About Nimitz Tic Tac encounter
The Nimitz Tic Tac encounter occurred in November 2004 off the coast of southern California, where U.S. Navy personnel from the USS Nimitz and USS Princeton tracked and observed an unidentified, wingless, oval-shaped object.
- Also known as
- USS Nimitz UFO incident; FLIR1 video
- Date
- About 10–14 November 2004; intercept on 14 November
- Place
- Pacific Ocean about 100 miles southwest of San Diego, near San Clemente Island
- Units
- Nimitz Carrier Strike Group (Carrier Strike Group 11): USS Nimitz, USS Princeton (CG-59), VFA-41 "Black Aces", VAW-117
- Witnesses
- Cmdr. David Fravor, Lt. Cmdr. Alex Dietrich and their weapons officers; Lt. Chad Underwood (video); Princeton radar crew
- Video
- FLIR1, released by the New York Times (2017) and the Pentagon (27 April 2020)
- Official status
- "Unidentified"
- Location
- Pacific Ocean, off San Diego, California
The full story, section by section
The story of Nimitz Tic Tac encounter in 6 parts. Tap any part to read it in full.
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The radar contactsIn early November 2004 the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group — Carrier Strike Group 11 — was on a routine training exercise roughly 100 miles off southern California, preparing for a deployment.Read this part →
The guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG-59), whose upgraded SPY-1B radar tracked the objects. · Photo: Official Navy Page from United States of America MC3 Eva-Marie Ramsaran/U.S. Navy, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons -
The encounterOn the morning of 14 November, with an air-defence exercise scheduled, Day persuaded his commanding officer to let him direct aircraft toward the contacts.Read this part →
An F/A-18F Super Hornet of VFA-41, the 'Black Aces', Fravor's squadron. · Photo: U.S. Navy photo by Lt. j.g. Kyle Terwilliger, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons -
Claims about missing dataSeveral of the strike group's enlisted sailors later gave accounts to Popular Mechanics and documentaries.Read this part →
An E-2C Hawkeye of VAW-117, the 'Wallbangers', the airborne early-warning squadron involved in the intercept. · Photo: MC3 (SW) JOHN HYDE, USN, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons -
Release of the videoA copy of the FLIR1 video had circulated on an online UFO forum since at least 2007.Read this part →
USS Nimitz 2004 "Tic Tac" UFO, shown hovering over a sea surface disturbance while approached by an F/A-18 hornet.VFA-41 commander David Fravor, since retired, was a seasoned fighter pilot at the time, with 16 years and over 3600 flight hours of expe… · Photo: JMK, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons -
Later testimonyFravor described the encounter on The Joe Rogan Experience in October 2019 and with Dietrich on 60 Minutes in 2021.Read this part → Illustration drawn for this site — not a photograph.
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ExplanationsNo official explanation has been published.Read this part → Illustration drawn for this site — not a photograph.
Key people
The people at the centre of the story — witnesses, investigators, officials and sceptics:
- David FravorDavid Fravor is a retired U.S. Navy commander and fighter pilot who served for 24 years before retiring in 2006.
- Chad UnderwoodChad Underwood is a former U.S. Navy aviator who recorded an infrared video of an unidentified "Tic Tac" object off the coast of southern California on November 14, 2004.
- Gary VoorhisGary Voorhis is a former US Navy sailor who served aboard the USS Princeton in November 2004 when the ship tracked unidentified objects. In 2019, he stated that unfamiliar men arrived by helicopter a…
- Kevin DayKevin Day is a retired U.S. Navy operations specialist senior chief who tracked unidentified radar contacts off the coast of southern California in November 2004.
- Alex DietrichAlex Dietrich is a retired United States Navy lieutenant commander and F/A-18F Super Hornet pilot. On 14 November 2004, she and Commander David Fravor encountered an unidentified "Tic Tac" object off…
- Luis ElizondoLuis Elizondo is a former American Army counterintelligence officer and Defense Department official who became a prominent figure in the modern UFO debate after resigning in October 2017. He stated t…
- Nick CookNick Cook is a British aviation journalist, defence consultant, and author best known for his 2001 book The Hunt for Zero Point, which investigates secret anti-gravity research and claims the United …
- Christopher MellonChristopher Karl Mellon is an American former Senate intelligence staffer and Defense Department official who worked on defense and intelligence oversight from 1985 until leaving government service. …
- Susan GoughSusan Gough is a U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson who became the Pentagon's main voice on unidentified aerial phenomena starting in 2019.
