01 / Pacific Ocean off Southern CaliforniaUnidentified in the official release
FLIR1: Nimitz / Tic Tac
A real Navy recording. A much larger witness account.
November 2004 / OFFICIAL VIDEOTHE RECORD / UFO OBSERVATION ROOMORIGINAL FOOTAGE. OPEN QUESTIONS.
Unidentified.
Still worth looking.
Unusual footage, radar reports and photographs with a traceable record. Explore the official releases, the British archive and the explanations that changed a case.
“Unidentified” describes a gap in knowledge. The interesting work begins with the camera, the context and the evidence.
11 OBSERVATION FILES8 OFFICIAL VIDEOS9 REGIONAL PINS
THE GLOBAL RECORDBROWSE EVERY OBSERVATION ↓
Drag to rotate · scroll or use + / − to zoom · arrow keys also rotate. Select a pin or a case below.
Open Explained aspects Contested
Pins mark the disclosed region or a general reported site, never an invented flight path. An explained motion claim does not always identify the object. Broad military locations are approximate; cases with an undisclosed location have no pin.
Made with Natural Earth · public domain map data
OBSERVATION / November 2004Unidentified in the official release
FLIR1: Nimitz / Tic Tac
A real Navy recording. A much larger witness account.
The player loads from the original media host only when requested. Official player & record ↗
- Official record
- NAVAIR FLIR / DVIDS 955825
- Release date
- 2020-04-27
Pacific Ocean off Southern California
Approximate regional marker, not an encounter coordinate
The FLIR recording belongs to the November 2004 Nimitz episode later described to Congress by former Navy commander David Fravor. A targeting sensor tracks a small area of contrast through changes in display mode and magnification. The Pentagon authenticated and officially released the Navy footage in April 2020, describing its subject as unidentified. Fravor's account of a white, elongated object and striking flight behavior is separate eyewitness testimony; he says another crew made the recording after his encounter. That distinction matters: the short video cannot independently establish every maneuver described in the wider account.
THE OBSERVATION INDEXREVIEWED 9 OCTOBER 2026
Follow a point.
Open the record.
11 observations
02 / Recording location not specified in the cited official releaseUnidentified in the official release
Gimbal: the rotating image
The image turns. What turned with it?
January 2015 / OFFICIAL VIDEO03 / Atlantic Ocean off the eastern coast of FloridaSpeed claim resolved; object unidentified
GoFast: speed without the speed
The ocean races past. The object need not.
January 2015 / OFFICIAL VIDEO04 / Middle East; exact location undisclosedUnidentified; no anomalous behavior assessed
The Middle East sphere
A sphere crosses the frame. The identity stays open.
12 July 2022 / OFFICIAL VIDEO05 / Rafael Hernández Airport area, Aguadilla, Puerto RicoMotion resolved; likely sky lanterns
Aguadilla: the apparent sea crossing
One object splits and dives—or two drift over land.
26 April 2013 / OFFICIAL VIDEO06 / Yellow SeaUnresolved report; descriptive release only
Yellow Sea: the star-shaped return
A six-pointed image. No six-pointed craft established.
Recorded in 2025 · released July 2026 / OFFICIAL VIDEO07 / Gulf of OmanUnresolved report; secondary screen capture
Gulf of Oman: the recorded screen
A sensor sees something. A phone records the sensor.
8 September 2021 · released August 2026 / OFFICIAL VIDEO08 / Near Tremonton, Utah, United StatesHistorical observation without conclusive resolution
Tremonton: the surviving 1952 film
Seventy-four years later, the print still has limits.
2 July 1952 · digitization released September 2026 / OFFICIAL VIDEO09 / England / SuffolkDocumented report; explanation contested
Rendlesham Forest: the memo and the lights
A military report survives. The cause of the lights remains disputed.
Late December 1980 · Halt memo dated 13 January 1981 / ARCHIVE RECORD10 / Scotland / Perth and KinrossUnidentified image; context unverified
Calvine: the photograph with missing context
The surviving print is real. What the image depicts is unresolved.
Reported 4 August 1990 · date not independently confirmed / ARCHIVE RECORD11 / Scotland / Wigtownshire and Luce BayDocumented radar report; identity unresolved
West Freugh: the radar echoes left unidentified
The radar report was investigated. Its conclusion did not identify the targets.
April 1957 · month-level date verified in the archive guide / ARCHIVE RECORDNo observations match. Try a broader search or another filter.
READING THE SKYTHE WIDER UAP QUESTION ↗
The frame is
part of the story.
A release is a record.
The war.gov PURSUE collection is an official release programme. It includes genuine sensor footage, submitted reports and material of different provenance. Publication establishes release, not every claim made in a report.
Explore the official releases ↗Motion needs a reference.
A moving camera, zoom, glare and missing distance can change what a video seems to show. Apparent speed or shape is not a measurement until those factors are accounted for.
A case where perspective mattered ↗Open has several meanings.
Insufficient data, analysis in progress and disagreement are different reasons a case can remain open. Official assessments are attributed and dated; no alien probability scores are invented.
How the archive reads evidence ↗This is a curated research snapshot, reviewed 9 October 2026. Video hosts and assessments may change. The full files preserve the source links, the release context and the limits.
