The Tic Tac UFO: USS Nimitz Encounter

On November 14, 2004, U.S. Navy pilots from the USS Nimitz carrier group encountered an unidentified aerial phenomenon off the coast of San Diego that defied explanation. The object—described as a white, Tic Tac-shaped craft approximately 40 feet long—demonstrated flight characteristics far beyond any known technology. The encounter was captured on radar and infrared video, witnessed by multiple trained observers, and remained classified until its public release in 2017 sparked renewed interest in UFOs at the highest levels of government.

The Carrier Strike Group

The USS Nimitz

In November 2004, the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group was conducting training exercises off the coast of Southern California before a scheduled deployment to the Persian Gulf. The group included:

• USS Nimitz (CVN-68) — A Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier
• USS Princeton (CG-59) — An Aegis-class guided missile cruiser with advanced radar
• Multiple escort vessels and submarines
• F/A-18 Super Hornet squadrons

The Princeton’s SPY-1 radar system was among the most sophisticated in the world—designed to track hundreds of targets simultaneously.

The Radar Anomalies

Two Weeks of Strange Contacts

For approximately two weeks before November 14, the USS Princeton’s radar operators had been tracking unusual objects:

Characteristics:

• Objects appeared at high altitude (approximately 80,000 feet)
• They descended rapidly to near sea level
• Then hovered or moved slowly
• Radar tracks were intermittent—objects would disappear and reappear

Senior Chief Operations Specialist Kevin Day tracked the objects and became convinced they were real, not radar glitches. The Aegis system was designed to filter out false returns—these contacts persisted.

When Day reported the contacts to superiors, he was initially told they might be atmospheric interference. But the patterns were too consistent, too purposeful.

November 14, 2004

The Intercept

On the morning of November 14, 2004, radar tracked another contact near the carrier group. A decision was made to investigate.

The Pilots:

Two F/A-18F Super Hornets were directed to intercept:

Black Aces 143:

• Commander David Fravor — Executive Officer of VFA-41
• Lieutenant Commander Alex Dietrich — Wingman

Black Aces 144:

• Two additional pilots whose names haven’t been publicized

The Vector:

The pilots were directed toward the contact. When they asked what they were looking for, the controller responded: “Unknown.”

What They Found

The pilots arrived at the coordinates and saw something unusual on the water surface—a disturbance, as if something was churning beneath the waves.

Then they saw the object.

Commander Fravor’s Description:

“It was a white object, oblong, shaped like a Tic Tac. About 40 feet long. No wings. No rotors. No visible propulsion. No exhaust.”

The object was approximately 50 feet above the water, moving erratically above the ocean disturbance.

The Engagement

Fravor decided to investigate. He descended toward the object.

What Happened Next:

As Fravor descended in a circular pattern, the object began to mirror his movement—ascending in what he described as a “race track” pattern to meet him.

“It was aware of us. It knew we were there.”

When Fravor committed to the intercept and descended aggressively toward the object, the Tic Tac accelerated and disappeared.

The Acceleration:

The object went from a near hover to out of visual range in less than two seconds. Fravor estimated the acceleration at speeds that would kill a human pilot and destroy any conventional aircraft.

The CAP Point

The controller on the Princeton vectored the pilots to their “CAP point”—a predetermined rendezvous location 60 miles away.

When they arrived, the object was already there.

It had somehow known their destination and beaten them to it despite their high speed. This detail disturbed Fravor more than any other.

The FLIR Video

The Second Intercept

Shortly after Fravor’s encounter, another pair of F/A-18s was launched. This flight included a pilot who would capture the now-famous video.

Lieutenant Chad Underwood was in the backseat of an F/A-18 with a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) camera system.

The FLIR1 Video:

The video, later released by the Pentagon, shows:

• A small, bright object against a cooler background
• The object rotating
• It appearing to move without conventional flight surfaces
• The tracking system struggling to maintain lock
• The object suddenly accelerating left and out of frame

Underwood reported the object exhibited “no normal flight modes”—no traditional propulsion signatures.

