-
Feb 3, 2007
thefinaltheory
Above Top Secret
The USS Nimitz encounters were first described in early 2007 when a user named "thefinaltheory" submitted a thread to a forum called Above Top Secret. In their original post, they claim to have seen a video of a disc-shaped UFO while serving onboard a US Navy aircraft carrier somewhere off the coast of western Mexico. The video was later provided in
reference #2.
-
Feb 4, 2007
thefinaltheory
Above Top Secret
The video captured during the USS Nimitz encounters was first leaked online in early 2007 when a user named "thefinaltheory" submitted a thread to an online forum called Above Top Secret. Apart from the video itself, "thefinaltheory" also claimed to be in possession of a Word document and a PowerPoint presentation. While the contents of the Word document was later provided in
reference #2b, the PowerPoint presentation has never been released. Furthermore, "thefinaltheory" claimed to be in possession of three other versions of the video. See
reference #2c.
-
Feb 4, 2007
Vision Unlimited
The video provided by "thefinaltheory" was hosted on a website owned by a group of German film students. This led some to denounce the clip as an attempted hoax.
-
Feb 13, 2007
cometa2
Above Top Secret
The Word document appears to be an event summary produced around the time of the USS Nimitz encounters.
-
Feb 4, 2007
thefinaltheory
Above Top Secret
While answering questions, "thefinaltheory" claims to be in possession of three alternate versions of the video they provided. Two of them are said to be shorter while the fourth is said to be twice as long. None of which has ever been released.
-
2009
Kevin M. Day
In 2008, retired Navy veteran, Kevin Day, wrote a short story called "The See'r". The story is a highly fictionalized account of the USS Nimitz encounters. Day later incorporated the story as part of a self-published book series called the Sailor's Anthology.
-
Dec 27, 2010
theseer
Open Minds Forum
In late 2010, Day published an abbreviated version of his short story on a forum called Open Minds Forum. As the website has since been taken down, the forum thread can be found within a downloadable archive. The thread ID is 9353.
-
2019
Kevin M. Day
In a revised edition of the book, Day explains that he choose to fictionalize the story in order to protect the identities of those involved.
-
Nov 19, 2013
anon402
Reddit
In 2013, the events of the USS Nimitz encounters were recounted once again by an anonymous user on Reddit.
-
Mar 14, 2015
Paco Chierici
Fighter Sweep
In 2015, the USS Nimitz encounters were described in great detail by a retired US Navy pilot named Paco Chierici. The article is based on the firsthand account of Chierici's friend and fellow pilot, David Fravor, as well as the "executive report" of
reference #12.
-
Dec 16, 2017
Helene Cooper, Ralph Blumenthal, and Leslie Kean
The New York Times
In late 2017, The New York Times broke a story about a secretive government program known as the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program. Featured alongside the article were two videos said to depict encounters between US Navy fighter jets and UFOs.
-
Dec 16, 2017
Helene Cooper, Leslie Kean, and Ralph Blumenthal
The New York Times
A companion piece featuring an interview with Commander David Fravor who witnessed the USS Nimitz encounters.
-
To The Stars Academy of Arts and Science is a company founded by former Blink 182 band member Tom DeLonge. It appears to be some sort of hybrid company with a focus on both entertainment and UFO research. The New York Times and TTSAAS jointly released the first two videos in late 2017. The third video was then released by TTSAAS in March of 2018. TTSAAS obtained the videos after Luis Elizondo left his government position at the Pentagon and joined the company.
-
-
-
Sep 7, 2017
To The Stars Academy of Arts and Science
-
Oct 11, 2017
To The Stars
YouTube
-
To The Stars Academy of Arts and Science
-
Dec 16, 2017
To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science
YouTube
-
To The Stars Academy of Arts and Science
-
Dec 16, 2017
To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science
YouTube
-
To The Stars Academy of Arts and Science
-
Mar 9, 2018
To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science
YouTube
-
2019
IMDb
This History channel program was produced by To The Stars Academy of Arts and Science and features a number of interviews with witnesses of both the USS Nimitz- and USS Theodore Roosevelt encounters. Where it not for these interviews with experienced aviators and sailors, I would not have put much stock in a program that airs on the same channel as Ancient Aliens.
-
May 18, 2018
George Knapp
Las Vegas Now
In 2018, an undated "executive report" on the USS Nimitz encounters was leaked online. While some question its authenticity, it contains a lot of important information.
-
-
May 19, 2018
Parabunk Blog
-
Apr 27, 2020
Department of Defense
In 2020, the US Department of Defense officially released the three videos, thereby confirming their authenticity. The government merely characterize the objects seen in the videos as "unidentified aerial phenomena".
-
The three videos are labeled "FLIR.mp4", "GOFAST.wmv", and "GIMBAL.wmv" and can be downloaded from this website.
-
2019
Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies
A group known as the Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies (previously known as the Scientific Coalition for Ufology) has spent a great deal of time analyzing the video from the USS Nimitz encounters. They've also conducted interviews with some of the witnesses.
-
2019
Robert Powell, Peter Reali, Tim Thompson, et al.
Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies
-
Apr 3, 2019
Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies
YouTube
-
Apr 3, 2019
Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies
YouTube
-
Apr 3, 2019
Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies
YouTube
-
Apr 5, 2019
Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies
YouTube
-
Aug 29, 2019
Dave Beaty
YouTube
This independently produced documentary is a must watch if you want to learn more about the USS Nimitz encounters as it features important interviews with some of the witnesses. The uncut interviews can also be viewed separately on the same channel.
