NOVEMBER 14, 2004 — PACIFIC OCEAN, CALIFORNIA COAST
On November 14, 2004, the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group was conducting routine training exercises approximately 100 nautical miles southwest of San Diego, California. For approximately two weeks prior, the USS Princeton — the group's Aegis cruiser — had been tracking anomalous radar contacts that descended rapidly from 80,000 feet to sea level before disappearing from radar.
Commander David Fravor, Commanding Officer of Strike Fighter Squadron 41 (VFA-41 Black Aces), was diverted from a training mission to investigate one of the contacts. Flying an F/A-18F Super Hornet, he descended toward the ocean surface where a distinct disturbance was visible in the water — described as resembling whitewater in the shape of a cross, as if something just below the surface was disturbing it.
Fravor observed a white, oblong object approximately 40 feet long — shaped, he said, "like a Tic-Tac." The object had no wings, no tail, no discernible propulsion system, and produced no heat signature detectable by the aircraft's sensors. It was moving erratically over the whitewater disturbance.
When Fravor maneuvered to intercept, the object began mirroring his aircraft's movements — maintaining a constant offset below him as he descended in a spiral. When Fravor turned aggressively toward it, the object accelerated instantaneously — leaving no visible thrust, exhaust, or sonic boom — and disappeared. It was subsequently detected by USS Princeton's radar approximately 60 miles away, having apparently transited that distance in under a second.
A second F/A-18F crew that arrived after Fravor's encounter obtained the FLIR1 (Forward-Looking Infrared) footage that would later be declassified and released by the Pentagon. The footage shows the object exhibiting rotation and acceleration inconsistent with any known aircraft.
The incident was classified upon return. Fravor reported it through channels but was told to forget about it. For 13 years the incident remained classified.
In December 2017, the New York Times published a front-page investigation revealing the secret AATIP program, simultaneously publishing the FLIR1 footage. Commander Fravor was one of the witnesses who spoke on record. On April 27, 2020, the Department of Defense officially confirmed all three leaked Navy videos as authentic and stated the phenomena remain unidentified.
The Department of Defense has authorized the release of three unclassified Navy videos... The aerial phenomena observed in the videos remain characterized as unidentified.
Department of Defense — Official Statement, April 27, 2020