GoFast UAP

📅 Overview

In January or February 2015, off the US East Coast, an F/A-18F Super Hornet from USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) captured FLIR thermal footage of an unidentified aerial phenomenon. The object appeared to move very rapidly above the ocean surface, earning the name "GoFast." This is one of three videos officially released by the Pentagon on April 27, 2020, and is AARO's first definitively analyzed case.

🔍 Video Content

• F/A-18F ATFLIR thermal camera
• 35-second clip
• Small luminous object above the ocean surface
• Excited pilot commentary ("WHOO! Got it!")

🔬 Official AARO Analysis — Parallax Effect

2023 AARO analysis (Case Resolution Card Methodology report):

The object was not actually fast. Apparent rapid motion explained by:

1. F/A-18 itself moving fast (Mach 0.61, ~458 mph)
2. Object drifting at wind speed (~30–40 mph)
3. Camera gimbal tracking + background parallax = perception of fast motion

This is an inherent 3D-to-2D camera projection limitation combined with gimbal tracking pattern. AARO classified the object as a balloon or atmospheric drifter.

::div{class="callout success"} The only Pentagon-released video with official resolution — clearly analyzed in AARO Case Resolution Report. ::

🛂 Official Processing

• 2020-04-27: Pentagon official release (one of three)
• 2023: AARO Case Resolution Card Methodology report published
• Classified as balloon/drifter → officially resolved

📺 Significance

• AARO's first definitively analyzed case — demonstrates visual impression vs physical reality
• Counter-example to "Pentagon video = alien craft" equation — some videos can be explained naturally
• Increases AARO analytical credibility
• FLIR1 and Gimbal remain unresolved — emphasizes case-by-case analysis

📚 References

• AARO GoFast Case Resolution Card Methodology
• Wikipedia: Pentagon UFO videos

🛂 Modern Assessment

The GoFast video is the most physically analyzable of the three. Mick West's parallax analysis (2018) reconstructed:

• Actual speed: ~30–40 mph (not the apparent "extreme velocity")
• Object likely: a balloon or seabird flying at low altitude
• Optical illusion from the aircraft's high-speed tracking

The Pentagon has not officially endorsed West's analysis but also has not refuted it. The "extreme speed over water" interpretation popularized by To The Stars Academy contradicts standard parallax mechanics — making GoFast the weakest of the three Navy videos for UFO advocacy.

📷 Related Photographs