Pentagon UFO Videos
The Pentagon UFO Videos are three short videos recorded by US naval aviation targeting systems that were classified by the Department of Defense before being obtained and published by investigative journalists in 2017–2018. They are the most significant officially acknowledged footage of unidentified aerial phenomena in American history. Their public release, facilitated by Luis Elizondo and Chris Mellon and published by the New York Times in partnership with journalists Leslie Kean and Ralph Blumenthal, marked a turning point in mainstream media and government treatment of the UAP phenomenon.
| Also known as | FLIR1 · Go Fast · Gimbal |
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The Three Videos
FLIR1 ("Tic Tac"): Recorded November 14, 2004, by the crew of the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group off the coast of Southern California. An FA-18F Super Hornet's AN/AAQ-28 LITENING targeting pod captured a white, oblong object — nicknamed the "Tic Tac" — moving erratically at high speed without visible propulsion. Commander David Fravor and Lieutenant Commander Jim Slaight intercepted the object visually; Fravor described it as a white Tic Tac performing flight maneuvers he had never seen over a 40-year career. The object ultimately vanished instantaneously from their position.
Go Fast: Recorded January 21, 2015, by an FA-18 Super Hornet off the US East Coast. The video shows a small object moving rapidly over the ocean surface with no apparent propulsion signature, officially estimated to be moving at extraordinary speed relative to the water below.
Gimbal: Recorded January 21, 2015, off the coast of Florida, by the same fleet engagement involved in the Go Fast footage. An FA-18's AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR targeting pod captured a rounded, oblong object that rotated in place against the direction of the aircraft's motion while maintaining a stationary position in high winds. The pilot commentary includes "There's a whole fleet of them — look on the SA" and "It's rotating." Pilots who recorded this footage have confirmed that a portion of the video remains classified in which the object accelerates and joins a formation of other craft in a V-shape. The Gimbal video is considered the most significant of the three by many UAP researchers.
Release and Context
Luis Elizondo, who directed the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) at the Pentagon, resigned from the Department of Defense in 2017 citing frustration over institutional resistance to UAP investigation. He subsequently worked with Chris Mellon, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, to provide the videos and supporting context to journalist Leslie Kean and her colleague Ralph Blumenthal at the New York Times. The Times published its article on December 16, 2017, alongside the videos — immediately generating significant media and congressional attention.
The Department of Defense officially confirmed the authenticity of all three videos in April 2020.
Significance
The videos are significant both as physical evidence and as institutional milestones. Their release effectively ended the Pentagon's decades-long policy of official denial regarding UAP, established that the US military had a classified program dedicated to studying them, and provided the first officially authenticated footage of objects exhibiting performance characteristics far beyond any known aircraft. They directly catalyzed subsequent legislation including the UAP reporting requirements in the National Defense Authorization Acts of 2022 and 2023 and the establishment of AARO.