USS Nimitz 'Tic Tac' Encounter

What Happened

In November 2004, the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group was conducting pre-deployment training exercises approximately 100 miles southwest of San Diego, California. For several days leading up to November 14, radar operators aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton had been tracking anomalous aerial contacts using the ship's AN/SPY-1B radar system.

According to Senior Chief Kevin Day, the Princeton's radar operator, the contacts would appear at high altitudes—approximately 80,000 feet—then descend rapidly to around 20,000 feet, hover briefly, and depart at high speed. The objects showed no transponder signals and did not respond to identification queries. Day described tracking these contacts for approximately two weeks before the November 14 encounter.

On the morning of November 14, 2004, Commander David Fravor, commanding officer of Strike Fighter Squadron 41 (VFA-41, the "Black Aces"), and his wingman Lieutenant Commander Alex Dietrich were conducting training intercepts in F/A-18F Super Hornets. At approximately 2:00 p.m. local time, the Princeton vectored them toward one of the anomalous contacts.

As the fighters descended to investigate, all four aviators (two pilots and two weapons systems officers) observed a disturbance in the water below—described as churning or frothing, as if something large was just beneath the surface. Above this disturbance, they spotted a white object approximately 40 feet long, shaped like a Tic Tac candy, with no visible wings, rotors, exhaust plume, or control surfaces.

Fravor descended to investigate while Dietrich maintained altitude. According to Fravor's account, when he began a spiral descent toward the object, it appeared to mirror his maneuver, ascending to meet him. When Fravor attempted to cut across the circle to intercept, the object accelerated rapidly and disappeared. The entire visual encounter lasted approximately five minutes.

Witnesses and Evidence

The primary witnesses include:

• CDR David Fravor – Commanding Officer, VFA-41; primary visual witness
• LCDR Alex Dietrich – Fravor's wingman; visual witness
• Two additional weapons systems officers in the rear seats of both aircraft
• Senior Chief Kevin Day – USS Princeton radar operator who tracked the objects
• Lt. Chad Underwood – Pilot who recorded the FLIR1 video approximately one hour later

The infrared video known as "FLIR1" was not recorded by Fravor, whose aircraft was not equipped with a targeting pod that day. Approximately an hour after Fravor's visual encounter, a second flight was launched to investigate the same contact. Lt. Chad Underwood, flying an F/A-18F equipped with an AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR (Advanced Targeting Forward-Looking Infrared) pod, recorded 76 seconds of footage showing an oblong heat signature against the sky. Underwood coined the term "Tic Tac" to describe what he saw on the display.

The FLIR1 video shows an object that the radar could not lock onto. The footage leaked online in 2007 and was published by The New York Times in December 2017. The Department of Defense officially released the video on April 27, 2020, confirming its authenticity and stating that the phenomena "remain characterized as unidentified."

Commander Fravor testified before the House Oversight Committee on July 26, 2023, describing the encounter under oath. He stated the object demonstrated capabilities beyond any known aircraft: no visible propulsion, extreme acceleration, and apparent awareness of his approach.

Official Investigations

The Nimitz encounter was investigated by the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), a Defense Intelligence Agency program that operated from 2007 to 2012. AATIP, led by Luis Elizondo, examined the case as part of its mandate to assess unusual aerial phenomena that could represent threats to national security.

An executive report prepared for AATIP (later associated with contractor Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies) analyzed the incident in detail. The report described the object as demonstrating "advanced acceleration, aerodynamic, and propulsion capability" and noted that the "AAV did not take any offensive action against the CSG" but "demonstrated the potential to conduct undetected reconnaissance."

The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), established in 2022 as the successor to AATIP and the UAP Task Force, now manages UAP investigations. AARO's Historical Record Report Volume I (March 2024) focused on claims about secret government programs and alleged crash-retrieval operations rather than analyzing specific UAP cases like Nimitz. The Nimitz encounter was not substantively addressed in that report.

In 2019, the U.S. Navy confirmed the authenticity of the FLIR1 video and two other UAP videos, designating them as depicting "unidentified aerial phenomena."

Proposed Explanations

Classified U.S. Technology: Some speculate the object could have been a highly classified American drone or experimental aircraft. However, Fravor and other witnesses have stated that the capabilities displayed—if real—exceed anything in the known U.S. inventory. Additionally, conducting secret tests in an active carrier training area without coordination would pose serious safety risks.

Foreign Adversary Technology: The possibility that China, Russia, or another nation possessed technology this advanced in 2004 is considered unlikely by most analysts. Such a capability would represent a generational leap beyond any known aerospace technology.

Sensor Errors and Misidentification: Skeptics have proposed that the radar contacts and visual sighting could have been sensor anomalies, atmospheric phenomena, or misidentified conventional objects. However, the case involves multiple independent sensor systems (shipboard radar, pilot visual observation, infrared camera) and multiple trained observers, making a single explanation difficult.

Optical Illusions and Perception Errors: Some researchers suggest the pilots may have misjudged the object's size, distance, and behavior. Aviation psychologists note that distance and scale can be difficult to estimate over featureless ocean. However, the corroborating radar data complicates purely perceptual explanations.

Genuine Unknown Phenomenon: Proponents argue the case represents one of the best-documented encounters with genuinely anomalous technology. The combination of trained military observers, multiple sensor modalities, extended observation time, and official acknowledgment makes it difficult to dismiss.

Current Status

The USS Nimitz encounter remains officially unexplained. The Department of Defense has not publicly released a detailed analysis of the case, and AARO's Historical Record Report Volume I (March 2024) did not address the Nimitz encounter specifically, focusing instead on claims about alleged secret government programs.

Commander Fravor continues to speak publicly about the incident, including testimony before Congress. The case has become central to ongoing UAP policy discussions and was cited during 2023 congressional hearings on unidentified aerial phenomena.

The Pentagon has released three UAP videos total—FLIR1 (Nimitz/Tic Tac), Gimbal, and GoFast—with FLIR1 being the earliest recorded. AARO officially resolved GoFast on February 6, 2025, concluding the object exhibited no anomalous flight characteristics and the apparent speed was due to motion parallax. No official public assessment has provided a conventional explanation for the FLIR1 video or the broader Nimitz encounter.

The incident represents a significant case in UAP research because it combines official government acknowledgment, released sensor footage, named military witnesses willing to testify publicly, and apparent multi-modal detection (radar, visual, infrared). Whether it represents advanced technology, sensor artifacts, or something else entirely remains an open question.