline

1. Nov 2004

   The USS Nimitz group has been training off California for about two weeks. USS Princeton's Aegis radar tracks objects dropping from above 80,000 feet to about 20,000. [4 · p. 1][5 · p. 13]

2. Nov 2004

   A training exercise is suspended and two VFA-41 F/A-18Fs are sent to the contact. The crew sees a white “Tic Tac”-shaped object over disturbed water, with no visible wings or rotors. [4 · p. 1–2]

3. Nov 2004

   Another crew from the squadron launches afterwards and records the video with the targeting pod. [4 · p. 2]

4. 2007

   The video circulates after an unauthorized leak. [2]

5. Apr 27, 2020

   The DoD authorizes its release; the Navy hosts it in its FOIA library. [2][3]

6. Nov 19, 2024

   In the Senate, AARO is asked to share what it can about the Nimitz incident. There is no public resolution. [6 · p. 4][1]

03 Hypotheses

Status as stated by the official sources cited. The archive takes no side.

• Not assessed

  Airborne clutter: birds, balloons, drones or debris

  ODNI category (2021). No public source confirms or rules it out for this case. [7 · p. 5][1]

• Not assessed

  Natural atmospheric phenomena

  ODNI category (2021). No public source confirms or rules it out for this case. [7 · p. 5][1]

• Not assessed

  U.S. government or industry developmental programs

  ODNI category (2021). No public source confirms or rules it out for this case. [7 · p. 5][1]

• Not assessed

  Foreign adversary systems

  ODNI category (2021). No public source confirms or rules it out for this case. [7 · p. 5][1]

• Not assessed

  Other

  ODNI category (2021). No public source confirms or rules it out for this case. [7 · p. 6][1]

04 Testimony

05 Discrepancies between sources

• The November 14, 2004 date that circulates does not appear in the primary sources consulted: the DoD and Fravor only say “November 2004”. [2][4 · p. 1]
• Fravor describes a roughly 90-second video “released by the USG in 2017”. The official video runs 76 s, and per the DoD 2017 was a leak: the official release is from 2020. [4 · p. 2][2][3]

06 Sources

1. [1]

   Record · All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO)

   UAP Imagery

   AARO's official imagery catalogue. It lists FLIR and GIMBAL as unresolved cases and GOFAST with its case resolution.

   Checked on Oct 4, 2026 · Open the original ↗

2. [2]

   Press release · U.S. Department of Defense · Apr 27, 2020

   Statement by the Department of Defense on the Release of Historical Navy Videos

   The DoD authorizes the release of three unclassified Navy videos (one from November 2004, two from January 2015), previously leaked in 2007 and 2017. The phenomena remain characterized as “unidentified”.

   Checked on Oct 4, 2026 · Open the original ↗

3. [3]

   Record · Naval Air Systems Command (U.S. Navy) · Apr 27, 2020

   NAVAIR FOIA Reading Room · Document Library (FLIR, GIMBAL, GOFAST)

   The official library where the Navy hosts the three videos. The frames in this archive come from there.

   Checked on Oct 4, 2026 · Open the original ↗

4. [4]

   Statement · U.S. House of Representatives · Committee on Oversight and Accountability · Jul 26, 2023

   David Fravor Statement for the House Oversight Committee

   Written statement by Cmdr. (ret.) David Fravor, commanding officer of VFA-41 in November 2004, on the USS Nimitz group encounter.

   Checked on Oct 4, 2026 · Open the original ↗

5. [5]

   Hearing · U.S. House of Representatives · Committee on Oversight and Accountability · Jul 26, 2023

   Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Implications on National Security, Public Safety, and Government Transparency (Serial No. 118–53)

   Transcript of the hearing where David Fravor (FLIR1) and Ryan Graves (GIMBAL), among others, testified.

   Checked on Oct 4, 2026 · Open the original ↗

6. [6]

   Hearing · U.S. Senate · Committee on Armed Services, Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities · Nov 19, 2024

   To Receive Testimony on the Activities of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office

   Transcript of the hearing where AARO director Jon Kosloski presented the GOFAST analysis.

   Checked on Oct 4, 2026 · Open the original ↗

7. [7]

   Report · Office of the Director of National Intelligence · Jun 25, 2021

   Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

   The intelligence community's first public assessment: 144 reports (2004–2021), one identified. It proposes five possible explanatory categories.

   Checked on Oct 4, 2026 · Open the original ↗