Within To the Stars
What the Navy Videos Actually Proved
Official confirmation proved the clips were genuine Navy recordings, but it did not establish alien craft or extraordinary technology.
On this page
- How TTSA introduced FLIR 1, Gimbal and Go Fast
- What official authentication confirmed
- Why identification still required missing sensor data
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Introduction
The three infrared videos known as FLIR1, Gimbal and Go Fast became the most influential public contribution associated with To the Stars Academy (TTSA). By helping bring the recordings into public view in 2017 and 2018, TTSA shifted discussion of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) from niche UFO circles into mainstream news, military reporting and eventually congressional attention. What made the videos significant, however, was not proof of extraordinary technology. Their importance lay in a narrower but still notable fact: the US Navy and later the Department of Defense confirmed that the recordings were authentic military footage depicting objects or sensor tracks that had not been identified at the time of the encounters. That official authentication established the origin of the videos, not the nature of the objects they showed.[UAP Records Archive]uap-archive.orgOpen source on uap-archive.org.
Understanding that distinction is essential. Authentic military footage can still have multiple possible explanations, particularly when only short infrared clips are available without the complete radar data, flight logs, electronic sensor information and classified contextual material that investigators normally use to identify aircraft or other objects.
How TTSA introduced FLIR1, Gimbal and Go Fast
TTSA did not create the recordings. The footage originated from US Navy aircraft during separate incidents in 2004 and 2015.
- FLIR1 was recorded during the well-known USS Nimitz training exercise in November 2004.
- Gimbal was recorded from an F/A-18 Super Hornet during East Coast operations in January 2015.
- Go Fast was recorded during another East Coast training mission in 2015.
The videos first entered wide public circulation through reporting by The New York Times and Politico, alongside releases promoted by TTSA. Former defence officials associated with the organisation, particularly Luis Elizondo and Christopher Mellon, argued that the recordings deserved serious investigation because trained military personnel had been unable to identify what their sensors had detected.[UAP Records Archive]uap-archive.orgOpen source on uap-archive.org.
This combination of celebrity visibility through Tom DeLonge and apparent institutional credibility through former government officials gave the footage an audience far beyond the traditional UFO community.
What official authentication actually confirmed
A common misunderstanding is that the Navy “confirmed UFOs” or “confirmed alien spacecraft.” That is not what happened.
In 2019, Navy spokesperson Joseph Gradisher confirmed that the three circulating videos were genuine Navy recordings and stated that the Navy regarded the phenomena depicted as unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP). Importantly, he also said the Navy had not released any official hypothesis or conclusion about what the objects were.[The Black Vault]theblackvault.comThe Black VaultU.S. Navy Confirms Videos Depict ‘Unidentified Aerial Phenomena’; Not Cleared For Public Release - The Black Vault…
The distinction became even clearer in April 2020 when the Department of Defense officially released the videos. According to the Pentagon, the release was intended to dispel public confusion over whether the circulating footage was authentic. The Department stated that the aerial phenomena shown in the videos remained characterised as unidentified, but it did not attribute them to extraterrestrial technology, advanced secret aircraft or any other specific cause.[Disclosure Archives]disclosurearchives.comDisclosure ArchivesDepartment of Defense officially releases three Navy UAP videos · Disclosure ArchivesApril 27, 2020…
Official confirmation therefore established three limited points:
- the videos were authentic military recordings;
- they had been recorded by Navy aircraft during genuine operations;
- investigators had not identified the observed objects at the time represented by the released footage.
None of those findings established what the objects ultimately were.
Why the videos alone cannot determine what was observed
The public versions of FLIR1, Gimbal and Go Fast are very short infrared clips extracted from much larger military sensor systems.
Military aircraft typically collect multiple streams of information simultaneously, including:
- airborne radar tracks;
- infrared imagery;
- aircraft position and attitude;
- pilot communications;
- targeting system telemetry;
- supporting radar from ships or airborne warning aircraft.