-
Mar 24, 2019
The Nimitz Encounters
YouTube
-
Sep 20, 2019
The Nimitz Encounters
YouTube
-
Sep 21, 2019
The Nimitz Encounters
YouTube
-
Sep 26, 2019
The Nimitz Encounters
YouTube
-
Oct 12, 2019
The Nimitz Encounters
YouTube
-
Oct 20, 2019
The Nimitz Encounters
YouTube
-
Oct 5, 2019
PowerfulJRE
YouTube
An interview with US Navy fighter pilot Commander David Fravor who witnesses the USS Nimitz encounters.
-
Dec 19, 2019
Matthew Phelan
New York Magazine
An interview with US Navy fighter pilot Chad Underwood who filmed the video taken during the USS Nimitz encounters.
-
Aug 17, 2020
Jeremy Corbell
YouTube
Another interview with Chad Underwood.
-
Jul 17, 2019
OpenMindsTV
YouTube
An interview with Sean Cahill, who was the Chief Master-at-Arms onboard the Princeton during the USS Nimitz encounters.
-
Jul 25, 2019
Mike Damante
Punk, Rock and UFOs
Another interview with Sean Cahill.
-
Oct 26, 2017
PowerfulJRE
YouTube
An interview with former Blink 182 band member Tom DeLonge. I'm only including this as it provides some background about To The Stars Academy of Arts and Science.
-
Aug 14, 2020
Jeremy Corbell
YouTube
An interview with electro-optical engineer and ATFLIR expert, John Ehrhart. Ehrhart dispute claims that the rotation seen in the second video was the result of a glare within the camera optics.
-
Feb 24, 2018
UFO Congress
YouTube
An interview with former intelligence officer Luis Elizondo who is the person responsible for making the videos available to the public.
-
Aug 7, 2018
Jay09784691
Twitter
-
Dec 16, 2017
Joby Warrick
The Washington Post
-
Dec 16, 2017
Bryan Bender
Politico Magazine
-
Mar 9, 2018
Christopher Mellon
The Washington Post
-
2018
Joe Nickell
Skeptical Inquirer
42
3
-
Jan 8, 2020
Paul Dean
UFOs - Documenting The Evidence Blog
-
Sep 16, 2019
Kyle Mizokami
Popular Mechanics
-
Oct 11, 2017
Leslie Kean
The Huffington Post
-
Sep 18, 2019
Gina Martinez
Time
-
Feb 17, 2018
Sarah Scoles
Wired
-
Apr 27, 2016
Patrick Doyle
Rolling Stone
-
Sep 26, 2019
Derrick Bryson Taylor
The New York Times
-
Apr 29, 2016
Adrianne Jeffries
Motherboard
-
Mar 21, 2018
Eric Benson
New York Magazine
-
May 22, 2019
Steven Greenstreet
New York Post
-
Dec 6, 2019
John Greenewald, Jr.
The Black Vault
-
Jun 11, 2020
John Greenewald, Jr.
The Black Vault
-
Jan 21, 2020
John Greenewald, Jr.
The Black Vault
A fantastic overview of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program as well as To The Stars Academy of Arts and Science.
-
Oct 23, 2019
John Greenewald, Jr.
The Black Vault
A comprehensive article about the confusion which surrounds the secret government-funded UFO program known as the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program.
-
Sep 10, 2019
John Greenewald, Jr.
The Black Vault
-
The Black Vault
-
Feb 14, 2020
Tim McMillan
Popular Mechanics
-
Nov 12, 2019
Tim McMillan
Popular Mechanics
-
Dec 18, 2017
Kyle Mizokami
Popular Mechanics
-
Jan 15, 2020
Andrew Daniels
Popular Mechanics
-
Jan 17, 2020
Tim McMillan
Popular Mechanics
-
2020
Department of Defense
-
Vertical Reality Simulations Support Wiki
This article about a simulated version of ATFLIR provides a lot of information about how the real-world system works.
-
Apr 22, 2018
Parabunk Blog
-
May 27, 2019
Tyler Rogoway
The Drive
-
Dec 26, 2017
Jeff Wise
New York Magazine
-
Dec 18, 2017
Ralph Blumenthal
The New York Times
-
Feb 4, 2019
Keith Kloor
Medium
-
Jun 1, 2019
Keith Kloor
The Intercept
Some question whether Luis Elizondo actually was the director of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program. As the program remains clouded in secrecy, we may never know for certain.
-
May 17, 2020
Keith Kloor
Wired
-
May 26, 2019
Helene Cooper, Ralph Blumenthal, and Leslie Kean
The New York Times
This article features interviews with Lieutenant Ryan Graves and Danny Aucoin. Both of whom are US Navy fighter pilots who witnesses the USS Theodore Roosevelt encounters.
-
Apr 28, 2020
Alan Yuhas
The New York Times
-
Jul 23, 2020
Ralph Blumenthal and Leslie Kean
The New York Times
-
Apr 27, 2020
Mick West
Metabunk
Debunker and skeptic, Mick West, has spent a great deal of time trying to debunk the three videos. Most of the relevant information can be found via this discussion thread on his forum Metabunk. West has also produced a number of videos on the subject which you can find on his YouTube channel. See
reference #61a.
-
-
Dec 18, 2017
Quora
A Quora thread about the slightly unclear transcript of the GIMBAL video.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-