Gimbal UAP (USS Theodore Roosevelt)

📅 Overview

On January 20, 2015, off the US East Coast (near Jacksonville, Florida), an F/A-18F Super Hornet aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) captured infrared (FLIR) footage of a rotating unidentified aerial phenomenon. This is one of three UAP videos officially released by the Pentagon on April 27, 2020 (alongside FLIR1 and GoFast).

🔍 Video Analysis

Recording medium:

• F/A-18F ATFLIR (Advanced Targeting Forward-Looking Infrared) pod
• Duration: 34 seconds
• Resolution: 1280x1024 IR

Key visual elements:

• Small, rotating object — clockwise rotation
• Multiple other objects (formation pattern) visible in background
• Pilot comment: "There's a whole fleet of them!"
• Behavior inconsistent with conventional aircraft

🤔 The Core Debate: Gimbal Lock vs Real Rotation

This video differs from FLIR1/GoFast in that the object appears to rotate. Two interpretations:

1. Actual rotation (UAP proponents):

• Object itself rotates within F/A-18 camera view
• Conventional aircraft do not fly this way

2. Gimbal-lock illusion (skeptics):

• ATFLIR pod is gimbal-mounted; camera mount rotation can create apparent object rotation
• Primary analysis by Mick West and others

Current status: Both interpretations actively debated. AARO has not issued definitive analysis.

🛂 Disclosure and Follow-up

• 2020-04-27: Pentagon official release
• AARO investigation ongoing — no published conclusion
• 2023 Congressional testimony from Ryan Graves (former VFA-11 pilot): "saw similar objects nearly daily"

📺 Impact

• Second of three Pentagon official releases
• "Fleet of them" pilot comment indicates pattern, not single event
• Unresolved AARO case — analysis ongoing

📚 References

• Wikipedia: Pentagon UFO videos
• AARO Case Resolution Reports
• Pentagon Gimbal official video (2020-04-27)

🛂 Modern Assessment

The Gimbal video is the most controversial of the three Navy videos in terms of interpretation. The "rotating object" debate is central:

• Mick West (skeptic): argues the rotation is a camera artifact from the FLIR pod's gimbal mechanism — the object itself is a distant jet
• Naval pilots (Lt. Cmdr. Alex Dietrich, etc.): report the object's actual physical rotation was observed visually, not just on the FLIR feed

Without raw radar data or additional sensor verification, the debate remains unresolved. The 2020 Pentagon release with official "unidentified" classification still stands.

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