Beginning in 2014, aviators assigned to the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group began reporting frequent encounters with unidentified aerial phenomena during training missions off the eastern coast of the United States. Following upgrades to the AN/APG-79 AESA radar systems aboard their F/A-18 Super Hornets, crews observed numerous unidentified objects displaying unusual flight characteristics. Pilots described seeing dark cubes enclosed within translucent spheres, while some encounters resulted in near mid-air collisions. These recurring incidents continued for months and laid the foundation for later Navy investigations and the release of the GIMBAL and GOFAST videos recorded during the 2015 deployment.
The East Coast UAP encounters began after squadrons assigned to the USS Theodore Roosevelt completed training and integrated upgraded radar systems capable of detecting smaller airborne objects. Pilots and radar operators soon began observing unidentified contacts almost daily within military training areas off Virginia and the Atlantic coast.
Witnesses consistently described objects maintaining stationary positions despite strong winds, performing rapid accelerations, or remaining airborne for extended periods without visible means of propulsion. One of the most frequently reported shapes was a dark cube suspended inside a transparent sphere.
During one training sortie, two F/A-18 pilots narrowly avoided colliding with one of these objects, prompting the incident to be formally reported as an aviation safety hazard. The repeated encounters generated concern among naval aviators and intelligence personnel, eventually contributing to renewed Department of Defense interest in unidentified aerial phenomena.
Although no widely released military videos originate directly from the 2014 sightings, these encounters established the operational context for the famous GIMBAL and GOFAST recordings captured during the following year's deployment.
| Date: | 2014-06-01 |
| Location: | Eastern Seaboard, Atlantic Ocean |
| Country: | United States |
| Category: | Military |
| Credibility: | High / Military Witnesses |