Only fragments of that information have been released publicly. Without the complete sensor picture, outside researchers must infer critical quantities such as object distance, altitude, speed and direction from incomplete data.
That limitation matters because apparent extraordinary motion can sometimes result from ordinary geometry. Changes in aircraft heading, zoom settings, sensor stabilisation, viewing angle and parallax can produce visual impressions that differ from an object’s actual flight path. Conversely, incomplete public footage also means it cannot be ruled out that additional classified information might support unusual observations reported by military personnel. The released clips alone cannot resolve that question.[UAP Records Archive]uap-archive.orgOpen source on uap-archive.org.
Why Gimbal and Go Fast remain debated
The continuing debate is not primarily about whether the videos are genuine—they are—but about how they should be interpreted.
For Gimbal, one recurring discussion concerns the apparent rotation of the object. Several optical analyses have suggested that some or all of the visible rotation could result from the infrared targeting pod’s image-processing and camera mechanics rather than the object physically rotating in flight. Other researchers argue that eyewitness testimony and additional sensor information described by participating aviators are more consistent with genuinely unusual behaviour than with a simple imaging artefact.[arXiv]arxiv.orgReconstruction of Potential Flight Paths for the January 2015 Gimbal UAP…
For Go Fast, the object appears to race across the ocean surface at remarkable speed. However, analyses using the displayed instrument data have argued that, depending on the object’s range from the aircraft, much of the apparent speed may result from parallax and the motion of the observing aircraft rather than extreme velocity close to the water. Again, without the underlying classified sensor information, no definitive public conclusion is possible.[UAP Records Archive]uap-archive.orgOpen source on uap-archive.org.
The released footage therefore supports multiple technically plausible interpretations, which is why it continues to be studied.
What the videos changed—and what they did not
The Navy videos transformed public discussion because they established that military personnel had encountered events considered worthy of documentation and investigation. Before their official authentication, many observers dismissed the recordings as unverifiable internet material. After the Navy and Department of Defense acknowledged their authenticity, that position became much harder to sustain.[Disclosure Archives]disclosurearchives.comDisclosure ArchivesDepartment of Defense officially releases three Navy UAP videos · Disclosure ArchivesApril 27, 2020…
At the same time, authentication did not validate every claim made around the videos. It did not prove:
- extraterrestrial visitors;
- breakthrough propulsion systems;
- impossible physics;
- secret government knowledge of alien technology.
Instead, the official position remained deliberately narrow: the recordings were genuine military footage of aerial phenomena that had not been identified based on the available operational information released to the public. That distinction explains why the videos became both highly influential and persistently controversial.
For TTSA, this represented its clearest public success. The organisation helped move authentic military evidence into mainstream debate. Yet the strongest official finding supported by the videos was also the most limited: they demonstrated that trained military personnel recorded phenomena they could not immediately identify—not that the recordings resolved what those phenomena ultimately were.
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Endnotes
1.
Source: uap-archive.org
Link:https://uap-archive.org/uap/learn/pentagon-navy-uap-videos/
2.
Source: theblackvault.com
Link:https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/u-s-navy-confirms-videos-depict-unidentified-aerial-phenomena-not-cleared-for-public-release/
Source snippet
The Black VaultU.S. Navy Confirms Videos Depict ‘Unidentified Aerial Phenomena’; Not Cleared For Public Release - The Black Vault...
3.
Source: theblackvault.com
Link:https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/u-s-navy-releases-dates-of-three-officially-acknowledged-encounters-with-phenomena/
Source snippet
Navy Releases Dates of Three Officially Acknowledged Encounters with “Phenomena” - The Black VaultSeptember 11, 2019 — U.S. NAVY RELEASES...
Published: September 11, 2019
4.
Source: disclosurearchives.com
Link:https://disclosurearchives.com/events/dod-releases-three-videos-2020
Source snippet
Disclosure ArchivesDepartment of Defense officially releases three Navy UAP videos · Disclosure ArchivesApril 27, 2020...
Published: April 27, 2020
5.
