The 2004 USS Nimitz UAP encounter refers to a radar-tracked and visually observed encounter between two crews of US Navy fighter jets and an unidentified object, informally known as the Tic Tac and more formally as the USS Nimitz UFO incident.1 On 2004-11-14, the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) was carrying out drills off the Southern Californian coast ahead of a deployment to the Persian Gulf,2 with its carrier strike group training approximately 160 kilometres southwest of San Diego, California.3 David Fravor, commander of the F/A-18 squadron aboard the carrier,4 and Alex Dietrich, each flying with a weapons systems officer in the back seat, were diverted to investigate radar contacts detected by the cruiser USS Princeton (CG-59).5 The incident was documented by radar, camera, and four aviators of the United States Navy (USN).6
Beginning on 2004-11-10, radar aboard the USS Princeton had detected a small number of objects flying at approximately 8,500 metres and around 190 kilometres per hour off the California coast,7 tracking them intermittently for about a week before the 14 November encounter.8 Kevin Day was manning the Princeton’s radar during the exercise9 when he observed a formation of unidentified objects on his radar screen rather than the simulated adversary aircraft he had expected.10 Concerned given the ongoing air defence exercise, Day raised the matter with his captain, who confirmed the contacts had already been tracked for days.11 On one occasion, the tracked objects descended from approximately 8,500 metres to the ocean surface in 0.78 seconds.12
On 2004-11-14, Fravor and Dietrich, flying two F/A-18F Super Hornets with a weapons systems officer in each back seat, had their training mission cancelled.13 The USS Princeton gave the flight bearing, range, and altitude calls for an unidentified radar contact at ranges of approximately 80, 64, and 48 kilometres.14 The sighting took place on a clear day with unrestricted visibility, no cloud cover, and calm seas.15 The crews first noticed an area of white water on the ocean surface, in a cross-like shape approximately the size of a Boeing 737, appearing to be caused by something roughly 5 to 6 metres below the surface,16 though no object was visible beneath the water itself.17 Above the disturbance, Fravor spotted a small white Tic Tac-shaped object while flying approximately 6,100 metres above it,18 as Dietrich circled above while Fravor descended for a closer look.19 Fravor later described the object as roughly the size of his F/A-18, with no markings, no wings, and no exhaust plumes,20 moving abruptly between directions with no gradual deceleration unlike the motion of a helicopter,21 and producing no visible rotor wash on the water below.22
Fravor descended toward the object while his wingman remained at higher altitude to observe from a different angle,23 at an airspeed of approximately 556 kilometres per hour,24 closing to within approximately 0.8 kilometres.25 As he approached, the object appeared to react, turning to point west and beginning to climb.26 At an altitude of about 3,700 metres, roughly 2,400 metres below the other aircraft, the object then accelerated and disappeared;27 the white water on the ocean surface disappeared at the same time, leaving no visible trace.28 In total, the four aviators watched the object for approximately five minutes.29
Investigator Luis Elizondo later said the object disappeared instantaneously and that, five seconds afterwards, a radar operator reported it was waiting at the flight’s combat air patrol point.30 That point was an aerial rendezvous location approximately 97 kilometres away, known only to a handful of Navy personnel and pilots,31 and the object was already there when the pilots arrived, despite the location being known only within the USS Nimitz briefing room.32 Fravor’s flight searched the area by radar but never located the object again.33 Fravor said he did not know how the object could have known to be there, since the location had not been broadcast, though he speculated it might have been because the same point was used daily.34 Chad Underwood recorded forward-looking infrared (FLIR) video of the object.35 That FLIR targeting-pod footage is the only recorded material from the encounter that has been publicly released, while other data from the incident has not.36
The encounter went without official acknowledgement for five years, until Elizondo began investigating it.37 According to the documentary The UFO Phenomenon, The New York Times reported the existence of a Pentagon unit secretly investigating UFOs in December 2017, publishing accompanying video.38 Dietrich had not spoken publicly about the encounter before this interview.39 She said she felt a responsibility to share her account because she had been in a government aircraft, on duty, and the material was unclassified,40 and described feeling vulnerable during the encounter because the crews had nothing with which to defend themselves.41