Which agency documented the Gimbal UAP — Rotating Object Against the Wind case?

DoD is the primary agency that documented this UAP incident, indexed as file DOD-008 in the Now Declassified archive. The original source context is available via NARA RG 615 / OSD.

Where did the Gimbal UAP — Rotating Object Against the Wind UAP sighting occur?

The Gimbal UAP — Rotating Object Against the Wind incident occurred in U.S. East Coast (Atlantic), ~100 miles offshore in 2015. The region classification is North America.

What shape was the UAP in the Gimbal UAP — Rotating Object Against the Wind incident?

The UAP documented in the Gimbal UAP — Rotating Object Against the Wind incident was classified as disc / saucer shaped. Classification: SECRET. Altitude: ~25,000 ft.

What behaviors were observed in the Gimbal UAP — Rotating Object Against the Wind case?

Observed behaviors in the Gimbal UAP — Rotating Object Against the Wind incident included: Stationary Hover, 90° Turns, Anti-Gravity Hover. Duration: ~34 seconds (captured on FLIR). Witnesses: F/A-18 Super Hornet pilots, USS Theodore Roosevelt air wing.

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SECRET

▶ VIDEO AVAILABLE◈ IMAGE AVAILABLE

DOD-008 · 2015-01-21

Gimbal UAP — Rotating Object Against the Wind

DOD-008is this archive's internal reference, not an official government file number, and the SECRET tag is an editorial archival label — not a current U.S. classification. Now Declassified is an independent index and is not affiliated with the U.S. government. See the original records via NARA RG 615 / OSD.

DoD◎ U.S. East Coast (Atlantic), ~100 miles offshore◌ North America #2015 ◈ Disc / Saucer↑ ~25,000 ft⏱ ~34 seconds (captured on FLIR)

EVIDENCE GALLERY

Visual reconstruction and recovered media extracted from the incident dossier. Includes motion playback from the released archive.

Representative official gallery image traced to an official public-source archive

Cinematic archive imagery for Gimbal UAP — Rotating Object Against the Wind — intelligence record illustration

DoDDISC / SAUCER

ARCHIVE GALLERY

DOD-008NORTH AMERICA

Recovered visual evidence

MEDIA STATUS

Official gallery media is shown as representative archive context for this case.

SOURCE TYPE

Sensor capture, analyst notes, and released archive media.

VIEW MODE

Still view highlights silhouette, environment, and encounter geometry.

AT A GLANCE

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.

PRIMARY WITNESSES

F/A-18 Super Hornet pilots, USS Theodore Roosevelt air wing

EVIDENCE PROFILE

STILL EVIDENCEVIDEO PLAYBACKDISC / SAUCER

FILE ID

DOD-008

DATE

2015-01-21

AGENCY

DoD

REGION

North America

SHAPE

Disc / Saucer

ALTITUDE

~25,000 ft

OBSERVED BEHAVIORS

Stationary Hover90° TurnsAnti-Gravity Hover

DECLASSIFIED DETAILS

The Gimbal incident was captured by the Advanced Targeting Forward Looking Infrared (ATFLIR) pod of a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet operating off the U.S. East Coast in January 2015. The footage, which DoD officially released in April 2020, shows a disc-shaped object moving into the prevailing wind at approximately 25,000 feet — behavior aerodynamically inconsistent with any known aircraft, balloon, or drone, which would move with the wind at that altitude. The object visibly rotates around its vertical axis continuously throughout the engagement. Pilots are heard exclaiming 'look at that thing' and 'it's rotating.' The object does not display any heat signature consistent with a jet or rocket engine. AARO classifies the Gimbal as one of only a handful of UAP videos publicly released and currently unresolved. A 2026 supplemental AARO analysis note states: 'The rotation axis and direction, combined with into-wind movement, is not consistent with any known prosaic explanation including balloon systems, drones, or atmospheric optical effects.'

KEY CHARACTERISTICS

›Visibly rotating on its vertical axis throughout engagement
›Moving into prevailing wind at 25,000 ft — opposite of any balloon
›No heat signature consistent with any propulsion system
›Disc/oval shape confirmed by ATFLIR thermal imaging
›DoD officially released footage in 2020
›AARO: currently unresolved — no prosaic explanation identified

ORIGINAL SOURCE

This incident is indexed as file DOD-008inside Now Declassified's research layer. The nearest official source trail for this agency points to NARA RG 615 / OSD, where archive records, imagery, or supporting context are published for public review.

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INCIDENT DATA

FILE IDDOD-008

DATE2015-01-21

YEAR2015

AGENCYDoD

LOCATIONU.S. East Coast (Atlantic), ~100 miles offshore

REGIONNorth America

SHAPEDisc / Saucer

ALTITUDE~25,000 ft

DURATION~34 seconds (captured on FLIR)

WITNESSESF/A-18 Super Hornet pilots, USS Theodore Roosevelt air wing

OBSERVED BEHAVIORS

Stationary Hover→90° Turns→Anti-Gravity Hover→

EVIDENCE STRENGTH

COMPELLING

Video Record

Still Imagery

Witness Credibility

Sensor Corroboration

Physical Evidence

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ARCHIVE EXPORT

RESEARCH GUIDES

›The Three Pentagon Videos ›USS Theodore Roosevelt UAP Encounters 2014–2015 ›Christopher Mellon — The Insider Who Released These Videos ALL GUIDES →

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◈ MEDIA

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RESEARCHER DISCUSSION

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