Type: Video
Source: U.S. Department of Defense
The "Gimbal" video is an official, declassified U.S. Navy recording of an Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP) encounter captured on January 21, 2015, by a fighter pilot from the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group. Filmed off the eastern seaboard near Florida, the 34-second clip shows a spherical, disc-shaped object rotating and moving against 120-knot headwinds without visible wings, propulsion, or exhaust plumes.
Key details include:
Authentication: The Pentagon confirmed the video's authenticity and released it to the public in 2020 after it was initially leaked in 2017.
Technical Context: Recorded using the Raytheon AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR targeting pod on an F/A-18 Super Hornet, the footage switched from infrared to visual mode, revealing a dark object surrounded by a "cool" thermal halo.
Pilot Observations: Pilots, including Lt. Ryan Graves, reported seeing a "fleet" of these objects during training exercises, noting their ability to accelerate, stop, and rotate instantaneously in ways that defy known aerodynamics.
Significance: Along with the "GoFast" video, "Gimbal" is one of three primary UAP videos that shifted public and governmental discourse on aerial anomalies, leading to increased transparency and task forces studying UAPs.