Objects

F/A-18

A twin-engine fighter jet operated by the United States Navy, involved in several reported encounters with unidentified aerial phenomena, including the 2004 USS Nimitz incident and the later Pentagon release of cockpit-camera footage.

United States Navy (USN) · Fighter aircraft

The F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet is a twin-engine fighter jet flown by the United States Navy (USN). Each aircraft carries a pilot, known as the “front seater”, and, in two-seat variants, a Weapon Systems Officer (WSO) - pronounced “Wizzo” and known as the “back seater”.¹

During the 2004 USS Nimitz UAP encounter, David Fravor commanded the F/A-18 squadron aboard the USS Nimitz (CVN-68).² Two US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets conducting training exercises were asked to go and get eyes on a fleet of unidentified objects that had been spotted.³ Lieutenant Junior Grade Alex Dietrich piloted the other F/A-18 involved.⁴ Fravor flew down and circled to confront a Tic Tac-shaped object off the coast of California San Diego, in November 2004.⁵ According to Imminent: Inside the Pentagon’s Hunt for UFOs, Fravor observed from the cockpit a wingless white craft approximately 14.6 metres long.⁶ The object was about the size of Fravor’s F/A-18, with no markings, no wings, and no exhaust plumes.⁷ It then glided over the nose of Fravor’s aircraft and disappeared.⁸ The object subsequently reappeared at the two jets’ intended combat air patrol point, around sixty miles away, within seconds of leaving Fravor and Jim Slaight.⁹ Fravor said that, low on fuel, he ended the exercise and both F/A-18s returned to the carrier.¹⁰ The two Nimitz F/A-18s had intercepted the object at close quarters in conditions of perfect visibility.¹¹

A separate account of the encounter, given by Christopher K. Mellon, describes the USS Princeton (CG-59) contacting two F/A-18s that were already airborne to intercept the object.¹² Mellon said the four aviators involved observed that the object had no wings or exhaust.¹³ He said the object suddenly reoriented itself toward the approaching F/A-18 and performed a series of discrete tumbling manoeuvres before taking up a position directly behind the aircraft.¹⁴ Mellon said both F/A-18s returned to the USS Nimitz owing to safety concerns and low fuel.¹⁵ Additional F/A-18s were dispatched but, according to Mellon, achieved similarly unsuccessful results against the object.¹⁶

In a separate incident, Luis Elizondo said that, during an exercise requiring two F/A-18 Hornets to fly within approximately 30 metres of each other, a UAP flew between the aircraft’s wings and disappeared, splitting their formation.¹⁷ He said both pilots saw the object clearly enough to identify it as a transparent orb or sphere containing a cube, its four points touching the inner circumference of the sphere.¹⁸ Elizondo said the F/A-18 Hornets involved, aboard the USS Roosevelt, had recently undergone radar system upgrades, with some of the previous systems dating to the 1980s.¹⁹

Separately, Ryan Graves’ F/A-18 squadron began seeing Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) hovering over restricted airspace southeast of Virginia Virginia Beach, from 2014.²⁰ F/A-18 cockpit-camera footage entered the public record after Elizondo arranged for the Pentagon to release videos taken from cockpit cameras of F/A-18 fighter jets, shortly before he quit the United States Department of Defense (DoD).²¹ Pentagon spokesperson Christopher Sherwood said the videos were released “for research purposes… and not for general public release."²²

References (22)