OBSERVATION / November 2004Unidentified in the official release
FLIR1: Nimitz / Tic Tac
A real Navy recording. A much larger witness account.
The player loads from the original media host only when requested. Official player & record ↗
- Official record
- NAVAIR FLIR / DVIDS 955825
- Release date
- 2020-04-27
Pacific Ocean off Southern California
Approximate regional marker, not an encounter coordinate
The FLIR recording belongs to the November 2004 Nimitz episode later described to Congress by former Navy commander David Fravor. A targeting sensor tracks a small area of contrast through changes in display mode and magnification. The Pentagon authenticated and officially released the Navy footage in April 2020, describing its subject as unidentified. Fravor's account of a white, elongated object and striking flight behavior is separate eyewitness testimony; he says another crew made the recording after his encounter. That distinction matters: the short video cannot independently establish every maneuver described in the wider account.
OBSERVATION / January 2015Unidentified in the official release
Gimbal: the rotating image
The image turns. What turned with it?
The player loads from the original media host only when requested. Official player & record ↗
- Official record
- NAVAIR GIMBAL / DVIDS 956955
- Release date
- 2020-04-27
Recording location not specified in the cited official release
No map pin: cited primary record does not specify an encounter location
Gimbal is one of the three Navy videos the Pentagon officially released in April 2020. The infrared display shows a dark, apparently flattened shape that rotates within the sensor view, accompanied by crew audio. The release authenticated the footage and characterized the phenomenon as unidentified. It did not conclude that a physical craft rotated, identify the target, or publish a definitive account of its motion. The distinction between an object's behavior and the appearance produced by a moving imaging system is central to reading this clip. The cited NAVAIR catalog supplies no useful encounter coordinates, so this record has no globe pin.
OBSERVATION / January 2015Speed claim resolved; object unidentified
GoFast: speed without the speed
The ocean races past. The object need not.
The player loads from the original media host only when requested. Official player & record ↗
- Official record
- NAVAIR GOFAST / DVIDS 956683
- Release date
- 2020-04-27
- Assessment date
- 2025-02-06
Atlantic Ocean off the eastern coast of Florida
Approximate regional marker, not an encounter coordinate
GoFast appears to show a small object racing close to the sea. AARO's February 2025 analysis reached a different conclusion: the target was approximately 13,000 feet above the Atlantic off Florida, and the apparent rapid movement was affected by viewing geometry and parallax. Accounting for the wind, its assessed speed range was roughly 5 to 92 mph. AARO expressed high confidence that the object displayed no anomalous performance characteristics, while explicitly saying it could not definitively identify it. This is a resolution of the dramatic speed interpretation, not a complete identification of everything visible in the frame.
OBSERVATION / 12 July 2022Unidentified; no anomalous behavior assessed
The Middle East sphere
A sphere crosses the frame. The identity stays open.
The player loads from the original media host only when requested. Official player & record ↗
- Official record
- Middle East Object / DVIDS 880273
- Release date
- 2023-04-19
Middle East; exact location undisclosed
No map pin: the public source names only the Middle East
An MQ-9 recorded an apparently silver, orb-like object crossing its field of view in the Middle East. AARO director Sean Kirkpatrick presented the clip at an open Senate hearing in April 2023. The official description is unusually clear about the boundary of the finding: AARO did not assess the object as exhibiting anomalous behavior, but could not identify it from the available material. It retained the case in its active archive pending additional information. The short recording is compelling because it preserves an observation while also showing how little a brief image can tell investigators about the thing being observed.
OBSERVATION / 26 April 2013Motion resolved; likely sky lanterns
Aguadilla: the apparent sea crossing
One object splits and dives—or two drift over land.
The player loads from the original media host only when requested. Official player & record ↗
- Official record
- Puerto Rico Objects / DVIDS 944204
- Release date
- 2024-11-19
- Assessment date
- 2025-03-20
Rafael Hernández Airport area, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
Approximate airport-area marker, not a reconstructed target position
A Customs and Border Protection aircraft recorded infrared footage near Aguadilla that appeared to show fast movement, an object splitting, and a passage into the sea. AARO's reconstruction instead found two objects traveling together at wind speed over land, without entering the water. Its March 2025 report assessed with high confidence that there was no anomalous behavior or movement between air and water, and with moderate confidence that the targets were a pair of sky lanterns. The video remains fascinating as a demonstration of how an aircraft's changing position, distance and viewing angle can transform an ordinary track into a dramatic visual story.
OBSERVATION / Recorded in 2025 · released July 2026Unresolved report; descriptive release only
Yellow Sea: the star-shaped return
A six-pointed image. No six-pointed craft established.
The player loads from the original media host only when requested. Official player & record ↗
- Official record
- DOW-UAP-PR104 / DVIDS 1014101
- Release date
- 2026-07-10
Yellow Sea
Approximate sea-region marker, not an encounter coordinate
Released in the July 2026 PURSUE collection, this short infrared recording follows an area of contrast over the Yellow Sea. AARO's official description says that its appearance resembles a six-pointed star and that the sensor pans to keep it near the center of the display. The entry remains an unresolved UAP report. Crucially, its description is not an analytical determination of the target's validity, nature or significance. A distinctive sensor return is a reason to examine an image closely; it does not establish that the physical object has that shape, or that the recording shows unusual propulsion or flight performance.
