Gimbal UFO Video 2015
Date of sighting: 2015
Location of sighting: Taken aboard a Navy fighter jet from the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, off the eastern seaboard, near the Florida coast
Source: U.S. Navy
Details: GIMBAL is the first of three US military videos of unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP) that has been through the official declassification review process of the United States government and has been approved for public release. GIMBAL is a product of one of the most sophisticated tracking systems on US military aircraft. It was captured by a US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet using the Raytheon AN/ASQ-228 Advanced Targeting Forward-Looking Infrared (ATFLIR) pod. The ATFLIR contains the most advanced sensors and powerful tracking lasers on the market and must be operated by a weapons sensor operator who the military trains at a cost of millions. The ATFLIR has high resolution and can locate and designate targets at distances exceeding 40 nautical miles.
The date, location, and other information have been removed by the originating authority as part of the release approval process.
From : US Navy FOIA Documents
Source Post: Source Post
History Channel link : here
NY Times Article : here
NBC News Article : here
Fox News Article : here
Gimbal: The First Official UAP Footage from the USG for Public Release
From : To The Stars Academy
Source Post: Source Post
Gimbal: The First Official UAP Footage from the USG for Public Release - with additional content from To The Stars Academy
Summary
The "Gimbal" video is one of three UAP videos officially declassified and released by the U.S. Department of Defense. Recorded on January 20–21, 2015, by an F/A-18 Super Hornet using the AN/ASQ-228 Advanced Targeting Forward-Looking Infrared (ATFLIR) pod. The encounter occurred during training operations with the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group off the East Coast of the United States, near Florida.
The footage shows an unidentified object that appears to rotate while the pilots report a “whole fleet” of similar objects operating in the area.
Verified Timeline
- Late 2014 – Early 2015: Pilots assigned to the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group begin reporting frequent unidentified aerial objects during routine training missions off the East Coast. Several aircrews describe objects that appeared on advanced radar and posed potential flight safety concerns.
- January 20–21, 2015: An F/A-18 crew locks onto one of the objects with their ATFLIR targeting pod and records infrared video. The pilots observe the object apparently rotating and comment on the presence of multiple additional objects.
- April 27, 2020: The Department of Defense officially releases the “Gimbal,” “GoFast,” and 2004 “FLIR1” videos, confirming they are authentic U.S. Navy footage.
Key Audio from the Cockpit (Verified)
The pilots’ radio communications captured on the video include the following statements:
- “Look at that thing, dude!”
- “It’s rotating!”
- “There’s a whole fleet of them… They’re all going against the wind. The wind’s 120 knots to the west.”
The object maintains a relatively steady altitude while exhibiting this apparent rotation.
Technical Details
- Aircraft: F/A-18F Super Hornet
- Sensor: AN/ASQ-228 Advanced Targeting Forward-Looking Infrared (ATFLIR) pod
- Location: Atlantic Ocean, off the southeastern coast of the United States (associated with USS Theodore Roosevelt)
- Official Status: Authenticated and publicly released by the Pentagon in 2020
Lt. Ryan Graves, a Navy F/A-18 pilot who flew in this squadron during the period, has publicly described persistent UAP activity in the operating area, including multiple near-miss incidents that raised serious flight safety concerns.
Why This Case Matters
The Gimbal video, together with the 2004 Nimitz “FLIR1” encounter, brought significant attention to UAP incursions into military training ranges. These incidents highlighted how advanced sensor systems on modern fighter aircraft continue to detect aerial objects that trained military pilots could not readily identify.
The repeated nature of the East Coast encounters contributed to growing internal Navy concern and played a role in the eventual push for more formal UAP reporting procedures and the establishment of dedicated investigation offices, including what later became the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).
Note: While various skeptical explanations have been proposed (including camera artifacts and distant aircraft), the video remains officially released by the Department of Defense as part of its UAP transparency efforts.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Defense Official Statement (April 27, 2020)
- NAVAIR FOIA Reading Room – Original Gimbal video
- Public statements and interviews with Lt. Ryan Graves
- The War Zone and The New York Times reporting on the East Coast Navy UAP incidents
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