Summary
A U.S. Navy F/A-18 filmed an oval object flying into the wind while rotating about its own axis. Officially released by the DoD in 2020; AARO still lists it as unresolved.
Detail
Background. In early 2015, in training airspace off the U.S. East Coast, an F/A-18 crew attached to the USS Theodore Roosevelt captured an unidentified object on the aircraft's ATFLIR infrared pod.
The encounter. The footage shows an oval object with no obvious aerodynamic surfaces moving steadily into roughly 120-knot winds at about 25,000 feet, while slowly rotating about its own axis. The crew can be heard reacting with surprise, one saying "look at that thing" as a whole formation.
Technical analysis. Gimbal is the most technically contested of the three official videos: whether the rotation is the object itself turning, or a glare artifact of the pod's optics, remains unsettled. Those arguing for genuine rotation say the motion fits no known aircraft; skeptics explain it via the imaging behavior of a gimbal-mounted camera.
Aftermath. Along with Tic-Tac and GoFast, Gimbal was surfaced by the media in 2017 and officially confirmed as authentic Navy footage by the DoD in 2020. AARO has not explained it and retains the "unresolved" designation.
Footage
Technical detail
| Altitude | ~25,000 ft |
| Wind | ~120 kt (headwind) |
| Sensor | AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR |
| Platform | F/A-18 · USS Theodore Roosevelt |
| AARO status | Unresolved |