The Investigation

Immediate Aftermath

After the encounter:

• Pilot reports were filed
• The FLIR video was logged
• Radar data was preserved
• Intelligence debriefs occurred

The encounter was treated as significant but was not made public.

Classification

The incident was classified. For 13 years, the Nimitz encounter remained largely unknown outside military circles.

The 2017 Revelations

In December 2017, The New York Times published an exposé revealing:

• The Pentagon had maintained a secret UFO investigation program called AATIP (Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program)
• The Nimitz encounter was one of several significant cases studied
• The FLIR1 video was declassified and released

The story sparked renewed public and governmental interest in UFOs/UAPs.

Pentagon Confirmation

The Pentagon officially confirmed the video’s authenticity in 2020. They classified the object as an Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP), acknowledging they could not explain what the pilots encountered.

Analysis

Flight Characteristics

The Tic Tac demonstrated capabilities that exceed known human technology:

Trans-medium Travel: The ocean disturbance suggested the object might have been moving between air and water.

Extreme Acceleration: From hover to hypersonic speed in seconds, with no visible propulsion.

Instantaneous Direction Changes: 90-degree turns at high speed without banking or deceleration.

No Visible Propulsion: No wings, rotors, exhaust, or control surfaces.

Apparent Awareness: The object seemed to know where the pilots intended to go.

What Could It Be?

Advanced U.S. Technology: Could this be a secret American craft? If so:

• Why would it be tested against Navy pilots who weren’t briefed?
• How could such technology remain secret for 20+ years?
• The physics suggest propulsion systems we don’t publicly possess

Foreign Technology: Russia or China with advanced craft? The technology demonstrated exceeds what any nation is believed to possess by decades.

Extraterrestrial: A craft of non-human origin. The flight characteristics suggest technology based on physics we don’t understand.

Unknown Natural Phenomenon: Some atmospheric or optical phenomenon. Doesn’t explain the radar contacts, FLIR video, or multiple visual observers.

The Witnesses

David Fravor

Commander Fravor retired from the Navy in 2006 after 18 years of service. He has spoken publicly about the encounter numerous times, consistently maintaining his account.

“I can tell you, I think it was not from this world. I’m not crazy, haven’t been abducted. I think it’s something way more advanced than anything we have.”

Alex Dietrich

Commander Dietrich initially stayed quiet but has since confirmed the encounter and her observations. She describes the object as something she still can’t explain.

Kevin Day

Senior Chief Day has discussed how the radar contacts affected him, leading to significant psychological impact as he grappled with the implications.

Chad Underwood

Lieutenant Underwood has given limited interviews, confirming the video authenticity and the unusual nature of the object’s movement.

Legacy

Government Action

The Nimitz encounter contributed to:

• Renewed Congressional interest in UAPs
• Official Navy guidelines for reporting UAP sightings
• Congressional hearings on UAPs in 2022-2023
• Establishment of official UAP investigation offices

Cultural Impact

The Tic Tac has become the most famous UFO case of the modern era:

• The video has been viewed millions of times
• It has been analyzed by scientists, pilots, and researchers worldwide
• It represents a shift toward mainstream acceptance that something unexplained is in our skies

The Question

On November 14, 2004, the most sophisticated radar systems in the world tracked an object. The best trained pilots on Earth chased it. High-resolution infrared cameras filmed it.

And we still don’t know what it was.

The Tic Tac UFO represents either the most significant evidence of non-human technology ever captured—or the most sophisticated secret project in human history.

Either answer changes everything.

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“It was not of this world.” Commander David Fravor has said those words multiple times since 2004. He saw something impossible that day over the Pacific—something that performed maneuvers our physics says are impossible. The Pentagon has admitted they don’t know what it was. Two decades later, the question remains: Who—or what—was piloting the Tic Tac?