What does the Gimbal video show?

The Gimbal video, recorded in 2015 off the USS Theodore Roosevelt, shows a dark oval object flying against strong wind at altitude. At one point it appears to rotate or 'gimbal' on its axis. Skeptics argue the rotation is an artifact of the camera's own gimballed optics and infrared glare, while others consider the motion genuinely anomalous.

Have the Navy UFO videos been explained?

Officially they remain unidentified — the Pentagon confirmed the videos are real but did not identify the objects. Skeptical analysts and AARO have offered mundane candidate explanations: the FLIR object may be a distant aircraft, and GoFast's apparent high speed is largely a parallax effect consistent with a slow-moving object. None of these is a confirmed identification, so the cases stay officially unresolved.

UFO explainer · official + skeptical

The Navy UFO videos explained: Tic Tac, Gimbal & GoFast

Q: What is the Tic Tac UFO?

The 'Tic Tac' is an object encountered on November 14, 2004 by US Navy pilots from the USS Nimitz carrier strike group off Southern California. Commander David Fravor described a smooth, white, wingless object shaped like a Tic Tac candy, about 40 feet long, that moved and accelerated in ways he couldn't explain. It was recorded on the FLIR (forward-looking infrared) video.

Q: What are the three Navy UFO videos?

They are FLIR (the 2004 Tic Tac), Gimbal (2015) and GoFast (2015). All three are short infrared cockpit videos from US Navy F/A-18 aircraft, officially released and confirmed as authentic by the Pentagon. They are among the most widely circulated pieces of government UAP footage.

Three short infrared videos from US Navy fighter jets — the Tic Tac, Gimbal and GoFast — are the most famous UFO footage on Earth. The Pentagon confirmed they're real. Here's what each one actually shows, what the pilots reported, and the explanations for and against.

2004Tic Tac (Nimitz)

2015Gimbal & GoFast

3Official videos

UnresolvedOfficial status

🛸The Tic Tac (FLIR) — USS Nimitz, 2004

On November 14, 2004, F/A-18 pilots from the USS Nimitz strike group off Southern California were vectored toward objects that had been dropping from 80,000 feet to sea level in seconds. Commander David Fravor reported a smooth, white, wingless object about 40 feet long — shaped like a Tic Tac — hovering over a churning patch of ocean, then accelerating away faster than anything he'd flown against. A second jet captured it on the FLIR infrared pod. It's the encounter that launched the modern UFO era.

🌀Gimbal — 2015

Recorded in 2015 by aircraft from the USS Theodore Roosevelt, the Gimbal video shows a dark, oval object moving against a strong wind at altitude. Its defining moment: the object appears to rotate ("gimbal") on its axis while gliding forward — the detail that made it iconic. It's the case skeptics and believers argue about most.

💨GoFast — 2015

Also from the Theodore Roosevelt off Florida in 2015, GoFast shows an object skimming low over the ocean, seemingly at tremendous speed while the pilots lock it up. It looks impossibly fast — which is exactly the part that turns out to be the most debated.

🔍Have they been explained?

Officially, all three remain unidentified — the Pentagon confirmed the videos are authentic but did not identify the objects. Skeptics and AARO have offered mundane candidates:

The skeptical case: The FLIR object may be a distant aircraft that only appears to move when the camera does. GoFast's "extreme speed" is largely a parallax effect — from a fast-moving jet, a slow object near the water looks like it's racing. Gimbal's rotation may be an artifact of the camera's own gimballed optics and infrared glare.

None of these is a confirmed identification — which is why the cases stay officially unresolved, and why they still dominate the conversation. Compare them to the newer, fully-declassified files the government has since released.

Browse the 375 declassified PURSUE files →

❓Frequently asked questions

What is the Tic Tac UFO?

A wingless, ~40-ft white object encountered by Navy pilots (Cmdr David Fravor) off the USS Nimitz on Nov 14, 2004, recorded on the FLIR video.

What are the three Navy UFO videos?

FLIR (2004 Tic Tac), Gimbal (2015) and GoFast (2015) — all official, Pentagon-confirmed infrared cockpit videos.

What does Gimbal show?

A dark oval object flying against the wind in 2015 that appears to rotate on its axis — debated as either anomalous motion or a camera/glare artifact.

Have they been explained?

Officially unidentified. Skeptics offer parallax/glare/distant-aircraft explanations, but none is a confirmed ID.