Each F/A-18 carries a pilot ("front seater") and, in two-seat variants, a Weapon Systems Officer ("back seater")
“In each US Navy aircraft sits a pilot, known as the “front seater,” and a Weapon Systems Officer (WSO), colloquially pronounced “Wizzo,” also known as the “back seater.””
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs ch15:3733-3894 View the source record →
David Fravor commanded the F/A-18 squadron aboard the USS Nimitz during the 2004 encounter
“commander of the F-18 squadron on the USS Nimitz”
Navy pilots describe encounters with UFOs 00:06:46.6-00:06:49.9
Two F/A-18 Super Hornets on a training exercise were asked to get eyes on the spotted fleet
“Two US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets were conducting training exercises when they were asked to go get their eyes on the UAP.”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs ch15:3610-3727 View the source record →
Lieutenant Junior Grade Alex Dietrich piloted the other F/A-18 Super Hornet
“Making up the other half of the team was another US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet piloted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Alex Dietrich”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs ch15:4687-4804 View the source record →
Fravor flew down to confront a Tic Tac-shaped object off San Diego
“Think back to Commander Dave Fravor flying that F/A-18 Hornet as he circled down to confront the Tic Tac off the coast of San Diego.”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs ch24:7582-7708 View the source record →
Fravor observed a wingless white craft approximately 14.6 metres long
“the 48-feet-long, wingless white craft he observed from the cockpit of his F/A-18...”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs ch6:8239-8318 View the source record →
The object was about the size of an F/A-18, with no markings, no wings, and no exhaust plumes
“He said it was about the size of his F-18, with no markings, no wings, no exhaust plumes.”
Navy pilots describe encounters with UFOs 00:08:30.6-00:08:36.6
The object glided over the top of the F/A-18's nose and disappeared
“The Tic Tac glided over the top of the Hornet’s nose and disappeared. A near miss!”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs ch24:7715-7792 View the source record →
The object reappeared at the jets' intended CAP point, sixty miles away, within seconds
“Yet the Tic Tac somehow knew the intended meeting point of the two Hornets, though it was sixty miles away. Not only did the Tic Tac have secret information, but it managed to scramble to that location within seconds after leaving Fravor and Slaight in the dust.”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs ch15:7616-7873 View the source record →
Low on fuel, Fravor ended the exercise and both jets returned to the carrier
“Low on fuel, Fravor wisely decided to end the exercise. Both jets zipped back to the carrier.”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs ch15:7880-7965 View the source record →
Two Nimitz F/A-18s intercepted the object at close quarters in perfect visibility
“two US Navy F/A-18s from the *Nimitz* managed to intercept one of these strange craft at close quarters in conditions of perfect visibility.”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs ch6:8066-8195 View the source record →
The USS Princeton contacted two F/A-18s already airborne to intercept the object
“The Princeton hurriedly contacts two F-18s already aloft to intercept the target.”
Tom DeLonge's 'Sekret Machines' FULL Documentary #ufo #uap 00:14:13.2-00:14:17.0
The four aviators observed the object had no wings or exhaust
“As the two F-18s approach, the four aviators see that the object has no wings or exhaust.”
Tom DeLonge's 'Sekret Machines' FULL Documentary #ufo #uap 00:14:18.4-00:14:22.5
The object reoriented and performed tumbling manoeuvres before taking a position behind the aircraft
“the object suddenly reorient itself toward the approaching F-18. In a series of discrete tumbling maneuvers that seem to defy the laws of physics, the object takes a position directly behind the approaching F-18.”
Tom DeLonge's 'Sekret Machines' FULL Documentary #ufo #uap 00:14:34.8-00:14:48.8
Both F/A-18s returned to the Nimitz for safety and fuel reasons
“Fearful for their safety and running low on fuel, both F-18s return to the Nimitz.”
Tom DeLonge's 'Sekret Machines' FULL Documentary #ufo #uap 00:14:58.9-00:15:02.4
Additional F/A-18s were dispatched with similarly unsuccessful results
“More F-18s are dispatched, but with similar results. As before, the engagement occurs in broad daylight and the secret machine easily evades the F-18s.”
Tom DeLonge's 'Sekret Machines' FULL Documentary #ufo #uap 00:15:27.7-00:15:37.6
A UAP flew between two F/A-18 Hornets' wings and disappeared, splitting their formation
“In one instance two Hornets embarked on an exercise that required them to fly within one hundred feet of each other... Without warning, an object flew right toward the Hornets, zipped right between their wings, and disappeared. As the pilot told me, the UAP "split their formation."”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs ch23:3335-3670 View the source record →
The object was a transparent orb containing a cube touching the sphere's inner circumference
“The object drew close enough to the cockpits that both pilots saw it clearly. It was a transparent orb or sphere; inside it was a cube. The four points of the cube touched the inner circumference of the sphere.”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs ch23:3773-3976 View the source record →
The USS Roosevelt's F/A-18 Hornets had recently had radar upgrades, some prior systems dating to the 1980s
“The Hornets aboard the carrier had recently undergone upgrades to improve radar systems that dated, in some cases, to the 1980s.”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs ch23:640-762 View the source record →
Ryan Graves' F/A-18 squadron began seeing UAP over restricted airspace off Virginia Beach from 2014
“He told us his F-18 squadron began seeing UAPs hovering over restricted airspace southeast of Virginia Beach in 2014”
Navy pilots describe encounters with UFOs 00:04:12.9-00:04:21.5
Elizondo arranged for the Pentagon to release F/A-18 cockpit videos shortly before quitting the DoD
“videos taken from cockpit cameras of F-18 fighter jets that Elizondo had arranged for the Pentagon to release just before he quit.”
The Media Loves This UFO Expert Who Says He Worked for an Obscure Pentagon Program. Did He? char:12489-12592 View the source record →
Sherwood said the videos were released for research purposes, not general public release
“Sherwood, the Pentagon spokesperson, said the videos were released “for research purposes … and not for general public release,””
The Media Loves This UFO Expert Who Says He Worked for an Obscure Pentagon Program. Did He? char:13050-13169 View the source record →

F/A-18

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