- Ryan GravesRyan Graves is a former U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet pilot who became a prominent witness regarding unidentified anomalous phenomena.
- David GruschDavid Grusch is a former U.S. Air Force officer and intelligence official who publicly claimed in 2023 that the United States government runs secret programs to recover and reverse-engineer non-human…
- Joe NickellJoe Nickell was an American skeptic and professional investigator who examined paranormal claims, UFOs, ghosts, and religious relics. He worked as a senior research fellow for the Committee for Skept…
- Mick WestMick West is a science writer, skeptical investigator, and retired video game programmer who co-founded Neversoft before turning to debunking pseudoscience and conspiracy theories. He founded the web…
- Kevin ThomasFormer U.S. Navy combat photographer Kevin Thomas stated in a 2022 television interview that in 1991 he saw a huge, silent black triangle rise out of the water near the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz.
Related cases & events
Events and sightings linked to Nimitz Tic Tac encounter:
🛸 Case · 10 min readGimbal and GoFast videosThe Gimbal and GoFast videos are two infrared recordings of unidentified objects made in early 2015 off the U.S. East Coast by U.
🗓️ Event · 5 min readKevin Thomas and the Nimitz black triangleFormer U.S. Navy combat photographer Kevin Thomas stated in an October 2022 television interview that in 1991, while aboard the USS Nimitz at night, he witnessed a silent, massive black triangle partially emerging from the water before it rose and disappeared.
🗓️ Event · 9 min readUSS Princeton data recordings claimThis article describes claims by several former U.S. Navy sailors that unknown men removed sensor and data recordings from the guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton and its carrier strike group after November 2004 encounters with unidentified objects off south…
🗓️ Event · 5 min readUnderwater Tic Tac near HaitiFormer US Navy petty officer John Baughman reported seeing a white, twenty-foot, Tic-Tac-shaped object just beneath the water's surface near the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson off Haiti in January 2010. He told a supervisor who dismissed it, and the sightin…
🗓️ Event · 7 min readSarfatti's slow-light Tic Tac theorySarfatti's slow-light Tic Tac theory is physicist Jack Sarfatti's 2020 explanation for the "Tic Tac" object encountered by U.S. Navy aviators in 2004.
🗓️ Event · 5 min readKarson Kammerzell's Tic Tac accountThis article is about the reported 2020 account of former U.S. Navy technician Karson Kammerzell regarding the November 2004 "Tic Tac" military encounters off southern California.
🗓️ Event · 13 min readUSS Ronald Reagan orange orbIn early 2004, several U.S. Navy veterans reported seeing a large, glowing orange object hovering over and pacing the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan off the U.
🗓️ Event · 11 min readSalvatore Pais patentsThe Pais patents are a group of U.S. patents and patent applications filed from 2015 onward on behalf of the U.
🗓️ Event · 7 min readSBIRS UAP detections claimThe text discusses claims that the U.S. military's Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) satellites recorded unidentified objects entering Earth's atmosphere and changing direction.Programs, organizations & documents
The official programs, groups and papers involved:
🏢 Organization · 13 min readU.S. NavyThe United States Navy is the maritime branch of the US armed forces and has played a significant role in the history of unidentified aerial phenomena. Over the decades, its pilots and ships have reported encounters with unknown objects, produced notable sigh…
🏢 Organization · 7 min readBigelow AerospaceBigelow Aerospace was an American space technology company founded in Nevada in the late 1990s by Robert Bigelow to develop expandable space station modules. The company successfully launched prototype modules and the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM)…
🏢 Organization · 9 min readTo The Stars AcademyTo The Stars Academy is a San Diego-based company founded in 2017 by Tom DeLonge, Harold Puthoff, and Jim Semivan that produces entertainment and promotes fringe science and UFO research. The organization brought public attention to US Navy UAP videos and the…
🏢 Organization · 7 min readHouse Oversight CommitteeThe House Oversight Committee is the main investigative committee of the US House of Representatives with broad power to investigate the executive branch. Starting in 2023, the committee became Congress's main forum for public hearings on unidentified anomalo…
🏢 Organization · 6 min readUAP Task ForceThe Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force was a United States Department of Defense program that collected and analyzed military reports of unidentified aerial phenomena from August 2020 to November 2021. Managed by the under secretary of defense for intel…
🏢 Organization · 15 min readAAROThe All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) is a United States Department of Defense organization created on July 20, 2022, to investigate unidentified anomalous phenomena. Its scope covers objects in the air, at sea, in space, and moving between those do…