OBSERVATION / 8 September 2021 · released August 2026Unresolved report; secondary screen capture
Gulf of Oman: the recorded screen
A sensor sees something. A phone records the sensor.
The player loads from the original media host only when requested. Official player & record ↗
- Official record
- DOW-UAP-PR117 / DVIDS 1017793
- Release date
- 2026-08-07
Gulf of Oman
Approximate gulf-region marker, not an encounter coordinate
This August 2026 release comes with a provenance detail that changes how it should be watched. PR117 is a cellphone recording of an infrared display aboard an AC-130J gunship, rather than the original sensor data. U.S. Central Command supplied the material, and AARO says it belongs to a contemporaneous sequence spanning PR117 through PR122. The accompanying report described cold-looking orbs, but the released description does not turn those reported dimensions or appearances into verified measurements. This fragment shows an area of contrast staying near the sensor's center. Its interest lies partly in the observation and partly in how much information the recording process loses.
OBSERVATION / 2 July 1952 · digitization released September 2026Historical observation without conclusive resolution
Tremonton: the surviving 1952 film
Seventy-four years later, the print still has limits.
At approximately 00:55 the surviving print switches to unrelated sewing-equipment material. This is a new public digitization of historical footage, not a newly recorded encounter. Official player & record ↗
- Official record
- DOW-UAP-PR159 / DVIDS 1023402
- Release date
- 2026-09-18
Near Tremonton, Utah, United States
Approximate town-area marker; filming site not established by the cited release
In July 1952, Navy warrant officer Delbert Newhouse filmed bright airborne objects near Tremonton with a handheld 16 mm camera. The film entered the Air Force's UFO investigation record and was later examined in Project Blue Book. AARO's September 2026 release digitizes a surviving print, describing its limited detail and missing fixed reference points as obstacles to a conclusive resolution. The physical record has its own mystery: after approximately 55 seconds, it switches to unrelated sewing-equipment footage. AARO says the available record does not establish how the materials were combined. An official archival release preserves this uncertainty rather than solving the original sighting.
OBSERVATION / Late December 1980 · Halt memo dated 13 January 1981Documented report; explanation contested
Rendlesham Forest: the memo and the lights
A military report survives. The cause of the lights remains disputed.
DOCUMENT / PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORD
This case is included for its surviving records. No verified original video is embedded.
Open the original record ↗England / Suffolk
Approximate Rendlesham Forest area; not a verified light, landing or camera position. Date is month-level because the checked archive guide describes two nights late in December.
US airmen reported unusual lights near RAF Woodbridge in December 1980. Deputy base commander Charles Halt later took a group into the forest and made a live tape recording; his memorandum of 13 January 1981 is preserved in the official files. That establishes a documented military report. It does not settle what caused every observation. In a 2001 parliamentary answer, the MoD said its contemporary records documented no unusual radar returns and that it had no evidence of other official USAF documentation. The reported close encounter and the limits of the surviving record must be read together.
OBSERVATION / Reported 4 August 1990 · date not independently confirmedUnidentified image; context unverified
Calvine: the photograph with missing context
The surviving print is real. What the image depicts is unresolved.
DOCUMENT / PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORD
This case is included for its surviving records. No verified original video is embedded.
Open the original record ↗Scotland / Perth and Kinross
Approximate Calvine village-area marker for the reported locality. The university analysis cannot establish the photograph’s actual location; this is not a camera position.
A print associated with a reported 4 August 1990 sighting near Calvine was retained by former RAF press officer Craig Lindsay and donated to Sheffield Hallam University in 2022. Photographer Andrew Robinson examined the print, related photocopies and its envelope. His 2024 report concludes that it is a genuine copy of the image considered by the MoD, with no evidence of negative or print manipulation. He also states that the print cannot independently establish its date or location and that available data cannot identify the object. Authentic photographic material is not the same as a verified extraordinary craft.
OBSERVATION / April 1957 · month-level date verified in the archive guideDocumented radar report; identity unresolved
West Freugh: the radar echoes left unidentified
The radar report was investigated. Its conclusion did not identify the targets.
DOCUMENT / PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORD
This case is included for its surviving records. No verified original video is embedded.
Open the original record ↗Scotland / Wigtownshire and Luce Bay
Approximate public West Freugh range-area marker. It is not a reconstructed radar track or an exact position of an observed target.
In April 1957, trailer-mounted radar units associated with RAF West Freugh’s bombing range reported unusual targets. The National Archives identifies the relevant Air Ministry records, including AIR 2/18564, AIR 20/9320 and AIR 20/9321. Its briefing describes a technical report concluding that five reflecting objects remained unidentified and that several ordinary explanations were considered unlikely. This is a strong example of a documented radar investigation reaching an unresolved conclusion. It does not independently establish the targets’ construction, exceptional performance or origin, and the globe marker shows the reporting area rather than a supposed craft position.