Low-altitude or stationary hover with no detectable propulsion signature, rotor wash, or thermal bloom.
FBI Photo B20: an infrared still of an unidentified craft hovering at under 1,000 ft for 45 minutes. Object defied wind conditions and maintained perfect stationary position with no discernible propulsion.
USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group radar operators tracked an unknown object for two weeks before F/A-18 pilots were tasked to intercept. Commander Fravor observed a white 40-foot oblong object with no wings, propulsion, or exhaust hovering over a roiling sea disturbance before it accelerated away instantaneously. FLIR footage declassified by DoD in 2020.
An F/A-18 Super Hornet ATFLIR pod captured a disc-shaped object visibly rotating against the direction of wind at 25,000 feet. The object moved into the prevailing wind and appeared to rotate continuously with no visible means of propulsion. DoD officially released the FLIR footage in 2020; AARO lists it as unresolved.
FLIR footage declassified by DoD captures a small, fast-moving object skimming approximately 25 feet above the Atlantic Ocean surface. Speed calculations from the FLIR data indicate the object was moving at a speed inconsistent with any known drone or projectile at that altitude. AARO classifies the GoFast as unresolved.
USAF Lieutenant George Gorman pursued a fast-moving luminous orb for 27 minutes over Fargo in his F-51 Mustang. The object executed head-on passes, outran the F-51, and climbed vertically faster than the aircraft could follow. Independently confirmed by control tower operators and two CAA controllers. Project Sign investigated and listed it as one of the 'best unexplained' cases.
Socorro police officer Lonnie Zamora observed a white oval craft with red insignia resting on legs in an arroyo, attended by two figures in white. He observed the craft take off with a roaring flame, become silent after 20 feet, and depart at high speed. Physical evidence — burned vegetation, soil compression, metal scrapings — was immediately confirmed by State Police and Army investigators. Project Blue Book listed this as 'unknown.'
A retired engineer observed a disc-shaped object land in his terraced garden in southern France. Physical trace evidence collected by French national police (Gendarmerie) was subsequently analyzed by GEPAN — the French government's official UAP investigation body — and found to include ground compression, scorched vegetation, and unusual biochemical changes in plant matter at the landing site. GEPAN's 1983 report remains one of the most rigorous official government UAP physical evidence analyses ever published.
An Army Reserve UH-1 helicopter crew of four had a near-collision with a large grey metallic object over Mansfield, Ohio. The object stopped the helicopter's controlled descent and the aircraft inexplicably climbed 2,000 feet with no crew input. The incident is regarded as one of the most credible military UAP cases in the official record due to the four-person trained military crew and corroborating ground witnesses.