Visual reconstruction and recovered media extracted from the incident dossier. Includes motion playback from the released archive.
Local reconstruction generated from dossier details
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.
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.'
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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Internal military memo describes 'one possible small UAP' operating near US military assets in Iraq at ~80,000 ft altitude. Performed maneuvers inconsistent with any known aerial vehicle.
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