🏢 Organization · 8 min readThe Black VaultThe Black Vault is an American online archive of US government documents founded in 1996 by John Greenewald Jr. It has grown into one of the largest free civilian collections of declassified records on the internet, holding millions of pages obtained through …
🏢 Organization · 7 min readScientific Coalition for UAP StudiesThe Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies is a nonprofit organisation of scientists and professionals that applies scientific methods to study unidentified aerial phenomena. Founded in 2017, the organization has grown to hundreds of members and focuses on comp…Books, films & documentaries
Where to read and watch more:
🎬 Book or film · 5 min readThe New York TimesThe New York Times is a major American daily newspaper best known in UFO history for its December 2017 article revealing the Pentagon's secret Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program and publishing Navy videos of unidentified objects. This coverage a…
🎬 Book or film · 8 min readSkinwalkers at the PentagonSkinwalkers at the Pentagon is a 2021 book by James Lacatski, Colm Kelleher, and George Knapp that details the secret Defense Intelligence Agency program known as the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP). Spanning events from 2007 to…
🎬 Book or film · 6 min readImminentImminent is a 2024 memoir by former Defense Department intelligence officer Luis Elizondo about the Pentagon's UFO study and hidden government programs. Published by HarperCollins in August 2024, the book became a best-seller while claiming that authorities h…
🎬 Book or film · 6 min readThe Age of DisclosureThe 2025 American documentary film The Age of Disclosure, directed and produced by Dan Farah, features former government, military, and intelligence officials who claim that a non-human intelligence is present on Earth and that the U.S. government has hidden …
🎬 Book or film · 4 min readUnidentified: Inside America's UFO InvestigationUnidentified: Inside America's UFO Investigation is a History channel documentary series that premiered on May 31, 2019. It follows former military counterintelligence officer Luis Elizondo and members of Tom DeLonge's To The Stars Academy of Arts and Science…Related topics & places
Ideas, terms and places that come up in the story:
📖 Term · 13 min readUnidentified anomalous phenomenaUnidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) is the U.S. government's current term for unidentified objects or events in the air, space, or underwater.
📖 Term · 5 min readTransmediumTransmedium describes objects that reportedly move between different environments like space, air, and water without difficulty. United States law includes transmedium devices as a category of unidentified anomalous phenomena, though Pentagon officials stated…
🧭 Topic overview · 12 min readMilitary encounters (topic)This overview covers 72 military encounters with unidentified objects reported by pilots, radar operators, and service members between 1947 and 2022. Key incidents include World War II "foo fighters," the 2004 USS Nimitz "Tic Tac" encounter off southern Calif…
📖 Term · 5 min readInertial mass reductionInertial mass reduction is a hypothetical technology proposed in a 2018 U.S. Navy patent by aerospace engineer Salvatore Pais to allow a vehicle to travel through air, water, and space at extreme speeds.📖 Term · 3 min readFive observablesThe article is about the five observables, which are five extraordinary flight characteristics associated with military sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena as compiled by former Pentagon official Luis Elizondo. The list includes anti-gravity lift, sudd…🗓️ Nimitz Tic Tac encounter on the UAP timeline
- A Nimitz petty officer says he saw a huge black triangle rise out of the ocean. Read the article →
- USS Princeton radar staff say two men took the Tic Tac encounter data recordings. Read the article →
- A Navy sailor sees a Tic Tac-shaped object under the water near Haiti. Read the article →
- Physicist Jack Sarfatti suggests the Tic Tac used a metamaterial that slows light. Read the article →
- A Navy communications operator describes the Tic Tac event from the USS Princeton. Read the article →
- An NRO FOIA reply describes its AI system 'Sentient' detecting a Tic Tac-shaped object in 2021. Read the article →
🏛️ Official records
- House Oversight UAP hearing with Grusch, Graves and Fravor (2023)U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability · July 26, 2023“Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Implications on National Security, Public Safety, and Government Transparency”, with former intelligence officer David Grusch and former Navy aviators Ryan Graves and David Fravor.
- Pentagon releases three Navy UAP videos (2020)U.S. Department of Defense · U.S. Navy · April 27, 2020The Defense Department officially released three unclassified Navy videos, known as FLIR (2004), GIMBAL (2015) and GOFAST (2015), which had already leaked or been published years earlier.
