Case · C-080
GOFAST video: according to AARO the object was at 13,000 feet and slow, not skimming the water
Atlantic Ocean, off the east coast of Florida · United States · Jan 21, 2015
In flight Pilots Video
Explained
- What happened
- The video, recorded with the infrared sensor of an F/A-18 from the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group off the east coast of Florida, appears to show a small object streaking a few meters above the ocean surface; the Navy dates it to January 21, 2015 and the Department of Defense officially published it on April 27, 2020. On November 19, 2024, AARO director Jon Kosloski presented to the Senate a geometric reconstruction according to which the object was flying at about 13,000 feet and at about 39 knots, with winds of about 60 knots at that altitude. AARO specifies that the exact position cannot be determined because precise position data for the aircraft are missing; in the slides the event is dated January 2016, in contrast with the date provided by the Navy.
- Proposed explanation
- AARO assesses with high confidence that the object had no anomalous speed or behavior and that it was not near the water: the high apparent speed is said to be a parallax effect. Mick West (Metabunk) had already calculated in 2018 a low speed, consistent with a balloon; in the book “Imminent” (2024) Luis Elizondo had disputed the low-speed estimates by citing the pilots' astonishment.
- Official investigation
- U.S. Navy; Department of Defense; AARO
Official documents
- AARO Case Slides (Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities hearing) · All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) · Nov 19, 2024
- Statement by the Department of Defense on the Release of Historical Navy Videos · U.S. Department of Defense · Apr 27, 2020
Sources
- DefenseScoop, AARO briefs the Senate on the GO FAST, Puerto Rico and Etna cases (November 19, 2024) (press)
- The Debrief, “We Do Have Some Very Anomalous Objects” – Kosloski hearing (November 19, 2024) (press, pro-disclosure)
- Mick West, “Explained: The Navy UFO Videos” (Metabunk, April 27, 2020) (analysis, skeptical)
- Mick West, factual errors in Elizondo's “Imminent” on GIMBAL, FLIR1, GOFAST and Aguadilla (Metabunk, August 23, 2024) (analysis, skeptical)
On this site
People 3
Claims 3
- Luis Elizondo: Describes the object in the GOFAST video as rounded, smooth and egg-shaped and disputes the estimates that… Contradicted
- Luis Elizondo: Announces that To The Stars Academy intends to release previously unpublished footage from real U.S… Partly verified
- Luis Elizondo: Claims under oath that the GOFAST, GIMBAL and FLIR videos were part of the work of the AATIP program of… Partly verified
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