The Nimitz "Tic Tac"

The claim

"Navy pilots and radar tracked a white craft that outflew their fighter jets."

Where the idea comes from

Revealed by the New York Times in December 2017 together with the existence of the Pentagon's AATIP program.

What the evidence shows

1. Cmdr. David Fravor and Lt Cmdr. Alex Dietrich saw a white, wingless, roughly 40-foot oval object over a disturbance in the sea; both later testified publicly.
2. The USS Princeton's radar operators reported unusual tracks for days before the encounter.
3. A later sortie recorded the infrared "FLIR1" video. The Pentagon officially released it in April 2020.
4. The raw radar data, which would test the claimed speeds and drops, has never been made public. Some radar records were reportedly collected and not returned.
5. Skeptics argue the FLIR video alone is consistent with a distant aircraft, and note that pilots' estimates of size and distance are hard without a reference.

What is still open

The case turns on sensor data still not released. If the radar shows what witnesses say, it would be the strongest UAP case on record; if not, it fades.

Our verdict

Worth watching Credible witnesses and real video, but the key data is still locked away.

Sources

• Defense Department statement on the Navy videos (2020)
• USS Nimitz UFO incident (Wikipedia)

Checked 31 October 2026. Spotted a newer source? Tell us.