Source: arxiv.org
Link:https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.08773
Source snippet
Reconstruction of Potential Flight Paths for the January 2015 Gimbal UAP...
Published: January 2015
6.
Source: theblackvault.com
Title: u s navy investigated circumstances behind leaked ufo footage
Link:https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/u-s-navy-investigated-circumstances-behind-leaked-ufo-footage/
Source snippet
Navy Investigated Circumstances Behind Leaked UFO Footage - The Black VaultSeptember 17, 2019 — U.S. NAVY INVESTIGATED CIRCUMSTANCES BEHI...
Published: September 17, 2019
Additional References
7.
Source: countdowntodisclosure.com
Link:https://countdowntodisclosure.com/articles/navy-authenticated-flir-gimbal-gofast-footage-as-genuine-navy-dod-recordings-and-treated-them-as-uap-unidentified/
Source snippet
Navy Authenticated FLIR, Gimbal, GoFast Footage as Genuine Navy/DoD Recordings and Treated Them as UAP (Unidentified) – Countdown to Disc...
8.
Source: iheart.com
Title: Navy Confirms UFO Videos Are Real and Should Not Have Been Released | i Heart
Link:https://www.iheart.com/content/2019-09-19-navy-confirms-ufo-videos-are-real-and-should-not-have-been-released/
Source snippet
Johnson - @rickerthewriter September 19, 2019 The truth is not only out there, it's been confirmed by the Navy. Accordi...
Published: September 19, 2019
9.
Source: declassifiedtoday.com
Title: Gimbal and Go Fast: The Navy Videos the Pentagon Made Official
Link:https://declassifiedtoday.com/2026/06/20/gimbal-and-gofast-the-navy-videos-the-pentagon-made-official/
Source snippet
Gimbal and GoFast: The Navy Videos the Pentagon Made OfficialJune 20, 2026 — GIMBAL AND GOFAST: THE NAVY VIDEOS THE PENTAGON MADE OFFICIA...
Published: June 20, 2026
10.
Source: videoovni.fr
Title: archive vérifiée la vidéo navy qui a relancé la question uap
Link:https://videoovni.fr/en/articles/archive-v%C3%A9rifi%C3%A9e-la-vid%C3%A9o-navy-qui-a-relanc%C3%A9-la-question-uap.html
Source snippet
FLIR, Gimbal, GoFast: the three Navy videos… | UFO VIDEOApril 20, 2026 — Verified archive Published on 2026-04-20 Fact checked Official d...
Published: April 20, 2026
11.
Source: ufotransparency.com
Title: decade 2020s dod navy video official release 2020 flir1
Link:https://ufotransparency.com/files/decade-2020s-dod-navy-video-official-release-2020-flir1
Source snippet
Department of Defense / Naval Air Systems Command · 2020 · UFO TransparencyApril 27, 2020 — [Button: ✕]← FilesDisclosure Index/01 DISCLOS...
Published: April 27, 2020
12.
Source: disclosdex.com
Title: Do D Releases Historical Navy UAP Videos | Disclosdex
Link:https://disclosdex.com/events/2020-dod-navy-uap-videos-released
Source snippet
DoD Releases Historical Navy UAP Videos | DisclosdexApril 27, 2020 — DOD RELEASES HISTORICAL NAVY UAP VIDEOS Video DoD formally released...
Published: April 27, 2020
13.
Source: clickondetroit.com
Title: Navy confirms UFO videos are real: What we know
Link:https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/2019/09/18/navy-confirms-ufo-videos-are-real-what-we-know/
Source snippet
September 18, 2019 — NEWS * * * Ken Haddad, Manager, Coverage and Content...
Published: September 18, 2019
14.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Investigating The Pentagon UFO Videos
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUebtejcoCk
Source snippet
Quantum physicists analyze pentagon US navy UFO video footage...
15.
Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umEgSD4HP28
16.
Source: youtube.com
Title: My UFO Mistake
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YIS16GfzfQ
Source snippet
Three real UFO videos declassified and authenticated by the US Navy in 2019 Gimbal FLIR1 Go Fast...