🛸 UFO sightings about Tic Tac UFO (Nimitz)
Sightings that mention Nimitz Tic Tac encounter
More in the encyclopedia
Other articles that link to or mention Nimitz Tic Tac encounter:
- TTSA Senate briefingsIn July 2019, musician Tom DeLonge claimed that his company, To The Stars Academy of Arts and Sciences, had spent months briefing the United States Senate and various congressional committees on UFOs…
Questions & answers
What is Nimitz Tic Tac encounter?
Nimitz Tic Tac encounter: The Nimitz Tic Tac encounter occurred in November 2004 off the coast of southern California, where U.S. Navy personnel from the USS Nimitz and USS Princeton tracked and observed an unidentified, wingless, oval-shaped object. Read: Nimitz Tic Tac encounter →
Where is Nimitz Tic Tac encounter?
Nimitz Tic Tac encounter is in Pacific Ocean, off San Diego, California. Read: Nimitz Tic Tac encounter →
What else is Nimitz Tic Tac encounter called?
Nimitz Tic Tac encounter is also known as USS Nimitz UFO incident; FLIR1 video.
Who is David Fravor?
David Fravor is a retired U.S. Navy commander and fighter pilot who served for 24 years before retiring in 2006. Read: David Fravor →
Who is Chad Underwood?
Chad Underwood is a former U.S. Navy aviator who recorded an infrared video of an unidentified "Tic Tac" object off the coast of southern California on November 14, 2004. Read: Chad Underwood →
Who is Gary Voorhis?
Gary Voorhis is a former US Navy sailor who served aboard the USS Princeton in November 2004 when the ship tracked unidentified objects. In 2019, he stated that unfamiliar men arrived by helicopter and he was ordered to hand over the ship's AEGIS data recordings. He also claimed to have seen a longer and clearer video of the event than what was publicly released. Read: Gary Voorhis →
What was Gimbal and GoFast videos?
Gimbal and GoFast videos: The Gimbal and GoFast videos are two infrared recordings of unidentified objects made in early 2015 off the U.S. East Coast by U. Read: Gimbal and GoFast videos →
What was Kevin Thomas and the Nimitz black triangle?
Kevin Thomas and the Nimitz black triangle: Former U.S. Navy combat photographer Kevin Thomas stated in an October 2022 television interview that in 1991, while aboard the USS Nimitz at night, he witnessed a silent, massive black triangle partially emerging from the water before it rose and disappeared. Read: Kevin Thomas and the Nimitz black triangle →
What is U.S. Navy?
U.S. Navy: The United States Navy is the maritime branch of the US armed forces and has played a significant role in the history of unidentified aerial phenomena. Over the decades, its pilots and ships have reported encounters with unknown objects, produced notable sighting videos, and housed investigative task forces. Additionally, the organization has engaged in research regarding unconventional technology patents and maintained extensive reporting guidelines for aerial incursions. Read: U.S. Navy →
What is Bigelow Aerospace?
Bigelow Aerospace was an American space technology company founded in Nevada in the late 1990s by Robert Bigelow to develop expandable space station modules. The company successfully launched prototype modules and the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) for the International Space Station, but its full-scale commercial station plans never flew. After facing operational and funding challenges, the company laid off all its staff in March 2020 and became defunct. Read: Bigelow Aerospace →
What is The New York Times?
The New York Times is a major American daily newspaper best known in UFO history for its December 2017 article revealing the Pentagon's secret Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program and publishing Navy videos of unidentified objects. This coverage and subsequent reporting by the newspaper sparked intense public interest and speculation, though it also drew criticism from some experts for being thinly sourced and slanted. Read: The New York Times →
What is Skinwalkers at the Pentagon?
Skinwalkers at the Pentagon is a 2021 book by James Lacatski, Colm Kelleher, and George Knapp that details the secret Defense Intelligence Agency program known as the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP). Spanning events from 2007 to 2022, the program was conceived by Lacatski and funded with about $22 million to study UFOs and related paranormal phenomena through a main contractor named BAASS. The book challenges previous public narratives about Pentagon UFO efforts by revealing that the research focused heavily on paranormal phenomena linked to Skinwalker Ranch. Read: Skinwalkers at the Pentagon →
What is Unidentified anomalous phenomena?
Unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) is the U.S. government's current term for unidentified objects or events in the air, space, or underwater. Read: Unidentified anomalous phenomena →
What is Transmedium?
Transmedium describes objects that reportedly move between different environments like space, air, and water without difficulty. United States law includes transmedium devices as a category of unidentified anomalous phenomena, though Pentagon officials stated they have seen no clear evidence of this activity or of alien origins. Read: Transmedium →