UAP Reports
Gimbal and GoFast UAP Videos
GIMBAL and GOFAST UAP videos — 2015 USS Roosevelt Navy files, disclosure debates and link to congressional UAP hearings.
In 2015, according to released U.S. Navy footage, pilots operating from the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group recorded infrared videos of unidentified objects that became known as 'GIMBAL' and 'GOFAST'. The Department of Defense later confirmed the videos' authenticity alongside the 2004 Nimitz 'Tic Tac' recording. This article describes what the footage shows, pilot reactions captured on audio, skeptical analyses and how the releases shaped congressional UAP hearings in 2023. No extraterrestrial origin has been established.
Post-Nimitz reporting environment
After the 2004 USS Nimitz encounter, aviators and intelligence personnel developed informal channels to share anomalous observations, though stigma persisted. S. East Coast hosted dense traffic from military, commercial and recreational aircraft, complicating identification. By 2014–2015 the Roosevelt group conducted exercises where radar and FLIR systems again flagged unusual tracks. The environment differed from 2004's open-ocean setting — more congested airspace increases both misidentification risk and the pool of potential unknowns.
Post-Nimitz reporting environment: Understanding that context helps
Understanding that context helps evaluate GIMBAL and GOFAST without treating them as isolated from broader UAP reporting reforms.
The GIMBAL video
The GIMBAL clip shows a rotating object with a glowing aura as seen through an AN/ASQ-228 Advanced Targeting Forward-Looking Infrared (ATFLIR) pod. Pilots audibly react — one comments that the object appears to have a fleet of similar contacts and another suggests a possible drone. The object appears to rotate on an axis while the camera gimbal stabilizes, producing the nickname.
The GIMBAL video: Analyst Mick West argued
Analyst Mick West argued that glare from a distant jet engine and parallax from the rotating gimbal could explain apparent rotation without exotic physics. Proponents note pilot surprise and multi-sensor context as evidence the contact was not immediately identified as conventional traffic. The video alone does not establish speed, distance or propulsion method without additional metadata often withheld from public release.
The GOFAST video
GOFAST depicts a small object skimming above water with an on-screen velocity readout that appears extremely high relative to surface reference. Skeptics including West demonstrated that automatic range estimation errors in ATFLIR can misstate speed when lock-on distance is wrong — if the object is closer and slower, apparent velocity drops dramatically. The footage nonetheless documents an unidentified track during operational training. Pilots and analysts debate whether the object represents a balloon, bird, distant aircraft or genuinely anomalous kinematics.
The GOFAST video: with GIMBAL, public debate
As with GIMBAL, public debate exceeds publicly available sensor metadata, limiting independent replication of official calculations.
Official release and chain of custody
Filmmaker Tom DeLonge's To the Stars Academy and journalists including Helene Cooper and Ralph Blumenthal at The New York Times helped bring the videos to public attention in 2017 alongside Nimitz FLIR1. The Pentagon confirmed authenticity in 2019–2020 statements, acknowledging the footage originated from Navy systems without releasing full classification reviews. Release timing intersected with congressional interest that culminated in 2023 hearings featuring Nimitz pilot David Fravor.
Official release and chain of custody: GIMBAL and GOFAST therefore
GIMBAL and GOFAST therefore function as bridge evidence between the 2004 benchmark case and contemporary policy debate — authenticated military video without public resolution of identity.
AATIP and reporting channels
The Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) and successor efforts collected military UAP reports during the period these videos were recorded. Former program participants stated that Roosevelt-era incidents were among cases forwarded for analysis. Navy guidance later formalized reporting procedures encouraging smaller objects observed during training. Whether AATIP reached conclusions about GIMBAL or GOFAST remains largely classified; public discourse relies on video and pilot voice overlays.
AATIP and reporting channels: reporting pipeline illustrates in…
The reporting pipeline illustrates institutional shift from ridicule toward documentation, even when analysis outcomes stay secret.
Skeptical and technical analyses
Technical skeptics focus on sensor geometry: gimbal roll coupling, infrared bloom around hot engines, auto-track lock errors and lack of range data in released clips. They argue pilots — though trained — can misinterpret unfamiliar optical artifacts under time pressure. Proponents counter that multiple incidents across years and platforms reduce a single-artifact explanation. Scientific consensus requires reproducible measurement; cropped declassified video does not substitute for full telemetry.
Skeptical and technical analyses: Both sides agree the
Both sides agree the objects were unidentified to operators at capture time; they disagree on whether conventional identification would follow complete data release.
Policy impact and 2023 hearings
GIMBAL and GOFAST appear frequently in congressional slide decks and witness prepared remarks as examples of modern military UAP footage. They support arguments for aviator safety, data retention and cross-platform sensor fusion. The 2023 House Oversight hearing did not authenticate new analysis of these clips but treated them as background to whistleblower allegations about crash retrieval — a separate evidential tier.
Policy impact and 2023 hearings: Policy outcomes — reporting
Policy outcomes — reporting mandates, AARO historical reviews — reference the video era beginning with Nimitz and continuing through Roosevelt releases as justification for sustained oversight.
Comparison with the Tic Tac case
Nimitz 2004 offers radar cueing, multiple aircrew visual confirmation and a longer public witness record. GIMBAL and GOFAST provide shorter infrared segments with audible pilot commentary but less accompanying radar narrative in open sources. Together they form a trilogy of declassified Navy FLIR UAP footage cited worldwide. Researchers use the comparison to teach evidence grading: all three remain unidentified in public record, yet differ in multi-sensor completeness and witness depth.
Comparison with the Tic Tac case: Neither trilogy member proves
Neither trilogy member proves extraterrestrial visitation; collectively they shifted UAP from fringe topic toward aviation safety discourse.
Legacy in UAP research
GIMBAL and GOFAST remain staples of documentary filmmaking and public science communication about UAP. They anchor the post-2017 disclosure narrative alongside the 2021 Pentagon preliminary assessment and 2023 congressional testimony. Future resolution — if conventional identification enters public record — could change interpretation without altering historical significance of authenticated release. For now they stand as operational military records of unidentified infrared contacts, debated fiercely within limits of declassified material.
Legacy in UAP research: See also tic-tac-ufo, pentagon-ua…
See also tic-tac-ufo, pentagon-uap-report-2021, what-is-uap and david-grusch for Roosevelt-era FLIR context within modern UAP programs.
Important note
There is no scientific confirmation of these claims. This article presents reports, theories and hypotheses for educational purposes.
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- #gofast
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- #uap
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- #documentary
- #2015
Written and reviewed by
Galactic Editorial Team
Editorial Team
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Frequently asked questions
They are declassified infrared videos recorded during 2015 USS Theodore Roosevelt training exercises and authenticated by the Pentagon alongside the Nimitz Tic Tac footage.
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