Instrumented encounters (selected cases)

TL;DR

Official U.S. government sources have released/hosted **Navy FLIR/ATFLIR videos** and related materials that show anomalous targets observed by trained aviators and onboard sensors. Below we link only to official repositories (DoD/Defense.gov, NAVAIR FOIA, AARO) plus data leads for further verification.

2004 — USS Nimitz “FLIR1 / Tic-Tac” (Pacific)

What’s public (official): In April 2020 the U.S. Department of Defense formally released three Navy videos, including the 2004 FLIR1 clip associated with the Nimitz incident. The Navy FOIA reading room also hosts the original files. AARO maintains an official “UAP Imagery” page that references the NAVAIR sources.

Data/records to pursue: SPY-1 radar logs, Aegis track files, CEC data, E-2C/D mission logs, ATFLIR raw files, deck logs, and strike group ATOs/briefs for the sortie window.

2015 — “GIMBAL” (USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier air wing)

What’s public (official): Released by DoD alongside FLIR1 and GOFAST; authenticated as Navy video. Hosted via NAVAIR FOIA and referenced by AARO.

Data/records to pursue: ATFLIR metadata, AWACS/FAA radar for the block of airspace, squadron MISREPs, maintenance/mission data recorder pulls.

2015 — “GOFAST” (East Coast training areas)

What’s public (official): Released by DoD together with FLIR1 and GIMBAL; hosted by the Navy’s FOIA portal and referenced by AARO.

Data/records to pursue: FLIR/ATFLIR raw export, HUD symbology overlays, radar track extracts, controller audio, NOTAMs/weather for deconfliction analysis.

Other official imagery/releases

AARO’s imagery page also lists additional Navy-captured UAP videos (e.g., 2021 “flyby”) with case notes and provenance links. Treat these as starting points for records requests and sensor-data hunts.

Verification workflow (for journalists)